Talking and Conversing about the KTVU/Asiana Affair on KSCO/KOMY Radio Today; How Do You Feel?

Many of you--in and out of the business, have shared your expressions about this affair. That this continues to be a hotbed topic is fairly evident; (among other things like: what is PC, what is not; newsroom protocol, KTVU tainted brand, etc), I invite all you to state your opinion, talk, converse, whatever. You get the idea.

Today on my radio show at KSCO/KOMY: Click my page on the website and click the streaming audio sight. A podcast will be up and running later in the day.

The phone number to talk: 831-477-1340.

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*NOTE: I will also talk about the latest developments.

KRON is suddenly very watchable; Jersey Boys on KSCO/KOMY; Friday Media

I enjoy KRON lately. You read right.

Why? Because I had an epiphany. I believe KRON has made a lot of strides of late and they deserve some recognition.

KRON is doing what it can do best: become a sort of local newsy operation devoid of gimmicks and unnecessary chit-chat. Is it perfect? No, of course not, not even close, but what it does do well, and that is to present the news in almost an avalanche of time, it has done so and should get its props.

Over the years I have kicked KRON, (as have others--viewers too), but they seem to have taken on a missive of knowing what they are, what they aren't, and are growing leaps and bounds with a new look, meaner and leaner graphics, and a healthy dose of good, cogent reporting and relatively solid, if not spectacular anchors.

Pam Moore continues to provide very capable anchoring; Catherine Heenan is like a rock--a classy rock of news Gibraltar who is the station's EverReady battery. Mark Danon has earned his stripes in the morning and deserves props for his steady and no-nonsense delivery. And while i have derided Darya Folsom numerous times for her, sometimes, over-the-top, gushy, gee-whiz, disposition, she too seems to have improved and provides a welcome dose of morning content.

KRON still has issues but like everyone else in this ever-changing TV news media landscape, is doing its best under the circumstances. I'd like to see less infomercials but I understand the dictum. I like Stanley Robert's "People behaving Badly" and even though I'm uber-critical, at times, of Mr. Radnich on radio, there's no denying he can still churn out a healthy five or so minutes a night doing his sports report and other duties.

Even weather reports have become surprisingly solid and worthy of paying attention to. Jacqueline Bennett is quite adept of giving viewers accurate forecasts without drawing attention to herself, but forgive me, it's always pleasant to watch Ms. Bennett. (OK, so I'm human, sue me.)

All in all, KRON has become a go-to venue for all the latest breaking news in the Bay Area. It isn't the old KRON by any stretch but then again it's not 1999 anymore either. And so long as Vicki Liviakis continues to read the news and grace the airwaves, I'll continue to watch KRON. Some individual loyalty is un-yielding.

*Follow me on Twitter and listen to me Monday-Friday, 1-4 PM on KSCO/KOMY. Today's special guest at 1 PM: The Jersey Boys!


*Tips/E-Mail: Rich.Lieberman@Gmail.com

The Santa Cruz Police Tragedy; A Personal Story

It was your normal Tuesday afternoon.

I was finishing up my interview and began talking about various subjects on my KSCO/KOMY radio show, based in Santa Cruz and the Central Coast.

My producer and the station's news and traffic anchor, Dave Michaels, was busy manning the computer inside the studio. He was silent.

I asked if something was going on. Dave indicated that, yes, there was some "police activity" and "shooting taking place" in Santa Cruz. He didn't sound particularly worried and I had thought nothing of it other than it sounded unusual because Santa Cruz isn't known as a violent town--more a beach resort, although in recent months there'd been a noticeable increase in crime, including a murder, numerous assaults, and most recently a woman/student being attacked at UC Santa Cruz.

All that said, I thought nothing of Dave's report and immediately after I signed off at 4 PM, I met a friend for coffee and returned home hours later and had seen that 2 Santa Cruz Police officers had been gunned down and a suspect shot and killed in an incident only hours earlier I had heard about when concluding my show.

Needless to say I was shocked. Numb really. It brought back memories of the Oakland Police tragedy almost four years ago when 4 OPD officers, (one of whom I had known well and a good friend, John Hege), were all shot and killed in multiple ambushes.

After learning of the Santa Cruz incident I immediately went to Facebook and posted a "Condolences to SCPD." Minutes later a few people began writing gun-control spiels --pro and con--I was irritated and angry. The bodies of the victims had not even been taken away from the scene and already a few clueless wonders already began spewing political rants. Unbelievable. But nothing surprises me anymore.

I have said lately that the idea of talking about gun-control on radio is the equivalent of talking about abortion--worthless, because both sides are dug in and the mere idea of trying to have a reasonable dialogue with civil discourse is a waste of time. It is simply impossible. Common sense has been pushed aside to the act of a lot of screaming and yelling. The "2nd Amendment" and "law-abiding citizens" are the new code words.

One of the Facebook posters--a frequent commenter on this site--took me to task because she indicated that I'd bring up the police tragedy to my Santa Cruz listeners. Well, yeah, I might bring it up. Ignoring it would be kind of insensitive and professionally absurd. That's hardly getting involved in the gun debate because both sides don't know how to have a civil debate. How uncivil, how senseless.

Just like what took place in Santa Cruz on Tuesday afternoon.

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