This is what KRON has going for itself now: an 8 PM newscast and "more news than any other local news station." Those last words are from KRON itself and they're right. Too bad the station is mired in less-than-mediocre status otherwise more people would watch it and the current albatross state would be erased but that isn't the case. Whenever I mention KRON to people in and out of the business they shake their heads and giggle.
Just the other day I was talking to a veteran KGO cameraman about the union situation at KTVU (another topic for another day) and he couldn't believe what's going on at KRON.
Not that he knows directly just what he's heard. And like everyone else he's heard a lot.
I can't imagine what it's like to run KRON now. An apparently powerless GM who is supposed to be in way over her head and can't or won't do the necessary chores to make KRON relevant. Maybe she needs to go to corporate but Media General doesn't seem too interested in what's going on in the Bay Area.
In the newsroom, Aaron Pero continues to somehow stay on as News Director. It's come to the point where people openly think Pero must have something of importance in his possession to keep his gig. I've tried to reach out to Pero and let him speak here on the record as to his management ways but he's been forever mum. Pero either is OK with the knowledge of his rep and doesn't give a rat's ass or is completely tone deaf about the major disconnect between him and most of the staff. That's a good way to run a news operation.
So, what's the future at KRON? In its current state, nothing. The station will continue to carry on and do so as some of its very own air talent belittle the operation as its currently constituted. No wonder the guy who drives the famed black Bentley refers to his gig as "my Buster Brown bit." I'm sure that does wonders for morale. Whatever.
My gut tells me that something is brewing. Someone with a smidgen of influence (which is nothing to ride home at KRON) will step forward (finally) and complain loud enough that something/someone needs to go. I can't be specific (yet) because I believe this whole process is in its initial evolution. The problem now, and this is indicative of the vibe that's been in place far too long at KRON, is that nobody seems to care. Almost everyone is resigned to KRON's status as the laughingstock of Bay Area TV and that's a shame. Because even in its schlock mode, if run with a basic, reliable dose of ,leadership, KRON could be a viable news source. And a Bay Area viewers who have a thirst for "more local news than any other TV station" would be well served.
Just not now. Which makes it fairly obvious: KRON will continue to suck for the foreseeable future.
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