415 Media Exclusive: Nextstar Lowers The Boom On Two Veteran KRON Employees; Debra Chamber; Director of Finance For Almost 30 Years Gets Boot Plus Mailroom Clerk Who is Special Needs Individual

Today represents one of a future of depressing times at KRON-- its new bogeyman owner, Nexstar, showing its corporate kill with the dismissal of two, very different long-term employees whose last day is today, 415 Media has learned exclusively.

The first to get the heave-ho is the very high ranking and highly-compensated Debra Chambers.  Chambers is not a household name but she has been the one controlling the money for years at KRON as the Director of Finance and Administration.  She's been with the station for 27 years.  She was the one who crunched the numbers to see what a program needed to succeed and where to cut if needed. She was the power player.  She was also the HR lead and led union negotiations.  

The second is a sad reflection of the owners.  Scott Thorson is the mailroom clerk.  He's been with the station for over 20 years delivering the mail and getting supplies. The thing about Scott is that he is a special needs individual.  It has been said by Scott's parents that working at KRON changed him dramatically. Others stated it really altered his life. In a good way.  Having a daily job gave him a purpose and motivation. Says a friend: "Scott was the epitome of dependable-- always showing up right on time and wearing his KRON jacket proudly."

No more. 

On the face of it, these two employee casualties will not directly affect the daily goings-on at the perennial albatross KRON, but the ousters represent the course of future action by Nextstar which has already sent shivers up the spine of those folks mistakenly believing "all is OK." Nope.

These are not the last personnel moves --only the beginning.

*415 Media Exclusive

KGO-TV Paranoia and Denial-They Respond to Jennings/Christian Report and I Respond in Kind; 900 Front Dysfunction

 So, we now have KGO-TV responding to my report--finally.


This is the same news operation that hasn't even acknowledged one of its core anchors is leaving.


Of course when you have a mini-mutiny in the newsroom where no one has any trust nor like for the News Director you have grumpy denials with no one directly quoted.


You have this:


“This is the latest in a long string of inaccurate and venomous ramblings by a local individual on his personal website” KGO said in a statement sent to TVSpy. “His latest post regarding two beloved KGO employees is not true and further demonstrates that he and his so-called ‘sources’ have no actual knowledge of any of our business dealings.”


Was I wrong here?


Or here?


That's a 'long stream'.


And notice no one is directly quoted. KGO said in a statement Huh?


KGO is in a state of denial with a newsroom chock full of resentment and anger. No one has any faith in Tracey Watkowski and, by extension, her assistants. Of course nobody can talk but the general feeling is that Trixie is in way over her head and has zero people skills. "She's never been out there-- on the line--she's never been a reporter. All she is really is a bureaucrat," said one veteran staffer, who didn't want their name used for fear of retaliation. The staffer's words are shared by many. Any wonder why people are leaving KGO in droves lately? Just sit back and watch the abyss here, they're will be plenty of more skirmishes.




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KRON's 1001 Van Ness Building officially on the Market; Thursday Starter

 This building is in the heart of the Van Ness corridor ---1001 Van Ness to be exact, KRON's iconic if not architecturally splendid edifice is officially on the market.

There's over 107,000 square feet of history in that building, probably destined for luxurious condos, another hospital or medical building.

Price? More than a million turkey sandwiches across the street at Tommys Joynt.

(SocketSite)

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KTVU Would Like You To Know There's a Parade Saturday Night In The City In Case You Didn't Hear And It Involves Dragons

 In case you haven't heard, there's a parade in SF tonight.

KTVU has been plugging its Chinese New Year extravaganza --at least 7-8 times on Saturday's night's 5 PM newscast.

Wait, make that 10 times! And we're not even counting the extra live shots this morning on "MO2."

We don't denigrate Channel 2 for pubbing a significant cultural event for the Bay Area.

We wish, however, they were a bit more prudent placing a televised commercial venture of their own into actual news content. I know ethics long ago departed the local TV News handbook.

On the other hand, it could be worse.

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Could Fox Be Interested in KRON?

If this story has legs, and it looks as if it does, then think about this: could Fox be a player for KRON?

Seriously, KRON has a strong, dynamic signal. I know for a fact that NBC regretted, and to this day, still regrets dropping KRON as an affiliate. It was bad business then and it's bad business today.

Let the rumors begin.

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Saturday Looker: KPIX5 Reporter, Christin Ayers

Saturday Quickie

Christin Ayers of KPIX has been lauded by her reporting on the pre-strike BART story.

On Friday night's 11 PM PIX cast, Ayers was noticeably dogged in her pursuit of both sides of the dispute; both BART's negotiator and the union tonsil.

It wasn't play-for-camera simpleton minutiae--it was straight-on fiery questions that resembled old-school reporting from the 33 year-old correspondent. Nice work.

This is Ayers third year at PIX--here's hoping we see a lot more of this UC Berkeley and Oxford-educated pro who knows her stuff and is tenacious, tough, and yes, of course, easy on the eyes.

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The Darkest Day at KTVU? You Betcha; Heads Will Roll; The Mistake from Hell; A 21st Century TV 'BabaBooey'

Uh, you can't make this up.

A few things:

Heads will roll, not necessarily Tori Campbell, but someone in the newsroom, trust me.

Editors, I'm sure too. Producers, Assignment Desk guy? The GM? This is stunning.

Several people at KTVU might be updating their resume.

Oh, and some folks are no doubt getting shitfaced at every known Jack London Square tavern.

Wonder if the KTVU Marketing Dept will run any promos? (OK, too easy, sorry.) By the way, noted Howard Stern prankster, Captain Janks, was not involved with this caper.

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415 Media Source Report: Greif OUT as GM at KRON; UPDATE: Greif is Still GM at KRON

One of my moles just informed me that KRON GM, Brian Greif, has been fired. Nothing has been confirmed and it's only an unsubstantiated word.

I think I know the reason but I'm waiting to get confirmation and hear from Greif for comment.

UPDATE: Greif is still GM and there is NO official word he's been let go.

Keep it here.

*Developing...

*415 Media Exclusive

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Karnow KPIX Weather Guy is Designated #2 and that's too bad

Lawrence Karnow: as steady as they come.

Pretty solid, reliable and professional weather forecaster in the biz.

I've been a believer before, but maybe viewers want more hijinks's and theatrics.

Karnow, at worst, should be KPIX solid second, but he's been bounced all over the place. There's something wrong about that.

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Eddie Alexander Dies; Former Bay Area TV Sports Anchor; Known as "Fast Eddie"

Eddie Alexander, a former Bay Area and San Diego TV sports anchor has died.

Alexander, who was known as "Fast Eddie", worked at KRON from 1971-1974. He used the "Good Luck everybody!" as an outro to his sportscasts. He also had a stint at KTVU.

Alexander led a charmed life on and off the airwaves but had several legal issues confront him later in his life. He was charged with committing grand theft and defrauding investors of about $2 million in 1998. That was but one of many fraud and embezzlement cases he was accused of and convicted and served prison time

A Bay Area broadcast veteran said he was the ultimate character and con man: "The guy was a fast-talker--a real funny dude who'd charm the hell out of you, but you didn't know if he was scamming you or not. It's too bad because he was very talented."

A Memorial service celebrating Alexander's life will be held on Wednesday, February 27 at 11AM at Duggan's Serra Mortuary in Daly City.

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Grace Lee leaving KPIX; More Murky Times at 855 Battery; Update; Headed to 'Hawaii News Now'



Grace Lee/CBS5 photo

Grace Lee, a KPIX, (CBS5), general assignment and political reporter is leaving the station and has taken a position back in Hawaii at an undisclosed Honolulu station, according to a reliable station source. Friday is her last day at 855 Battery. (Here's Lee's new destination) .

When Lee was hired at CBS5, she believed she was promised an anchor job, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the nature of the story.  Lee co-anchored the morning show for a time and was then made the station's political reporter.

Although she has a master's degree in international affairs and is well-liked and respected by many, if not all, on the staff, management blocked her from anchoring because of what was claimed to be a decision by CBS O&O executives in New York. Some in the newsroom suspect the company was looking for a "minority" other than an Asian female.

BACK STORY

*It has been an altogether disappointing start for CBS5's new GM, Bruno Cohen, with prospects for improvement on an unrelenting slide downhill. Newsroom staff had been hoping for a purge of an undeniably bloated mid-management bureaucracy. Reporters, writers and producers dread coming to work, not knowing who they must answer to or why. Worse, they may tumble into the loopy gravity of one or two of the managers who have so little comprehension that any information the managers are given causes their eyes to cross and becomes scrambled or forgotten almost immediately. Cohen, however, doubled down in a recent meeting and essentially told staffers that poor ratings were their own fault. Only the most Pollyanna-ish among them still believe Cohen has a plan to fix the glaringly obvious waste of money on executive salaries and expensive, inoperative and incompatible equipment.


*Rich Lieberman 415 Media Exclusive

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