STOP THE PRESSES!
The SF Chronicle and its web site, SFGate gave Oakland, more importantly, Oakland restaurants, a chamber of commerce front page piece about the emergence of restaurants opening and flourishing in the Eastbay's biggest city. Other than referring to Broadway as "Broadway avenue" and Park blvd. as "Park avenue", the mega piece was spot on in its positive picture of a city that doesn't get much journalistic love from Bay Area media.
Sure, the Chron may have noticed what the East Bay Express published a few weeks back, (another glowing piece on the Oakland restaurant scene) but give the Chron credit; they finally acknowledged what every other foodie knows already: damn, that fried chicken sandwich at Bakesale Betty's is a killer and darn, is it true that Ozumo and Pican are rocking the world on Broadway?! Oakland has a pulse? Katy, bar the door! Next thing you know, Herb Caen will emerge from heaven and heave culinary praise on Chinatown and the mortadella sandwich at Genoa.
Fact is, Oakland has always been every local media's whipping boy, from, yes, the Chronicle, to, yes, Oakland-based KTVU. In fact, KTVU doesn't hide its rather anti-510 image. When doing live interviews with split-screen viewing, the station uses "KTVU" as the locale as opposed to "Oakland." And KTVU has a homicide fetish. They like to open almost every newscast with the latest Oakland murder, which indeed merits coverage, but at what point do the stories become almost repetitive?
Just the other night, Saturday, to be exact, KTVU news led with a homicide in Richmond. OK, technically, not Oakland, but balloon boy hoax was pretty much the top news story, (granted, el stupidmendo, but it was topic A) and KTVU leads off with a Richmond homicide. Tragic? Ofcourse, but worthy of lead-story category? No.
Keep in mind that I love KTVU news and have written as much in this space, and while I don't have the actual number of Oakland murder stories they report, I do know they seem to highlight a lot. Check out YouTube to see for yourself. Ditto the Chron and SF Gate.
This is not to suggest that the homicide rate in Oakland isn't major news, but I pretty much think we all get that every day in the papers. Sad to say, but at what point does it become mundane and repetitive?
One local columnist who used to write for the old Robert Maynard Trib, told me his morning routine included looking for the "Henry Lee 'homicide post in SFGate." Henry Lee is the Chron's/Gate's Eastbay correspondent. His byline frequently is seen on SFGate involving Oakland murders.
KTVU and the Chronicle are not alone. NBC Bay Area and CBS5 are also prone to Oakland bashing, but KTVU is tops for sure. Ever notice how many live shots take place in that lovely water fountain in Walnut Creek? Alot. KTVU and KPIX love Walnut Creek. Lots of very pretty people and ratings nirvana, particularly the coveted A25-54 demo which is much tastier than the fried-chicken sandwich at Bakesale Betty's.
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