Oakland Gets Special Treatment When It's Rioting Time in Bay Area; SF Less Sexy; KTVU Worst Offender; Annie Anderson KRON Update; CSNBA's Wofford, Romanowski, and Neal are Blunt Raiders Readers; Monday Starter

 MONDAY STARTER

A reader here constantly asks me why is it that when violent protests take place in the city, those protests are given scant coverage, yet when same protests are in Oakland, the local stations always seem to highlight Oakland.

It's simple: Oakland is a convenient target --blue collar, (read Black); San Francisco is regal, high-tech, glamorous and beneath such activity, (read White).

Just this morning, KCBS' Susan Leigh Taylor asked Phil Matier,  "were you surprised the violent protests in Oakland crossed the bay over to SF?" As if the city weren't ever subject to the same mob scene like that in the Eastbay. How absurd.

KTVU is, hands down the worst in this department. KTVU typically leads with an anti-Oakland bias --not just Ferguson protests but murders too. Channel 2 consistently lead with the Oakland mayhem last week but was curiously low-key on the violence that took place in SF/Union Square Friday night. Maybe they don't want to piss off Macys or irritate the SF Chamber of Commerce. Those of you that watch Channel 2 know precisely the pattern. It's even more scathing when KTVU studios are in Jack London Square but you wouldn't know because KTVU never mentions that--they're too busy knocking the 510. But when it involves that Walnut Creek fountain, they're all over it.

*Sports took a back seat to real life and reality Sunday. Those players from the St. Louis Rams posed a "hands up--don't shoot" look before the game. CBS Television, to their credit, showed the entire episode and mentioned it again during the game.

Greg Papa, part of 95.7 FM, The Game's radio coverage, (they're the Raiders radio flagship here), never mentioned it, (I didn't hear it, maybe you did), even as protests took place mere miles from the stadium and extra police, the National Guard, and security lined the field.

*If Annie Andersen isn't a fake stage name I'm Ron Burgandy.

*KRON could embellish "People Behaving Badly" and have Stanley Roberts tail Annie Andersen incognito. (Hell, I'd watch).

*I predicted back in early November that a few good December storms would ease the drought a bit and everyone got all snippy --we'll, guess what--we have a storm door piled up in the Pacific and there was minor flooding in Marin on Sunday. So when you see those "Storm Watch" live shots, remember my words.

*Today is December --when holiday parties and the Christmas spirit permeate the local media...and when pink slips are given out. What classy operations.

*Nervous minds: KPIX, KGO-TV, KGO Radio especially.

*Post Raiders mayhem upside: The refreshing, candid, BLUNT conversation after the 52-0 debacle in St. Louis on CSNBA's Raiders Report. I've been overly critical of Henry Wofford but he, Bill Romanowski and Lorenzo Neal all were superb in their take-no-prisoners account of that dreadful exhibition. Romanowski didn't hide his disgust and called the Raiders "beyond embarrassing." Neal was just as emphatic and called out the players and said it was "time for major change." Wofford set the tone early by asking some uncomfortable questions that needed to be asked. It was nice to see this as opposed to some innocuous post-game nonsense that never seems to inject an ounce of reality.

*Annie Anderson of KRON wants to have dinner in bed with Peyton Manning; funny me, I was thinking she was a George Rask kind of guy.

*Liam Mayclem: My dream was to become a foodie chap.

*Narsai David: Screw you Mayclem, I got your foodie chap right here!

*Chef Ryan Scott: May a caramelized onion invade both your boxers!

*Foodie Wars.

*Rough week for Scott: he was preempted by Cal Football: word is he stuck an avocado in Oski's backside.

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Dish and Comcast Duke It Out Live, Local, and Beyond; It's Pouring Outside, Storm Desk Alert; Sunday 415 Media

 By now you know Dish Network and Comcast are feuding--it's about money. It always is.

And not just here, either.

The details on this dispute has become so public and hostile that one side has already began an on-air marketing campaign to get the public's ear.

Jim Nantz and Phil Simms have participated. As usual, the viewing audience gets lost in the shuffle. Never before has the interests of the consumers been so voided, I know, I know, I'm being naïve, it's all about the money and when it delves into the Benjamin category it loses all perspective.

I don't have Dish-- I'm a Comcast subscriber, but watching these two gargantuan companies duke it out is mildly amusing. Perhaps not if your a Dish subscriber, (and there's 20 million of those out there)--but ultimately it'll get settled when a billion here or there gets divied around.

*The weather outside is pretty gooey --time for "BREAKING NEWS" and "STORM WATCH" reports. Mill Valley, your blue jackets are about to invade the town. Get out the sand bags and load up the Starbucks.

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Remenda San Jose Exit: Too Honest; Sharks TV Color Analyst Ouster Still a Shocker Day After

 Drew Remenda took the high road in his reaction to the news on Tuesday that the Sharks fired him.

"They decided not to renew my contract," Remenda told the San Jose Mercury News. "It wasn't because of anything I did or anything wrong. It was explained to me they wanted to take the broadcast in a different direction. Honestly, we parted amicably."

I would beg to differ.


Because I'm not a hockey guy and because this is a mostly media blog I'm going to offer you an opinion as to why the mucho-popular Sharks TV color analyst was shown the door. This comes from someone close to the subject in question and who knows the franchise inside and out.


Too honest. Maybe too expensive too. But more of the former than the latter. Nevertheless, a "shocking development" said the individual who also indicated they were as surprised as anyone else.


Moreover, the person told me, the Remenda ouster might be something of an ominous sea change for the entire Sharks organization.


Which, in the big picture, might explain this matter.


Remenda had a sort of take-no-prisoners attitude when it came to his broadcasting style; he pulled no punches and told it like it is; good, bad or indifferent. He was fiercely loyal to the team and didn't mind showing his disgust at critics, like this volatile encounter.


Apparently the Sharks have cherry-picked an unlikely scapegoat for their latest playoff meltdown and that involves, curiously, Remenda. Not a face of the franchise, but a huge fan favorite off the ice who, ironically enough, after leaving the organization in 2006 to go back to his native Canada, was lured back a year later.


My gut says the Sharks weren't happy with Remenda's critical assessment after the LA Kings disaster. I also believe, and this is just a guess, they weren't entirely thrilled with his non-Sharks work with the NBC Sports cable network. Again, just a guess.


Even so, by showing him the door in a rather out-of-the-blue moment, the organization has enraged its passionate fan base. It's also very clearly taken a gigantic risk that the outrage will, with time, pass.


I don't think so.


Which only further reinforces the notion that as a TV analyst, Remenda was too honest. When the team played well, he was the first to offer a huzzah. And then some.


But when they went south, he was also not afraid to speak his mind. Not the Remenda way to sugarcoat. That, and his paycheck to a lesser extent, may have led to his firing.




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Exclusive: KGO-TV/ABC Might Make Pitch for Gary Radnich; KNBR/KRON Personality Courted; Beil's Hawaiian TV Adventure Contingency

  He is undoubtedly the most popular media personality in the Bay Area--TV and Radio--nobody comes close. Even his detractors would agree with that assessment and given today's stale environment locally, that's not necessarily a rocking assertion, nevertheless, in the #6 market, it's big enough.

Gary Radnich --the all-knowing, funny, not-so-funny occasionally, Don Ricklesesque , all aboard the USS KNBR and KRON for over three decades on TV and approaching a quarter century on sports-talk radio. He's not at the top of his game but he still has enough cachet through social, political and media people to live a very comfortable life and enjoy the luxuries befitting a top banana in a big market.

He's set in the radio end with a popular program on KNBR and a decent six-figure salary enjoying life from 9-Noon before spending time with family and doing the domestic things some of us are all acquainted with; in fact, he's got it pretty good, all in all even at the place, (KRON), he refers to, with a smidgen of great sarcasm, his buster-brown gig. The good news: Radnich can pretty much do what he wants to do, read his sports notes, do his thing and vacate the premises at his leisure, it's KRON you know, or as Radnich would say, get in and get out.

But he's clearly got radio at the top of the totem pole. TV is in his back saddle and just by watching his performance you know that, it's solidly indelible for better or worse. He signed his last big contract many moons ago when KRON was affiliated with NBC and Young/Media General-less. A move both NBC and KRON's owner at the time knew would be a big mistake; a move that would hurt both parties; most notably the network which has never really found its niche in San Francisco or San Jose. But that's another story.

Rumors continue to make the rounds that KGO-TV's top sports/news guy, Larry Beil is looking to go back to Hawaii. He loves it there. A KGO source told me recently that Beil would just as soon be "a big fish in a little pond" and that he covets both the weather and conditions of his Hawaiian roots.

If Beil was serious about going Hawaii 5-0, that would potentially free up a sports position at ABC O and O KGO. It's no secret that a station like KGO would love to shake up the market and make a splashy hire: oh, and who would be available if Beil departed? Yeah, you got it, The great Radu.

ABC and its O and O honchos would no doubt have to make the call here for a big-time hire along the lines of a Radnich switch. And of course there exists quite a few notable sidebars like, for example, money, availability, time, the usual suspects but this much is certain: the dynamics are already in play, provided Radnich is interested and Beil is longing for Honolulu TV News. The answer to both questions are sure, yes indeedy.

Beil has a contract but there's buyout provisions in it. Radnich is working on a special "at-will" arrangement at KRON receiving more than adequate compensation above scale. His monetary meat and potatoes exist at KNBR where he's hovering in and around the $400K salary range. He could receive the same, (or more, conceivably), at KGO, but a hire of that sort of significance would definitely shake up the scene and place Channel 7 and its news blocks at the top of the heap.

As mentioned, yes, there remains a plethora of things and details to be worked out and arranged. Would KGO allot extra time and deviate from their own news style template needed to accommodate Radnich's style? Probably not, more both sides would have to implement a hybrid system where Gary could do his thing and the Dan Ashleys and Carolyn Johnsons do their own. It sounds far-fetched but it really isn't. Given the high-stakes involving such a bold move both sides would have to adapt and make no mistake this would be a bold move.

But this much is certain. Such a move makes sense for both parties. Radnich is still in his prime and could use a change of scenery. ABC and its O and O division, (owned and operated stations), has the financial wherewithal to pull off such a tactical fire and there's no better opportunity than in the Bay Area market where Disney would love to once again conquer. Getting someone like Radnich would accomplish that missive and by the way, KGO's GM, Bill Berton, is a big fan of Radnich. What a coincidence.

Furthermore it's just a matter of time where Radnich is young enough to pull in his last big payday and opportunity and of course to do that he would need a seeker and some availability --KTVU is set with Mark Ibanez who recently was re-upped and is set; KPIX and Dennis O'Donnell are happy with one another , (O'Donnell is signed too), and KNTV is embedded with Comcast and its pickings, (both owned by the same mega-media company). Which brings us to KGO and the Mickey Mouse club.

How convenient.

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Comcast SportsNet Bay Area Part of Cable Conglomerate That Runs Bay Area TV Sports: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Let us today go about the business of elaborating on the function of one Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.


This is the one of the gazillions of Comcast affiliates around the country that has amassed a fortune in the brand of building around local sports teams and their ancillary, highly-lucrative revenue streams.


In short, a mini ESPN empire with a vast Pacific Ocean-size pool of empty pockets replete with cash and ready to spend.


There's nothing onerous here to report other than the fact that unlike ESPN-- which although has a built-in financial connection with many of its clients like the NFL and NBA, at least tries to perform basic journalistic pursuits even if it involves the integrity or denigrates the brand. We need only look at the excesses of various Athlete getting in trouble, obscure or non-obscure coach behaving badly, team owners outside of the NBA seemingly bent on hiring mostly white-male, non-African-American coaches. ESPN isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination but they're good at faking it. And truth be told they're so big and Disney-infected you could argue that they have a legitimate reason why truth-telling and hard-nosed investigative sports journalism is not their biggest virtue.


Comcast and its sports tentacles, on the other hand, don't pretend to want to rock the boat. Don't mess with the franchises that butter your bread and bring food home to cook and place big cars and trucks in your garage. That part of their sports template has always been in the rear-view mirror. This isn't exactly groundbreaking material but it's worth noting because that element of the operation is never so readily apparent here in the Bay Area.


CSNBA blankets the professional sports apparatus; its clients include the SF Giants, Oakland A's and San Jose Sharks. It has highlight show and packages with both the SF 49ers and Oakland Raiders. Because its corporate owner, Comcast, owns NBC, it is allowed to have multiple tie-ins and show highlight packages involving the NFL.  Conglomerate it is. And controversy is not a wanted element to their content.


With CSNBA, it's the programming, stupid! And that's just fine and dandy but you can't have it both ways. You can't profess to be utmost objective in the local sporting life, particularly when you own a sliver of the Giants as CSNBA does. You can't be serious in making the case for your highly-publicized "Insiders", who essentially act as public relations liaisons for their respective team and beat. Question: When's the last time any of CSNBA's insiders broke any story of relevance outside of some in-house, between the lines/chalkboard, trade minutiae? The answer is never. Again, nothing sinister there other than CSNBA would have you believe they look to lead the light and break new ground in their sports coverage. Bullshit.


When CSNBA debuted in April, 2009, they took the Bay Area sports scene by storm. They leased big studios in tony South-of-Market office buildings. Built a gigantic newsroom and threw a lot of dough for droves of HD's, computer banks, fiber-optic gear and of course, pricey talent. Greg Papa was their first big local hire and soon after they brought in other highly-paid anchors, reporters, writers, editors, even news directors and producers. Papa's salary alone was slightly north of the $250K range.


Beyond providing their bread and butter content--Giants/A's/Sharks/College Football/Basketball games, CSNBA didn't stop there. They built state-of-the-art studios to televise their version of SportsCenter, "Comcast SportsNet Central", a highlight-induced program with accent on the video and short on personality. That was their intent. They went further.


They developed and created a daily sports show: "Chronicle Live", now Yahoo Sports Talk Live: (Full Disclosure): I have guested on the show and make my own booking requests on behalf of my blog, 415 Media.


The problem with the show then and to this day is that its participants say little or offer nothing even remotely controversial. That's not an opinion, it's a fact. And there's ample evidence to indicate that anything slightly negative conveyed by a reporter, a radio guy, whoever, involving CSNBA's local sporting interests would be met with swift disapproval from, say, the Larry Baer company. Nothing overt, mind you, but just enough to make sure that it was in the best interest of CSNBA not to disrupt the positive PR flow, again, not to rock the boat--bad for business. I asked earlier, has any of the Insiders actually broke any significant stories--I now ask you when's the last time any Yahoo panelist said something, anything!, of substance that moved the needle? This is not meant to belittle, to humiliate, to begrudge, to be mean and petty, it is merely provided to suggest that CSNBA wants it both ways; it seeks to create something bold and invigorating yet it really is nothing more than beige visual wallpaper with a few loud talking-heads who say essentially nothing.


Proof positive was during the Damon Bruce moronic anti-women sports rant, frequent guest, Ann Killion, the sports writer from the Chronicle, curiously said nothing about the Bruce affair. (Other than a few innocuous tweets) Coincidentally, Killion, was also a frequent guest on Bruce's KNBR talk show. To its credit, CSNBA did shows on the Bruce brainfart but again, nothing of substance, nothing that gets picked up by other media affiliates appeared. Not surprising.


What CSNBA does, mainly, to be fair, it does well. Some of its analysts are fairly good and informed and offer interesting, if not enlightening, material. And to be fair, since most of these talking heads are ex-jocks, they have to be careful. For every Vida Blue there's Rich Aurilia, (yawn) and Shawn Estes, (double yawn); On football, Dennis Brown, an ex-49er is a delightful surprise. Bill Romanowski says quite a lot but some of it gets obliterated by his overly-verbal tenacity. (Figure it out).


CSNBA has no doubt, for the most part, become a welcome addition to the Bay Area Sports electronic/cable/Internet domain. It has top-tier production values; its telecasts are mostly first-rate with a great residue of professionalism and expertise procured by GM, Ted Griggs, a widely-respected broadcast head. We just wish they'd be a tad more apt in the real-world sports arena and provide at least a spoon-size spread of humility.




That's not asking too much, is it?


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