KGO-TV Has A New Assistant News Director; Stephanie Linton; Comes To Bay Area From Charlotte ABC Affiliate

Stephanie Linton is joining ABC7 News, (KGO-TV) as its new Assistant News Director.  She begins her duties January 5th. 
Linton comes to KGO from WSOC-TV, an ABC Affiliate, and a #1 station in Charlotte. Linton's been the Assistant ND at WSOC for the past four years.
 
Prior to Charlotte, Linton was an EP at WFOR-TV in Miami.  She also worked at WPBF-TV in West Palm Beach as a News Producer. 


Linton's KGO gig was announced by News Director, Tracey Watkowski, in an e-mail obtained by 415 Media.        


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Stephanie Linton

Toxic Black Smoke Inside 900 Front; Watkowski Center of Doom and Gloom; Vet Writers/Producers Anger over Copeland Daughter Role; Johnson Next Stop: KNBC With Hefty Raise; Monday Starter

 At KGO-TV the already nervous Nellies inside the newsroom have become even more anxious.

"There's a lot of black smoke here", offered up a prominent news reader who didn't want their name used.

Let's state some quick, beefy bullet points...

*How acrimonious was the Carolyn Johnson departure? Sure as hell a lot worse than you read, except here.

Word was, according to a newsroom source, even though she's leaving for a LA station, (which I'll tell you in a moment), Channel 7 management, (Watkowski and GM, Bill Burton), was insistent that Johnson continue to work to the very end. Embarrassing --at the last minute, morning anchor, Kristen Zse, apparently is scheduled to work the evening newscasts temporarily filling in for Johnson.


*The whole dog-and-pony show that is being planned when Johnson leaves is fraught with bullshit: A. I doubt Johnson will be on hand for a "newsroom celebration" and if a cake is ordered looks as if the interns will eat it. Hardly any staffers will want anything of it. They're worried about their job, particularly the writer/producers; the ones especially without union protection who feel as if they're about to be nudged out any day now because KGO is bringing in younger, cheaper, hires, with little or no experience.


*One of those younger hires happens to be the daughter of Brian Copeland, the host whose "7Live" show was dumped because of horrible ratings, (or lack thereof)--the feeling from the inside: "They're giving this woman a cush daytime position and that's really been met with a backlash by some of the veteran guys. It's a slap in the face really."


*Curious timing that this inner turmoil at KGO is just a few weeks before an important Spring sweeps period beginning at the end of April until May. The latest developments and toxic atmosphere in the building isn't going to rally the troops one would think.


*Several insiders insist Disney is trimming their station(s) to make a sale more appealing. Yes, the stations make money for the company but profits have been down and the cost of labor, notably the high-priced anchor/reporter talent pool is considerably higher.


*There is a major disconnect between staff and ND, Watkowski: Said a popular personality: "She micro-manages everything; she blows up on people without any care or thought and she has absolutely no people skills."


WHERE IS JOHNSON HEADED?

Look for Carolyn Johnson to land at NBC O and O, KNBC. She'll be making a lot more money, (I'm told $400-500K with significant perks and financial aid in moving expense). Keep in mind this is a HUGE move for Johnson. She's got 2 teenage kids and an attorney husband so this means having to uproot the family. Then again that first check should cleanse the wound.


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Bay Area TV Power Anchor Selfie: KGO's Ashley and Daetz

 One of the more underrated dynamic duos in Bay Area TV worth all your time and attention: KGO's Dan Ashley and Ama Daetz.


Power selfie.




















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Exclusive: KGO-TV Reporter Ishimaru Was To File Suit Against Station Before Her Medical Setback; Hostile Work Environment Complaint; Angela Alioto To Rep Her

Days before she suffered a serious stroke, KGO-TV reporter, Heather Ishimaru, was about to file a hostile work-environment lawsuit against the station, according to well-placed broadcast sources close to Channel 7.


Ishimaru, who is unable to speak or swallow food is in a SF rehab facility. Her attorney, Angela Alioto, confirmed to me on the phone that Ishimaru had planned to file a lawsuit.


"She, (Ishimaru), wrote three letters to management, (News Director, Tracey Watkowski and Assistant ND, Stephainie Adrouney),  about some work-related issues then suddenly she had her medical setback," Alioto said.


Watkowski did not return phone calls requesting comment.


Privately, my sources at KGO, (all requested anonymity due to the nature of the story), told me that Ishimaru, who is a veteran and much-respected reporter, had asked for some time away from the station dealing with a family matter involving one of her kids, a special-needs child. Alioto confirmed this account.


Watkowski balked.


"They were giving her shit," offered one of the sources. "They essentially told her to take care of the 'issue on her time, not the company dime, and that's just bullshit."


Needless to say the Ishimaru tragedy has rocked the KGO newsroom where several staffers are unhappy with the vibe overall. "This has just added to all the angst inside the building--there's a tremendous amount of tension here. They, (management), just don't get it--they're in over their heads."


Added Alioto:


"Heather has an incredible performance record.  She was harassed and treated differently by her superiors Stephanie and Tracey concerning medical leave to take care of her son. Heather was very stressed out about the treatment."






*415 Media Exclusive


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The Very Best and Worst TV/Radio Coverage of the Airliner Crash at SFO; KTVU Leads the Pack

KTVU: From the very first reports that a jumbo jet had crash-landed at SFO, KTVU was on the air and its #1 anchor, Frank Somerville was describing the horrifying scene on the runway. It helped, too, that the station had live video footage which gave viewers a direct view of the jetliner's demise.

Somerville lives in the Oakland Hills; it helped that as the story evolved, he was able to get to KTVU's Jack London Square studios just moments after the first report of the crash from the airport.

Moreover, Somerville was calm, cool, and collected. He was helped out immeasurably by reporter, Tom Vacar, a veteran reporter and small-plane pilot himself and Ken Wayne, a fellow anchor and himself, a small-plane pilot. Both gave detailed analysis and were a steady compliment to Somerville's on-air work. This was vintage KTVU work and to its credit, the Oakland station went a full nine hours on the air and stayed with the story. In fact, KTVU flipped the Giants-Dodgers FOX telecast to sister station, KICU, and remained with the on-going developments at SFO.

All in all, KTVU did a stellar job and provided the best and most comprehensive coverage. GRADE: A

*KPIX5: Shockingly enough, the CBS O and O had the worst coverage. Wait, what coverage? Initially, PIX stayed with the golf tournament on CBS for a good hour-plus before finally breaking into the net and going with the story at SFO, but there was total embarrassment here. PIX had NO anchor, not even a reporter on the scene. PIX relied on content and actuality from its sister radio station, KCBS! Are you kidding me? No, worse yet, when they finally got Allen Martin into the studio, Martin looked dazed and confused, entirely out of the loop. Worse yet, Martin deferred back to KCBS coverage because they simply were not ready to cover the story. I'm wondering if they'll be a meeting at 855 Battery and who's head could roll. GRADE: D-

*KRON: Early on, very unimpressive work with a female anchor who looked totally out of place. I don't know her name and frankly, after watching her fumble and bumble, I had no interest. Of course, KRON may have felt the same: They didn't bother to put her name up and I'm not so sure that wasn't so bad after all. GRADE: D

*KNTV: Raj Mathai provided solid, if not spectacular, work and managed to snag a passenger eye-witness account of the crash. Overall, KNTV provided the necessary news with lots of overhead shots from the scene of the crash and a ton of phone interviews with aircraft experts who gave early analysis of what might have caused the crash. GRADE: B

KGO-TV: Dan Ashley did a good job describing the scene and providing a very respected, decidedly toned-down approach. Not too great was his partner, the out-of-place Cheryl Jennings who sounded as if she was describing a Royal wedding from time to time. Bizarre. GRADE: B-

RADIO:

KCBS: Great job from the all-news king of radio in SF. KCBS was front and center with capable anchorwoman, Janice Wright at the microphone, and given the enormity of the story, News Director, Ed Cavagnaro. Reporters en mass filed detailed packages from the scene at SFO to the hospital at SF General. KCBS clearly knows how to cover a major story even if it happens to fall on a holiday weekend. Nice work. GRADE: B+

KGO Radio: Oh, how the once-mighty have fallen...First off, Tim Montemayor was on the air when the crash occurred. I didn't hear much of the "Monty" but was told he was so bad, KGO's meager news vets in the newsroom were fuming over The Monty's screeching solo act. "Nails on board" was how one KGO staffer described his reporting. Beyond that, Montemayor also reportedly spoke about the "possibility of two planes" even though there was no word  early on about that possible element. Simply inexcusable but not really surprising anymore from the news wannabees. GRADE: F


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KGO-TV's Solid Carolyn Tyler on Sunday Morning

I like Carolyn Tyler. She delivers a quality, interesting, straight-forward Sunday-morning newscast on the local TV news deli.

I've always wondered why Tyler hasn't been moved to the weekday primetime schedule on KGO-TV's, (ABC7) news blocks. She's versatile, she's a veteran and she's been in the Bay Area for multiple decades and has several industry awards on her resume.


A few months ago I asked Tyler herself about whether she was happy with her current status and she told me that she was. Again, many a times I thought Tyler would be a solid news anchor at night. It's OK, Sunday morning works just fine and is a nice local newscast for sure.

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