NBC Bay Area Anchor Janelle Wang on Medical Leave

 NBC Bay Area anchor, Janelle Wang, has been off the air for several weeks and people have been asking me if there's something up.


Wang is on medical leave and due to be back on the station later in the month.


I was told she's OK and that her condition was nothing serious. "She'll be back soon--she's a trouper", said a broadcast source familiar with the situation.


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SouthBay NBC Bay Area Dynamic Duo: Raj Mathai and Janelle Wang Anchors Away; Wednesday PM Finale

 Lead anchor, Raj Mathai and fellow NBC Bay Area anchor, Janelle Wang.


On the mark, get set, go:


They read well. They have a crisp look and have begun developing a tangible asset: on-air chemistry.
Sure, it's rather superficial, isn't that a TV News constant? It is, but here's the difference: they both like each other and appear actually pretty happy.


That's not such a given in today's atmosphere.


Give 'em credit.


And they should extend Mathai because he's a hot property down there whether you like it or not--he reads good, #1, and #2, it's not his fault he has GQ looks for which he gets a lot of flack.


And Janelle? Rapid-fire improvement in every sense of the word.


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Tuesday Looker: NBC Bay Area's Janelle Wang Covering The Olympics In Sochi

   An eternal gold medalist, Janelle Wang, NBC Bay Area, covering the Olympics in Sochi.

NBC Bay Area's Janelle Wang On Her Way To Sochi To Cover Olympics; KGO-TV Still Mum on Heather Ishimaru; Classy; Tuesday Fast Starter

Janelle Wang/NBC Bay Area

 Janelle Wang is excited about going to Sochi, Russia to cover the Olympics for KNTV and has absolutely no trepidation given the terror alarms affecting the games.


NBC's Winter express begins Feb. 7th.


I asked Wang whether she had any jitters. "No trepidation at all. Just excited to cover it and our NorCal athletes. Security will be extremely tight. "


Normally, a two-week vaunted franchise like the Olympics would be a valuable entity to build up both local and national programming. But this Olympics, (set to begin February 7), has been littered with endless potential terrorism stories.


Combine that with a lack of American athlete star power and the dank surroundings of a relatively obscure and remote city in Southern Russia and you could have the least-watched games ever.


*Speaking of KNTV, they've added a new face to replace Marla Tellez; Peggy Bunker has been installed as the new 11 AM anchor and will also fill in on various news blocks as a general assignment reporter. Bunger comes to NBC Bay Area from Seattle's ABC affiliate, KOMO.


*To show you what the local TV News ND's and  assignment editors priorities were Sunday night post-game, just note the fact at least a pair of news choppers hovered over both the Mission district and Marina; downtown too. Wonder why.


*No class dept: KGO-TV has not said a word about its fallen reporter, Heather Ishimaru. Not a word. How about an acknowledgement? How about just showing some common human decency by telling its viewers about Ms. Ishimaru's condition. But of course that would require common sense which apparently is a foreign concept at 900 Front. Yeah, I know about the legal implications but this has nothing to do with lawyers and everything to do with class. That's a bad scene over there.


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On the Radio Show Today: Jim Brown and NBC Bay Area's Janelle Wang

Today on the radio:

1-1: 30 PM PT: NBC Bay Area Anchor, Janelle Wang

3-3: 30PM: NFL Hall-of-Famer: Jim Brown

Listen live here




 

Janelle Wang



Jim Brown

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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