Friday PM Ender-Bender; Ashley Tribute to Johnson on KGO-TV; Kessler KGO Radio Anchor Escape to NY; KNBR's Radnich Punks Giants on 'Sellouts'; Must Be TGIF

 Friday PM Late Stuff:


*Dan Ashley will offer a few moments of tribute to Carolyn Johnson on tonight's KGO-TV News, probably 6 and 11.


*I'm told station management had a little powwow for CJ this afternoon in the newsroom.


*John Kessler, from KGO Radio, did a farewell on Friday and is off to an unknown NY location. I wonder what prompted it. I mean, it's not as if...wait a minute.


*Original Joe's counter on a Friday night at about 9--linguini and clams. A glass of cab. I'm sure it won't be crowded.


*Yeah, I like red wine with linguini without red sauce--yooooou gotta problem with that?


*Hey, Channel 2, that new reporter, Ms. Smith? Pretty sad when your own workers are sending me jokes. Must have been a Boy Wonder hire.


*When even Gary Radnich on KNBR is making fun of the Giants for announcing "sellouts" in spite of a whole bunch of empty seats at various games speaks volumes. Even "tickets sold" doesn't cut it here because someone high up in the food chain told me there's plenty of good seats available, like tonight, for example. Oh well, at the end of the day, it is what it is.


*Larry Baer just bitch-slapped the great Radu.


*Your 12,550th live shot from Southbound 280 --5, 6, 9, the 10 and 11. (We thank Cal Trans for its contribution to Bay Area TV)


*Have a safe Memorial Day Weekend. ("Happy" is sort of oxymoron, thanks), but be happy, pay your respects and be careful out there.


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Carolyn Johnson's Last Night at KGO-TV; Veteran Anchor Headed to LA's KNBC; Early Summer Debut; Friday Starter

 Tonight is Carolyn Johnson's last evening at KGO-TV before moving down south to become the new Noon and 6 PM news reader for KNBC in LA.


This marks a sad chapter in Bay Area TV News because clearly Johnson didn't want to leave the Bay Area but she also wasn't willing to restructure her contract and take a significant pay cut--something that was asked by cost-cutting Disney.


Johnson won't be the last to leave ABC/SF --others simply won't have their contracts renewed, it's as simple as that and all the more confusing and controversial when you consider Disney is raking in record profits.


Too bad the Mickey Mouse people have begun a chop-chop policy at some of their big O and O's, (Owned and Operated), stations and at the heart of their chopping is those who make the biggest money. And those who make too much money deemed unnecessary will be either bought out, asked to take a huge pay cut or simply non-tendered.


Johnson has family roots in the LA area so her career and family issues will not be adversely affected. In fact, she's making a lot more money and should help out a legendary LA station in dire need of a name and experienced newswoman like Johnson. Sometimes things happen for a reason.


Meanwhile at KGO, the search for Johnson's replacement appears to be in-house at this point with weekend anchor, Ama Daetz, according to insiders, as the leading candidate to replace Johnson. Nothing is set in stone yet but we should know soon.


This is a major loss for 900 Front. Johnson is not only a hard-working, smooth and engaging news anchor but her reporting on medical and science issues added a lot of substance to KGO's news products. In addition, Johnson and fellow primary anchor, Dan Ashley, were a winning team and developed solid years of being one of the best 1-2 teams in the market.


Expect a lot of surprises and emotion taking place on Channel 7's newscasts tonight.


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Carolyn Johnson KNBC Journey Begins in June

 Carolyn Johnson is headed down south to KNBC --where we had here, first.

Of course now the mainstream trades have joined in to report the transaction involving the longtime Bay Area KGO-TV news anchor. She will be missed at 900 Front. She's also being forced to worked the last days of her contract.


I reported that Johnson was not keen on accepting a 20% pay cut affecting the majority of air-talent at KGO. Once Johnson's dissatisfaction was known in broadcast circles she was immediately on the radar to help sagging KNBC, a once-legacy station in Southern California and in the need of a big-name talent like Johnson.


Make no mistake: Carolyn Johnson is a MAJOR loss for KGO-TV here. She leaves behind a nearly 20-year run at ABC-SF and all in the name of budgetary slashes by the O and O Disney division --KGO makes lots of money and is neck and neck with KPIX in the ratings in the early evening but this departure is a significant setback.


The Dan Ashley -Johnson duo is one of the best pairs in Bay Area TV News and a great source of cohesion for ABC's Bay Area presence. Of course they'll survive--they all eventually do, only this will hurt a whole lot more.


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Why Carolyn Johnson Left KGO-TV; All About The Money; Story Behind the Story

 KGO will spin the departure of longtime, respected anchor Carolyn Johnson as finding a new opportunity. Too bad it isn't true.

In fact, Johnson, who is leaving 900 Front to go to an unknown market left because of money, or in KGO's case, an across-the-board pay cutback that accelerated her decision weeks ago to pursue other outlets.

"KGO told all their talent they would need to take a cut in pay. So she, (Johnson, who's been at the station since 1998), walked on them and is taking another job with bigger pay out of the market", said a source familiar with the move.

Make no mistake--this is a major setback for KGO. Johnson, along with Dan Ashley, provided a star-power duo of local anchor status and her leaving is another blow in a news operation beset with morale issues.

Moreover, it's especially damaging to mercurial News Director, Tracey Watkowski who announced Johnson's decision to the newsroom on Friday. A gasp erupted after staffers heard the news.

This was not Carolyn seeking to look for new opportunities. She's a Stanford grad, loves the Bay Area and turned down many job offers in the past. Her business-like, no-nonsense delivery was so good she was almost robotic. Johnson and Ashley provided KGO with a dynamic that made for a compelling news team.

That's now out the door. And in this case, it was ALL about the money. The news that management is about to embark on pay cuts comes right before an important sweeps period. I'm sure that will fire up the troops.

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Carolyn Johnson Leaving KGO-TV News After 20+ Years

Leaving ABC7 --KGO-TV ...Carolyn Johnson...veteran anchor leaving SF ... mostly because of inter-office cutback memo...later news to come.








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KRON GM and ND Turmoil; KGO's Ashley and Johnson Top of the Heap; Saturday Media Notes

Quick Saturday Media Notes...

The recent dust-up over at KRON only reinforces the obvious: GM, Brian Greif and News Director, Aaron Pero, don't see eye-to-eye.

One thing's for sure: Pero and his open temper tantrums and yelling and screaming at some staffers may have taken its toll. Very few of the newsroom people like him and questioned his peculiar outbursts. One of those outbursts left one popular KRON personality coming outside his office in tears.

Greif has his own set of allies and enemies but he's at least lent some sanity and stability to a TV station that desperately needs it. KRON still has its issues; always will, given its plunge from NBC days and now semi-albatross status. But it has a vastly-improved news product and it routinely beats KTVU's newscasts in the early evening.

Expect Greif and Pero to patch things up, at least covertly; but let it be known that they don't like each other, that much is true.

*Best news anchor team in Bay Area, hands down: KGO-TV's Dan Ashley and Carolyn Johnson.

Ashley and Johnson, it's clear, have developed a superb chemistry and it's evident. Both have been at the ABC o and o for over two decades and trust one another. It shows. There is a bond there that allows for a smooth delivery by both, no-nonsense approach, and just enough off-story give-and-take that provides for a quality newscast.

KPIX Moves; Stan Bunger and John Madden; Matier and Willie Brown; Have you heard this before? 95.7 FM is in Trouble; KGO-TV's Carolyn Johnson is the First Guest on Lieberman Radio Show Monday; Friday Buzz

New KPIX GM, Bruno Cohen, hasn't made any significant moves since he took over at the local SF O and O, but if a few sources are correct, expect something down the pike. The password is "sports." And keep in mind that the corporate people in NY in charge of the money have been doing a lot of cutting to people who make too much money.

By the way, there are those who insist to me that the current news boss should keep his resume updated.

*KCBS' Stan Bunger: just when you think he's slipping a bit, you get a dose of Bunger at his best, like on Friday morning...lobbing some good openers for John Madden and making the most of Matier and Willie Brown interesting when time interferes. Speaking of which, when it's obvious that there's really little, if any traffic this week, (which is the case), do we always needs a traffic update every 10 minutes? More Madden, less traffic. Every now and then it makes sense.

*An industry wag with about 30+ years in the biz tells me 95.7 FM The Game is in trouble. We've been down this road before haven't we? The wag offers this: "Listen to their ads--mostly all are national spots. Very little local box retail." He went further: "The A's, (the all-sports flagship station carries them), have begun looking for another station after next year." Plus this: "when you can never get a '1-rating and you have a weak signal it's a problem."

*No, I'm not going to suddenly tame down the critique on this site just because I'm about to do a daily talk show. If you'll notice, naysayers, trolls, the guests have been A-rate, some of whom I've been more critical than others, (see: Dan Ashley and Ralph Barbieri). There's a reason why they do the show: Because, like it or not, I'm a damn good interviewer and my show has staying power and will only get better. That's not chest-bumping, just the facts. Deal with it.

*Speaking of the radio show, the first guest to lead us off on Monday is KGO-TV's Carolyn Johnson, straight up at 1 PM PT. If you can't listen live, podcasts will be up the next day.

*Dear KRON: A source close to veteran newsman, Tom Sinkovitz, tells me he would be willing to come back and work with Pam Moore and/or Catherine Heenan and Gary Radnich. And money probably wouldn't be an issue. Food for thought.

*Raj Mathai and Janelle Wang on KNTV, (NBC Bay Area): an acquired taste that is getting much better with time.

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