The Official Disintegration of KTVU

I REMEMER KTVU when it had a soul. A pulse. A beat. An incredible part of the community.

Not any longer.

KTVU has become a benign, soulless, less-than-ordinary TV News station with very little direction and institutional incompetence; a once-proud news operation that has slithered beyond hope and inspiration. You can see it in the eyes of its staff; there's a very vivid malign of people who used to care and give a shit which is now been turned into a home for chaos and no sense of direction. And that's the good news.

KTVU has lost its grip. And I'm not even mentioning the Asiana debacle in 2013 or the equally pathetic and embarrassing Nia Wilson picture of 2018. Of course those stand out and they should. It's pretty difficult to have one clusterfuck --KTVU managed to have two in five years.

No, I'm talking about the people on the air and the people behind the scenes; the bulk of these folks are miserable. They don't like going to work. They frown when entering the premises wondering what's next on the horizon. KTVU is about to debut a new set (which is why you see a lot of anchors reporting from the newsroom) but a new set can't create spark and energy for a staff saddled with morale issues and intensification of action by "The Firm." The Firm is the industry code of present day FOX and its management of its owned and operated (O and O) TV stations. They are run by fear and intimidation. They loathe human interaction and abhor employees who aren't thrilled with working conditions that harbor deep resentment but dare not say anything negative or you're likely to be liquidated (figuratively speaking) to the outskirts of hell. I'm being extreme but I'm right.

Used to be KTVU (under its old corporate owner, Cox Media) was a gold-standard station with a heralded news reputation with solid anchors and reporters in the field that knew their territory and had tremendous vision. They were smart and solid and not only great at their gig but invigorating to watch and learn quite a bit. This was evident most solidly on "The 10' O'clock News", which used to be the most respected and admired, singular newscast in not only the Bay Area but around the nation.

Now the 10 PM news is a load of spam and lemon jello. It no longer has any relevance nor supreme being. It's just an ordinary newscast with insipid anchors and vanilla reporters with about a hundred thousand weather teases and anchors asking fake questions and looking and sounding the quislings they've become.

Frank Somerville is out front and passionate but Frank seems to be sort of driven by artificial emotion. It's not a knock on him it's just the facts. Take a look at him. He's sort of just plain out there. If his real passion were sincere and genuine he'd be more than just a guy in a great suit and look and ask real, legitimate questions and not the Ron Burgundy variety presently on screen.

Julie Haener used to be a dedicated, friendly, smart, news reader who seemed confident and relaxed. She's no longer warm and fuzzy on the air which would be OK if she weren't too a conniving, gossip monger who likes to stir up shit off the air. How do I know? Trust me, I do.

Bill Martin was once clever and original and made his weather reports interesting and informative. His ad-libbing was point perfect and forecasts usually on the spot. No longer. Martin seems to mumble now, quite a bit in fact. If this sounds harsh it is and I'm trying to be diplomatic but watching Martin now is the equivalent of a double root canal. If Martin were to emit one, tangible thought on the 300, 000 weather reports he does nightly on KTVU's news platforms, call me, I'd be enlightened because I haven't seen anything close. Bill seems lost in the fog.

I used to love Mark Ibanez on sports. The best writer in the market and a sports anchor that could make even non-sports fans interested in sports. But that great enthusiasm has been tempered with flat-out arrogance and self-importance. There's no passion anymore and less sincerity. What once was a genuinely interesting man who cared and was your best friend has turned into an insufferable lout with all the heart and soul of month-old rye bread.

Reporters come and go. The good ones, mostly, have either retired or just took off; there's hardly any veterans left. Tom Vacar is old and boring, uninspired too. Rob Roth used to be decisive and effective in his understated manner but seems to be just hanging on until they tell him to leave. Amber Lee is so much of a lightweight I can't imagine how she's lasted this long.

I'm not going to drone on about the morning on KTVU because you already know if you read me how much of a disaster its become. If you like superficiality and vanity disguised as news presentation then watch Channel 2 in the morning and gyrate to the human windbag known as Gasia Mikaelian and brute force banality named Dave Clark. Gravitate to a once charming Sal Castaneda who's ego and smarminess is self evident. Observe the warmth and creativity of Claudine Wong who last giggled in the latter years of the Clinton administration. Yeah, I'm generalizing but you get my drift. Oh, did I leave out my biggest fan, the ego maniac Broom Hilda with about as much inspiration as a rotten kumquat, Countess Pam Cook? I should know better.

KTVU will tell you they still rule the ratings. They do, in certain time slots including morning and late evening. Fine.

They won't tell you how many diminishing viewers they have. Nobody watches TV News anymore anyway except media bloggers and retired bridge players but so what, someone still has to make a living.

It would be nice if KTVU were to go back in time and produce a half-decent newscast with people that were excited and dedicated to their craft.

I won't hold my breath on that last one.

Neither should you.

The Lost Art of Simple TV Anchor Conversation: Remember That Age-Old Relic?

 A few weeks ago I was watching the local news--can't remember the station nor the particular story but it was compelling enough that the anchors did something unusual--at least unusual in 21st Century TV news--they actually spoke to one another. WAIT, I mean they went beyond innocuous insincere chit-chat--they conversed! It was telling because in today's news template an actual conversation is tantamount to a really revolutionary idea.

I'm making a big deal about this because when's the last time you saw a TV anchor offer up a few questions back to the reporter doing a live shot? And I'm not talking your garden-variety verbal who-what-where; more to the point concise, specific actual dialogue--remember that age-old relic? It's become a commodity, a rare glimpse of human interaction as opposed to the banal back-and-forth between anchor and reporter.

Matter of fact, when's the last time an anchor had a legitimate conversation between his or her partner on a subject matter? You don't see a lot of it--my feeling is that, A. the consultants don't like it and B. It's embarrassing but in today's younger, newbie environment the anchors simply don't know how to talk to one another and even if they tried it would come off looking foolish and contrived. Imagine that: you have a big news story or some off-the-radar material-- (like the kid with the replica AK-47 who was shot dead by the Santa Rosa cops who thought it was real). In my mind if I were a viewer watching a story like that, the idea of anchors simply discussing the sheer tragic nature of that story would bring out an utter human emotion. Keep in mind that I'm not talking about a long, drawn-out back and forth, merely a few moments of reflection; of actual verbal content and not a phony, "Thanks Bob for that report, giggle, giggle."

The late Pete Wilson, (KRON/KGO-TV), was a master at this formula. Wilson was engaging and focused on certain stories; matter of fact, at times he almost overdid it, but it wasn't phony nor disingenuous--Wilson was as passionate a news reader as there was and it was that element, that personal touch that resonated with viewers. Wilson would have eaten up the tragic Santa Rosa cop-kid tragedy. Most of today's anchors would have simply read the notes and moved on. Ad-libbing is a virtue today. Relevant conversation is a commodity. The times they are a changin'.

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KPIX and KTVU: Two Quick Friday Summations

Summations Friday--PIX and KTVU

KPIX

The station's newscasts have been better later; the story lines are crisp and the look is fresh. Allen Martin, whom I've been overly-critical of, has become a lot more watchable and provides a more relaxed approach. It shows on the screen. And while I have reservations about Liz Cook and her Mary Poppins approach, she too has vastly improved. She seems more relaxed too.
The tension and hostility with me and Rosenheim has zero to do with his work--it's all business. My issues with DR is that he builds walls between people that I like, (invariably, people there he doesn't care for), and uses that venom to create hostility. Dan, you know as well as I, that the manager issue was not my doing. It's all about the reporters and it's them that's doing the bitching. Have a staff meeting, Dano, and clear the air. Rally the troops. You got a great staff, for the most part, go take 'em to dinner. It would do wonders.

KTVU

My god, what the hell happened here? Oh, THAT thing. (Something having to do with an airline and its pilots).

The fact of the matter is that those of you who have read my posts, past and present, on KTVU know my history. In spite of a slew of personnel changes--both rank and file and management--I've long admired KTVU's stellar news operation. It has managed to survive and still is the envy of the local TN News scene. It had a monumental clusterfuck and it's just hoping that with time, it goes away.
My issues with KTVU are the same as others. They could have been proactive and moved forward with the Asiana affair. That requires a whole lot of work and leadership. Unfortunately, the guys that run Channel 2 have created an us-against-them environment. That's not how to run a TV station.
Months before the Asiana affair, a veteran on-air staffer met with Tom Raponi and requested he and I meet. Raponi refused. I myself requested a brief interview. No response. Nice start at building good will. Then again, outside of press releases, Raponi doesn't speak to anyone. He's the GM! Bizarre.
One last thing: Lee Rosenthal, 2's News Director, perhaps on orders from Raponi, also doesn't talk. Maybe he should. It might help the growing dissatisfaction inside the newsroom. He better hurry.

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Why I Have Written Extensively About The KTVU Mistake From Hell

I'm getting heat from some of you, (and presumably a few TV Execs and industry people), for writing extensively about the KTVU-Asiana Airline gaffe. A few have said I'm pouncing on the station and piling on. Let me address this head on.

From the very start, I praised KTVU's coverage. I think Frank Somerville was terrific on the air and I had him on my radio show the following Monday.

I try to be fair. Really, I do. I know mistakes are made every day; God knows I've made a few myself. It's called life. And I readily acknowledge that there's an awful lot of very good people at KTVU that are miserable over what has transpired since this very humiliating affair took place. Unfortunately, they are in the minority.

KTVU, in my opinion, has handled this whole mess in a less-than-admirable manner. It all starts at the top. Both GM, Tom Raponi, and News Director, Lee Rosenthal, are good guys and respected around the industry; there is no argument there. Frankly though, they've been terrible in handling the matter since. Limp apologies and trying diligently to erase the embarrassing video from the Internet is hardly the action of people in the top department to handle something like this. Granted, THIS is the mother of all gaffes; an indelible act of severe brain fart-itus that will forever be ingrained with KTVU's brand.

But KTVU had a chance to fix this; albeit with the notoriety attached to it because IT happened in the era of Twitter and Social Media, which of course scooped all of this up like chocolate syrup on vanilla ice cream. If anything, it's Social Media that pounced on KTVU. And given the act of seeing Tori Campbell read those names, who the hell WOULDN'T have? Not this day and age.

The simple truth is that KTVU owes more to ITS VIEWERS, ITS STAFF, to GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS. Reputations are on the line. Credibility too. KTVU used to be the NY Yankees of the TV News business. Its stellar reporting and vaunted newscasts were not only the Gold Standard for the Bay Area TV News community but indeed the nation. That, in and of itself, speaks to why so many people reacted with such utter amazement and befuddlement over the entire episode. That tainted residue still exists and it's not just me perpetuating it.

I have a lot of friends over at KTVU; reporters, anchors and the like and I know this is a most difficult time. THEY have to live with this mark on their professional career, and none of them had anything to do with this. Given that, it's even more unfortunate that their bosses have managed to make ALL of THIS worse. In fact, the whole matter has OVERSHADOWED the jet crash story itself; how bad is that?

I hope KTVU and Cox Media gets to the bottom of this. Better yet, I hope those at the top are more accountable and open. Hiding and cowering; placing gag orders on your staff; trying to remove videos from the Internet is not only bad policy, it simply doesn't work. Moreover, it makes KTVU look petty and bush league. And that's not good for Cox, for KTVU, and most importantly, its viewers.

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Howard Kurtz Meets the Press; CNN Washington Media Critic gets Grilled on Reliable Sources; Apologizes over Collins Screw-Up

Howard Kurtz, the media critic for CNN, and, until this week, the Daily Beast, has been in the news, not the kind of news that Kurtz probably wanted and most likely dreaded.

Kurtz screwed up royally on a story about Jason Collins. Collins, of course, is the NBA player who came out publicly in an article in Sports Illustrated that he was gay.

Kurtz wrote negatively about Collins in the DB indicating that Collins was once engaged and never mentioned it.

In fact, Collins did mention it.

Twice.

Sunday on "Reliable Sources", Kurtz apologized.

In addition, after his mea-culpa, Kurtz was scrutinized by two media reporters in the show's opening fifteen-minute segment. That's right--Kurtz himself went from interviewer to interviewee, in essence, being cross-examined for his latest series of journalistic foibles.

Sunday's show was fairly remarkable in its scope. A big-time, highly-paid media reporter looking and sounding utterly withdrawn. Indeed, Kurtz was placid and noticeably unnerved, (as he should have been). His demeanor was candid if not fully contrite. All the while saying he was sorry and essentially stating "I screwed up," he still offered fluffy excuses. ("We all make mistakes...In over two decades I've been right and my credibility is well-established.")

CNN has taken a PR hit lately over its error-plagued reporting on the Boston Marathon bombings and subsequent aftermath. Rightly so.

On the other hand, people and organizations; even vaunted journalistic cable news-gathering operations like CNN, make mistakes. For Kurtz, this is only his latest boo-boo. He's lucky to still have his TV gig. But he seemed genuinely sorry.

We'll give CNN credit for taking on the Kurtz issue with profound clarity on Sunday. Maybe this open mea-culpa could be a blueprint for future media shows down the road, for inevitably, there's sure to be many more mistakes.

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