Fear and Loathing Hits KTVU In The Morning; Mallicoat, Wong and Orozco At War; Insider Tells 415 Media: 'They All Hate Each Other'; Wong Tries Sex Appeal; Orozco is Orozco; Mallicoat Enraged; Thursday 415 Media Special

Left to Right: Rosemary Orozco, Frank Mallicoat and Claudine Wong

THEY MAY BE SMILING HERE BUT TRUTHFULLY THEY HATE EACH OTHER'S GUTS!! 

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words and the photo on the left is worth at least double that.

The KTVU AM juggernaut --"Mornings on Two" dominates, still, the Bay Area TV News morning shows-MO2 handily beats lame KPIX and brain -dead CBS This Morning; KGO is dead in the water and NBC Bay Area is bogged down by plunging "Today Show" flat lining. KRON tries mightily with its infusion of local news but continues to fake TV orgasms with shameless Darya Folsom and her cast of misfits. It's a sorry scene every morning because of Darya's stupid antics. Which leaves us with KTVU and inner symmetry --right? Great ratings do not make for stellar chemistry and love among the troops.

A KTVU Insider tells me the bulk of the morning crew can't stand each other. The three main players involve anchors Frank Mallicoat and Claudine Wong. On the outside but very much looking in, perennial "I'm bigger and better than just damn plain weather", Rosemary Orozco. Not again? Oh yes, there's history. And a lot of leg too.

The gist of what's going on inside the studios in Jack London Square where KTVU broadcasts:

* Mallicoat is enraged at Wong's behind-the-scenes showboating and flirtatious behavior with every guy in the newsroom and beyond. "She's using her sex appeal and sarcasm as a device to get a more prominent role in the news domain," said the Insider who watches the mayhem every day.

"Claudine wants the spotlight and is willing to do anything to get her way; she's set her sights on something bigger than the morning job and Frank (Mallicoat) is royally pissed off because of it."

Quietly, Mallicoat wants out of KTVU because he despises the "foxification" of the station. "But he loves the Bay Area too so it's a major dilemma."

The Insider tells me Mallicoat and Wong don't talk at all off the air and have built up quite a rivalry --so much so, one day Wong showed up at work with boxing gloves.! It was considered a joke; Mallicoat wasn't amused. Station brass were also not very happy.

For now, the gruesome twosome have let personal issues and hijinks aside and show no sign of conflict on the screen but that's all smoke and mirrors. "Complete bullshit!" offered another station spy, "They hate each other bigtime!; It's all a mirage."

Orozco is viewed as a peacemaker but can't be bothered by such petty behavior. As I've noted before, the tall weather diva is looking for a Hollywood position; literally! Orozco curries favor with KTVU/FOX upper brass in hopes to get a network gig down south, something both Wong and Mallicoat despise and Rosemary knows it. Which is the focus point as to why she loves working every shift but the morning one.

The fisticuffs in the morning have created tension and turmoil in the newsroom. A fear and loathing of the terrible trifecta is pervasive among staffers and HR especially. The Insider:

"Our coffee machine sucks; we might as well have bottles of vodka and gin. Sooner or later, you need a break!"

Ouch!

Sex, Lies and Videotape Create Rancor on KTVU's Prized '10 0'Clock News'; Anchors Distrust Each Other; Somerville at Center of Storm; Haener is 'Nosy'; Martin's Aloofness Growing; Ibanez Stays Away from Fray (For Now) Mysterious Texts Abound; 415 Media Exclusive

Frank Somerville and Julie Haener on set of "10 o'clock News"

KTVU's Vaunted Franchise, Its "10 O'clock News" is beset with anchors who don't trust one another; have contempt for one another; routinely question its partner's personal and in some cases, professional behavior; there's more. But despite all this rancor, the TEN O'CLOCK NEWS is still far and away the ratings winner in the Bay Area news wars and still garners industry admiration here and beyond.

That said, Fox-owned KTVU brass is "extremely worried" that the tension gripping its hallmark newscast could become an issue if those tensions worsen and become more pronounced.

415 Media knows the full, inside story; the story you won't get anywhere else but here and now:

*Frank Somerville, KTVU's veteran two-decade anchor is beset with personal problems galore; he's become aloof to the point where even his closest friends are worried about Frank's suddenly "erratic" behavior. Somerville is getting a divorce and has left his house and wife while dealing with that and an ongoing station matter which has rocked the newsroom and proved embarrassing for Somerville and his closest friends. Why the divorce? Only Somerville's wife knows but it isn't a very pretty picture across the board. It's also a lesson: no matter how much you insist your daily dalliances with a very attractive 30-something intern is strictly platonic, the perception is otherwise.

Somerville has a new flame. His wife has a high-priced divorce attorney. It could get ugly. It already has. Frank is moody and irritable. He's distanced himself from close confidants. He doesn't laugh much anymore and is "not the same Frank", a staffer tells me who knows him well.

Bill Martin (l) and friend, Janice Huff

*Julie Haener was always; still is; considered a quality news anchor and steady influence on the set but her growing influence has colleagues both weary of her personal chit-chat and royally pissed off that she spreads gossip and innuendo. While ON THE SET! Haener asked an anchor recently off-air was that individual talking to 415 Media. "No", said the person although Haener wouldn't stop badgering --only a break back to news from a commercial put an end to the actions of nosy Haener.

*415 Media has learned through a reliable station contact that weatherman, Bill Martin, is openly chastised by co-anchors off screen, why? Martin is now leaving the station habitually, mostly after the early-evening newscasts to head home to Lafayette to have dinner with family, hardly anything unusual but at the expense of his weather research needed for later shows? Yes, a problem.

*Veteran 40-year Sports anchor and Director, Mark Ibanez, gets static from the team because Ibanez tries to stay away from the fray. In fact, he's been teased by friends because he's largely immune from all the other's chaos, and make no mistake, it's chaos.

*A potential whammy: a series of potentially embarrassing and slightly salacious texts that were sent to the intern that were leaked out and viewed by 415 Media. The texts are mostly innocuous but they do contain, shall we say, "interesting forms of communication" that don't appear to be anything about TV News business. And now, mysteriously, they're gone. Maybe a self-inflicted wound? Guilty.

Haener nosy? 

While all this is taking place, newscasts somehow happen and it's business as usual at KTVU, for now. If you believe word on the street, or certainly through the 54-camera newsroom, watched by overruling and take-no-prisoner HR bosses, if there's a crack in the armor, then "all hell will break out." 

And we'll be watching.

#415 MEDIA EXCLUSIVE

KTVU Fox2 '10 o'Clock News' Early 2019 Playbook

I'LL SAY THIS: DO NOT TRUST THEM AS THEY USED TO SAY, "Trust us."

It's a BS word, trust. They should never be trusted in the first place.

Never.

They used to be the gold standard in Bay Area TV News. It's a different world, I know, but they no longer carry the sword. They are a lot of talk with very little swagger. They've been reduced to everyone else and they happen to be in first still in a marginalized business in a marginalized town, is KTVU News. They still have very, very good people--on the air, that is--and they do good things but they have severe case of egotitus and mass carelessness, to wit:

*Frank Somerville: so, you're getting a divorce. It happens. Don't freak out, Frank. You're human. The news is not unsettling at least in the public. It would have leaked out anyway and besides, it's no big deal anymore even if you think it is. The only issue now is to get on with your life and read the news and quit worrying about the repercussions. There are none. You're a mostly good guy, Frank. A few personal peccadillos doesn't define you.  Keep on keeping on, Count Somerville.

*Julie Haener: Jules, why have I always been suspicious about you? For a time I thought you were a hard worker and honest journalist. Was it working with Dennis Richmond all those years? Oh, don't get me wrong, Dennis was good and for a time, cool, but he obviously had an effect on you and it took its toll. So Julie, the outside sheen is simply an act. Deep down you're as occasionally mean as all the rest of us civilians. Don't take yourself so seriously and just carry on the task of reading the teleprompter. By the way, unlike Dennis, have you ever gone out in the field? Ever? 

*Bill Martin: I have a ton of respect for you, Bill. You may think I've taken cheap shots but Bill, you know I was spot on. You seem to have taken off some time of late. The weathercasts seem disjointed and broken. All in all, you still got it, Bill, but there's no crispness anymore and a few of your cohorts seem bored. They are not alone. You need to tighten it up and become a lot more fresh. It's not that difficult.

*Mark Ibanez: Wow, have times changed. Mark, you used to be a total breath of fresh air. You wrote the best three minutes of sports in the whole market. You were the STAR! The real deal. The punch, the spirit, the salute, the gravitas. Now Mark, it all comes out. Don't be phony Mark. You know what a phony is? A phony is a person who does/says one thing; does another; has an image as a good guy and all-around cool person. But then behind the scenes is 100 percent the opposite. Mark, you have 40 years in the company and you still are the man, it's just that your star has faded quite a bit in the end and I'm the only one who knows. Mark, it's 4th down and 10 from the 10 and you have one last play. Don't screw it up and by god, don't text in the play.

*415 Media

To Be Continued

KTVU's Bold Move: Adds 4 PM Newscast

Are you ready for another 4 PM Bay Area TV Newscast? KTVU thinks you are. The Fox-owned station will add an early afternoon show starting this summer called the KTVU FOX 2 News at 4 p.m

KTVU will compete with KGO-TV as the other station in the market with a 4 PM show. KGO's newscast at 4 is centered on more consumer news, light-fare stories and more like a prelude to the traditional newsy 5 and 6 PM newscasts. KTVU's 4 PM newscast figures to go that route with a similar strategy but the specifics aren't known yet.

The 4 PM hour has been known as the Death Valley of time slots so this is a bold move for KTVU. The anchors aren't known yet but we'll inquire from our eyes and ears in Jack London Square and see who are the possible players.

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{h/t TV Spy}

New Channel 2 Graphics; More Fox, Less KTVU But I Like It

 KTVU has begun to quietly rebrand itself with new Fox-infused graphics and look on its newscasts. The graphics have more "FOX" Id and a middle-screen, blue streak with the headline. It's not that dramatic a new look other than Fox2's new emphasis and less KTVU--"Channel 2."

I actually like it and think it's a cleaner appearance. If you like it you're in luck because you're going to be seeing more of it. If not, you might not be a happy camper.


Again, it's not something that would make me not want to watch Channel 2--the real early bona fide difference is actually on the screen where anchors are more noticeably in a chit-chat mode. That's the most significant new entity since Fox took control of KTVU in mid-October.

KTVU's 'Mother Of All Mysteries'; Why Did Elaine Corral Quit?; Channel 2 'Urban Legend' Stories Grow By The Day

 At the Jack London Square studios it's still regarded as the "mother of all mysteries." So much unknown intrigue that it's an ongoing urban legend.

This much is certain.

Suddenly and emphatically, inexplicably too one night, KTVU anchor, Elaine Corral quit on the air.

Without any rhyme or reason. Without any formal or non-formal notice to management, nor even her closest friends as to why. We heard to pursue an acting career but almost everyone agrees that didn't seem right --now or even today, Corral, or Corral-Kendall hasn't had a really steady movie career. Moreover, Corral was a 20-year-plus news anchor veteran --the timing couldn't have been fraught with more questions than this move and only added to the mystery.

 Even today, Corral has never spoken publically about the specifics of her resignation--after all, she was making a high, six-figure salary and was one of the Bay Area's most popular TV news anchor. Was it her business relationship working with co-anchor, Dennis Richmond. Were there issues that came up that might have led to her quitting so suddenly. Nobody knows. Not a single person--even those close to Corral who swear they have no idea other than what was offered.

A former KTVU staffer told me it caught everyone off-guard. "We have gatherings every once and awhile to shoot the shit and talk about the 'good old days' and this, (Corral's resignation), always comes up--Nobody really knows--It's KTVU's urban legend."

Several Bay Area media has attempted to get more information from Corral to no avail, even off the record which gave much more impetus to various stories circulating that Corral's decision involved something far more murkier. Corral signed a confidentiality agreement and was said to get a hefty amount of money from KTVU as a parting gift. That figure too is a mystery: some said over a half-million, some said significantly more. "A lot more", offered a KTVU veteran.

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415 Media Exclusive: Mark Ibanez To Stay At KTVU; Veteran Sports Anchor To Sign Extension Through 2018; 'I'm Elated'

Mark Ibanez will be staying at KTVU Sports

 IBANEZ TO STAY AT KTVU; VERBAL AGREEMENT IN PLACE; WILL SIGN CONTRACT THIS WEEK

Veteran weeknight KTVU sports anchor, Mark Ibanez, has reached a "verbal agreement" with the Fox O and O to remain on the station at least another three years.

Ibanez' current deal expires on April 1.

Reached by phone, Ibanez confirmed the deal: "I'm elated with the terms. Really happy to get this done. On cloud nine baby!"

Ibanez will formally sign the contract extension this week.

Ibanez had the luxury of another station expressing an interest in him --that station is KGO-TV, but it never reached a point where negotiations over a deal were close but KGO was interested enough to make Ibanez an offer.

Ibanez, who's been at KTVU since 1979, didn't want to talk about specifics on his salary but it's believed to be about $360K per year. Not bad considering today's new compensation model for even big market stations and a Fox one at that.

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It's Official: KTVU News Has Been 'Foxified'; Over-Talking, Yappy Anchors Make For Bad TV

 I didn't think it would turn out this way. Boy, was I wrong.

KTVU News has become Foxified. Certifiably.

The look, the feel, the style, you name it, the entire operation. It's a dramatic rebrand of a product that didn't need rebranding; maybe a tweak or two, but whatever is the case the new look and broadcast model is a complete mess.

First, the most glaring: anchors talking with one another. Nobody said it's against the law to speak on TV news. But KTVU's now-frequent uber-banter sounds out of place and forced. It doesn't sound right nor does it look authentic--it's just a cheap reincarnation of Happy Talk and it doesn't work as I noted not too long ago.

Moreover, KTVU's entry into chatter-fest has an artificial, non-genuine feel. You can't simply reinvent the wheel when your trademark, your style; the style that has garnered you national and local acclaim and the envy of the industry has become so noticeably altered. Just because Channel 2 anchors are talking now doesn't enhance the product. Far from it. Viewers are hip too--they see something that looks contrived-- they're going to get the remote.

This new model is probably coming from the new Fox management that took over in October. It didn't take long for the Foxies to begin augmenting their version of what TV news should look like only they, so far, have miscalculated the taste of Bay Area viewers. It's not just the new mucho-yapping, it's, for example, having  anchors have to do shill promos with the TMZ TV Show, which, not coincidently is on KTVU. It's not exactly tacky but it's also not indicative of KTVU's news acumen--again, it's a bad look. And it only figures to get worse which, if you're a Channel 2 viewer used to quality news programming, is a total bummer.

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