While not the #1 racket in town, but a winner, (barely) at 6 PM and with big time clearance and a bevy of strong, late night-lead in shows from its network mothership, CBS, why on earth is local KPIX in such dire straits?
You would figure a news organization and station that delivers millions of dollars of net profit would be in the proverbial happy zone. Not.
Maybe they have too much time on their hands to worry about what the bosses back in NY think; after all, its a lot of those corporate suits that have decided to shed some of the big names and salaries that have departed the building at 855 Battery.
Sure, the Kessler move may have been logical from a financial standpoint, (not huge numbers given the salary,) but neither has Mallicoat, (so far.)
And talk about creating a wedge between viewers and popular on-air personnel. And we're not just talking about "Save such-and-such" on Facebook either. After all, all you need is 50 or so louts to spawn a page on Facebook. Then again, the rancor between KPIX and its viewers has never, ever been so pronounced. There's a feeling of mistrust and betrayal. Loyalty has gone out the door.
Granted, Sydnie Kohara isn't going to get you perennial top numbers in the morning, but it does take a little time and patience to build up an audience. Especially when you bring in the new guy from Boston. Patience is not a virtue in local TV news, most notably at KPIX.
Much of the moves come from NY, but the news director and GM, (one of whom isn't particularly well-liked,) have had major influence over the dust-ups. And while its not enough to warrant any potential MGT. shake-up, fact of the matter is the rank and file aren't very happy and morale is dipping. You don't believe me? Take a look inside the newsroom, Mr. Rosenheim. Behind the cubicles and out near the coffee machines, whispers abound and people are pissed.
Fact: KPIX has 4--FOUR!...field reporters. OK, I may be off--maybe they have five, but for a 4th-market CBS 'O and O', that's ridiculous.
For a station that has such dedicated and top pros like Dana King and Ken Bastida, you would think the big boys would try to build on some momentum, but since when did logic ever take precedence over there at media gulch?
Never mind.
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