KRON hires new Weather minion; (NOTa Blond); Nick Kosir, "Rapping Weatherman"

KRON has hired a new weather predictor who is not blond; but an Internet rapper "sensation", Nick Kosir, scheduled to begin performing in a few weeks. (Wonder if he gets a $500 signing bonus?--yeah, I know, cheap shot, but its KRON)

Kosir, a former Akron, Ohio, meteorologist/DJ, gained Internet fame on Youtube as the "Rapping Weatherman." The bit is mildly amusing until you realize that after about a week of this shtick, one can reasonably assume the novelty will wear off and KRON will be KRON again. (Wonder how Radnich will react to this?)

Kosir replaces the lovely Evelyn Taft, currently looking for high-pressure systems in LA and trying to become the next weather version of Megyn Kelley.

**Follow me on Twitter

Heather Holmes being nudged in favor of Maureen Naylor at KTVU; Tuesday dish

Heather Holmes, a weekend anchor/reporter at KTVU, is mere months away from the end of a contract and supposedly being nudged out the Oakland Fox affiliate, according to one of my broadcast sources.

I'm being told that Maureen Naylor is management's top choice to replace Holmes on the weekend.

Both are capable news readers but it was thought all along by local industry observers, (perhaps Holmes too,) that station top brass has been more than happy with Holmes work. She's been at Channel 2 for almost five years and has won multiple Emmys, but Naylor apparently is the top pick over Holmes.

Another factor: Naylor is cheaper and has also bagged an Emmy, (Holmes contract is in the $200K range.)

Nothing is concrete yet, but look for the change soon.

Photos: Top: Heather Holmes
Bottom: Maureen Naylor, courtesy KTVU









**Follow me on Twitter

Sunday PM chatter; KTVU wins August; KGO's Pat Thurston; (Screw the Emmys)

**KTVU dominated August, which really isn't news around here anymore. They own 10 PM pretty much--get back to me when that changes.

Meanwhile, one of Channel 2's "star" anchorwomen isn't apparently as wanted as she thinks and according to one of my insiders, may be on the block. I'll talk more about that Monday.

**A breath of fresh air on the weekend AM radio overnight--KGO's thought-provoking and increasingly listenable Pat Thurston. Politics, culture, the Middle East debate; she has a nice touch and can mix and match--one helluva interviewer too.

**I hate the suddenly over-used such and such is "so yesterday", but excuse me, The Emmys are so yesterday. Who watches that crap? The same people who watch American Idol and Survivor; OK, so maybe a few other otherwise folks of moderate taste.

Fact of the matter is, save for two or three shows, network TV is over and done with; does garbage come to mind? and outside of Mad Men and a few cable shows, there is no reason to waste any time with the Emmys--hell, just give me HBO, Bill Maher, Stewart and Colbert and I'll be fine--don't need to see nor care about the insecure, higher-than-a-kite Hollywood wannabees.

See ya Monday.

**Follow me on Twitter

KPIX Post Mortem and a few other things about 415 Media

I never take glee in writing about the people in this business who get shelved and humiliated. "Layoffs", "retirements", "buyouts"--sure, some are legit, but in most cases, they are mere bodies deemed unworthy and told to get lost by usually incoherent and incompetent mgmt. suits, backed by multi-million dollar media companies.

You're fired!, essentially.

I had the Kessler story right from the beginning, but couldn't prove it--a little too much inside baseball to go into, but the bottom line was that I was flustered--both by the fact that I was professionally humiliated, and yet, here I was, writing about a person's livelihood going by the wayside, holy crap!

I've learned a few things--

1.Don't assume you're getting the truth by the other guys. Some of them will LIE to protect their interests and when it involves big markets, all the more so ever.

2. I mentioned that KPIX is having financial problems, (and they are,) but they still rake in millions of dollars and is infinitely profitable. Still, a hellbent bottom-line mentality that permeates the entire business climate is no different at large TV stations.

3. People that I deal with on a semi-regular basis, professionally speaking, who are quick to e-mail and ridicule and lecture, then mysteriously hide later on when the truth comes out.

--I take this job seriously.

They're were a lot of calls and e-mails "congratulating" me on the "scoop." At the risk of sounding a bit self-serving, I didn't do a symbolic high-five. This IS, after all, a story about a guy being shown the door, (and probably, his partner too.)

The professional accolades, the pick-ups by other trades and Internet sites, of course, sure, a sort of semi-"vindication", but the truth is no one, even me, takes solice in being ultimately correct about an individual(s) losing his gig.

The fact of the matter is that I really try hard to get it right. There are countless gazillions of other sites like mine who just throw a pile of crap on the wall and hope it sticks. They survive on rumor, innuendo, accusation and 90% of their -hit is bullbleep to the core. Some of them on the celebrity end make millions of dollars doing so, (Perez Hilton.)

When's the last phucking time you ever saw a blogger run a correction or clarification? It was me, in case you didn't know, and in the end, I was RIGHT. I was hung out to dry and vilified and pilfered; you'd think I'd get an apology.

ABOUT THIS SITE-

On another matter, I really appreciate the feedback--both positive and negative, from a lot of you in the business. It is refreshing and quite frankly, a bit humbling, to hear and read your e-mails of support and compliments. Even the naysayers who hate me to the teeth and wish for both my personal and professional demise, hell, keep it coming because at least I know you're reading this, and ultimately that's what counts the most.

This is a site that wants to write about Bay Area media; news, sports, culture, a little business, but mostly media, with a good dose of opinion and commentary. As I have said numerous times, this is not a forum of gossip and innuendo. Sure, if I get a tip and it sounds good, I'll check around and might report it, but I'll preface it with "its something I heard". Even then, it has to have some legs.

As I previously noted, took a lot of hits over the past few weeks--OK, it goes with the territory, but I strive to be as accurate as possible. There are those out there, some of whom sit near me when I venture out to the Press Box who don't like me--again, I don't care. I'd rather be loathed and despised, BUT, respected.

My loyal readers know that I will not kiss anyone's ass, kowtow to the ego-maniacs and their holier-than-thou persona; they'd rather tow the line and I will never, ever, run that route. Not my game. Never has been--never will.

Oh sure, I'm always on the phone or e-mailing such-and-such to ask, maybe plea at times to "get me on the show so I can say something", of course, but NOT at your expense.

You read this for a reason and I will always try to give you something that is worthy of your time. It's not always going to be a home run but I never claimed to be Babe Ruth. Maybe a .270 hitter who has a good on-base percentage and shows up to work on time.

I hear you out there. So do advertisers, who are returning calls for a change. Ultimately, that will dictate the future of this tiny little engine that still has a few cylinders working. As long as they bite, then I will keep fishin'.

About you readers, and I mean this, so sit down and stop for a minute: THANK YOU for your support. I read all your e-mails, even the bad ones. And to the bad guys, look, you want to be critical, fine, I can deal with it--get personal and you lose me, pretty simple. Nevertheless, feedback is vital and I'm always cool with hearing from the believers, even the nitwits too.

OK, time to chill.

**Follow me on Twitter

CBS5 deceased

Jeffrey Schaub sent me a list of the prime talent that have left or were removed from KPIX these past two years--


Manny Ramos

Tony Russomanno

Bill Schechner

John Lobertini

Rick Quan

Barbara Rodgers

Jeffrey Schaub

Hank Plante

Anna Werner

Lisa Chan

Sue Quan

Ana Duckworth

John Kessler

Sydnie Kohara?

Wendy Tokuda as anchor

Exclusive: John Kessler leaving KPIX; 'It's been a great ride'; Kohara likely gone too

John Kessler, the popular morning news anchor at CBS5/KPIX, is leaving the SF CBS 'o and o' when his contract expires in mid-October.

Kessler all but confirmed this to me in an e-mail and phone conversation:

"I'm not in their plans. I'm very disappointed I was not able to deliver the audience they expected from me. For those that did tune in, Thank you. It's been a great ride."

The status of Sydnie Kohara, who co-anchors with Kessler, is not known, but its doubtful she'd return, according to a knowledgeable broadcast source.

Kessler has been at Channel 5 since 2002. In 2004 he won an Emmy for his reporting from Baghdad.

Earlier this month, I reported that both Kessler and Kohara were being let go and was vilified by station personnel. In fact, a KPIX PR rep asked for a correction and I reluctantly obliged.

Like many local TV news stations both here and nationally, KPIX is battling through severe financial problems and has seen many of its prime on-air talent either take offered buyouts and early retirements. In addition, the newsroom budget has been drastically reduced amid the current dire economic climate.

Attempts to reach KPIX news director, Dan Rosenheim, for comment, were unsuccessful.

**Follow me on Twitter












**ADVERTISE ON RICH LIEBERMAN 415 MEDIA: Rich.Lieberman@Gmail.com

**TIPS ARE WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED (All confidentiality assured)
        

 

**RICH LIEBERMAN 415 MEDIA EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday media chatter, (yeah, I know, its HOT again)

**Another hot day; great, just another reason to devote more time and segments for insipid "It's hot outside" pieces.

And 'yous all wonder why there's dwindling viewers and people are going to the Internet for news.

**The latest KRON blondie weather chickita has built up enough inner mtg. "support" that already the rank and file staffers are getting pissed, at least that's what they're telling me.

**Nice of SFGate to run an initial AP wire story of the death of Dave McElhatton. Like, what, they couldn't get anyone with a by-line to write a quick 300 words on a Bay Area TV icon? Eventually, staff writer Peter Hartlaub penned a nice obit on McElhatton.

**I know I keep repeating this, so excuse me: KGO Radio news in the morning is officially useless, unless you get a woody listening to tabloid crap, endless gigglers and TMZ kaka.

**FP Santangelo is subbing for Gary Radnich on KNBR. FP, like what you say, dude, really, but is it mandatory that every time you go on the air, there has to be some inane shtick? Stick with the basics and stay away from the sidekicks.

**Who the hell is Brian Murphy? (You think you're important, but you're really not.)

**On a personal note, you know, seriously, if I really wanted to blow serious smoke, I could do so, but I'll save that for the nuclear-option card.

**Secret guilty pleasure dept: If I wanted 20 minutes on the weather outside, I'd beg to see Pete Giddings again. The former SF weather minion at KGO was so annoying, so relentlessly pompous, he actually became unintentionally funny. Giddings "letters from home", his frequent in-person ski shots, the endless "I'm shaving--photograph me." made for some hysterical TV years back.

**No one dare ask if John Madden's daily carpings on KCBS have jumped the shark. Look, far be it for me to question the king, but several of his raps of late are bordering on the "Huh?" dept.


**Local sports media: Why does Mike Singletary get a pass, yet Tom Cable is lampooned enough times to warrant a segment on "Ask Gary."

**THIS JUST IN: Marty Lurie is threatening to go 10 hours this weekend unless someone higher up dares to stop him. (Psst, Marty: After being a non-believer, I like the show--you DO have a knack to keep an audience.)

**That KPIX/CBS5 sports anchor used to be a nice guy until arrogance and pompousness overcame him. Look, count your lucky stars that you get paid to do a gig and quit pretending you're the second coming of Bryant Gumbel--you're not.


**ADVERTISE ON RICH LIEBERMAN 415 MEDIA: (Rich.Lieberman@Gmail.com)

YES, its HOT outside, as SF media will tell you Tonight

Our heat wave in action: 101 in SF; well over the century mark in the inland valleys, and yes, even the coast is boiling.

Predictable "TOP" story on all the channels: "It's hot in the Bay Area!", Duh! Gees, I thought I'd put on an extra sweater, Madge.

OK, watch for these exciting events:

1. The proverbial live shots from the ever-lovely, demo-friendly Walnut Creek fountain where schmuck "reporters" ask little white kid, middle-age white woman, (preferably BMW-look,) so, "how you coping with this heat?" Answer: "Uh, we'll, you know, its really 'hot outside--blah, blah, blah..."

2. Livermore roofers...Reporter: "How's it goin' up there--are you hot?" Roofer: "Uh, we'll, yep, sure is hot up here, but gotta pay the bills!." (Wouldn't it be great if one sage soul were to tell that moron to go eff him/herself?)

3. Yuppies in the Marina/Castro eating ice-cream. (The old standby)

--Radio is guilty too. KGO and KCBS mumblers, both AM and PM anchors went gaga over Mother Nature's annual heat parade, before the fog returns and they can kvetch about cold summers.

McElhatton would laugh at today's local news garbage; market meltdown

Dave McElhatton was no Cronkite, but he certainly was the major pulse in Bay Area TV news in the 70's, 80's and early 90's.

Someone asked me what he'd think of today's dreck-a-thon at the nation's #4 market. He'd be fried. He'd professionally puke. No wonder.

Sure, things have changed. The universal bleeding in newsrooms, (save for KTVU,) was nowhere to be seen during the prime of McElhatton's tenure. Internet presence hadn't become so pronounced. But the gist of real newsroom action was paramount and today it is lost amidst the no-names, the idiotic "news" personnel that make up a large part of the local operations today.

How pathetic this market has become. A market of doofus' leading the way who haven't a clue how to run a legitimate news operation. Scores of "talent" that are fortunate enough to work cheap, possess perfect parts of parts of their anatomy, and kowtow to the numbskull's that work in upper management whose "management" style and "technique" have systematically screwed up the entire business. To be blunt, yes they haven't a clue. They're worthless dolts that made their way through the Rubik's cube of organized schlock.

And I haven't even mentioned the word "consultant."

Mac's legacy, at the very least, is to look at the "then" and "now" of today's sordid and sorry state of local TV News. Sure, there are forces today that weren't around a decade or two ago that dramatically altered the business. But content and personnel? No sir.

Just take a look at the crap we have today. Save for Channel 2, (and most of their top guns are leaving and/or taking buyouts,) the vast majority of the local outlets are a monumental joke. And I'm being kind.

**Follow me on Twitter

Dave "Mac" McElhatton; a personal reflection

Dave “Mac” McElhatton was a rarity.

He made the transition from radio to TV almost flawlessly; became one of the biggest personalities in the SF market, all the while being universally respected and well-liked. The stories about him since his passing are all well-founded--he was a good man.

As a newshound growing up in the Bay Area during the 70's, I remember McElhatton briefly at KCBS; when he migrated over to TV and began his run at Channel 5, he became more well-known, (obviously) but the 'good-guy personality, admired by his peers and generally considered on of the best in his profession never left him.

Keep in mind that he excelled at a time when two heavyweight anchors, (Van Amburg and Dennis Richmond) were entrenched. Competition was heavy and the news business provided editorial girth. Of course there was no Internet in the mid-80's and early 90's, but "Mac" would have been able to handle it.

I met him briefly on various occasions and found him to be a real cool guy. Everything that people said was true. Just an real professional with a great personality.

He'll be missed.

Dave McElhatton

I have been without Internet connection all day. Just on.

Dave McElhatton was just a superb human being. Met him once and knew instantly that he was bereft of massive ego and a-hole-itis.

I will post something more pronounced when I have the chance.

Sir Dave, RIP.

Madden on KCBS Monday

Geez, I wonder what he's gonna talk about.

Chad Ochocinco digging in on Jay Mariotti domestic abuse arrest

Ah, the lovely world of modern-day communications.

Chad Ochocinco, concerned about Jay Mariotti's status.

Mariotti, ESPN talking head was arrested for alleged domestic abuse.

Taking a few days off...

Time to cleanse the mind and breathe in lots of ocean air.

Vince Young resigns; layoffs looming at KRON

Vince Young has resigned and is out as CEO of corporate that owns KRON and other stations.

**I have heard from a station source that layoffs are looming at the SF local independent at 1001 Van Ness. In fact, a few staffers have already been let go and more are expected soon.

As I get more info, I will post a more detailed account of what is happening.

**Developing story...

Another coup for KNBR's DBruce; scores NBC/HBO's Andrea Kramer

Another coup for KNBR's 1050 clean-up hitter, Damon Bruce.

Bruce scored a nifty, informative 20-minute phono with NBC Sports/HBO commentator, Andrea Kramer on Thursday.

The topics ranged from the increasing number of NFL player concussions, the 49ers, of course, and a bit on her uber-wonderful stare-down of Seattle Seahawks coach, Pete Carroll on "Real Sports."

In the meantime, on sister station 680 AM, Rudy and the angry LSU man were talking about college football amid the endless giggling.

Again? You betcha.

**Follow me on Twitter

Does KGO Radio really need FM to succeed?; Barbara Simpson on KSFO; FP on KNBR; Wednesday media dish

With all due respect to the good people at the SF Peninsula Press Club, I don't adding an FM outlet would automatically help KGO.

KGO needs to inject some good fundamental zip into its programming. The sameness is jarring and quite frankly, boring. There's a certain rigidity to what they put out and it hasn't been working for well over two years.

**Barbara Simpson, the ex-KTVU anchor turned ultra-conservative weekend talkie on KSFO has been substituting for morning vacationer, Brian Sussman.

I tried to listen to Simpson, whose grating monotone voice was like listening to a DMV clerk in Fresno tell me that I needed to fill out certain paperwork.

Not that I really wanted nor cared what Simpson says because ever since leaving TV, Simpson has gone off the political deep end, and I'm not the only one who feels that way.

**TV assignment editors, listen up. Must the same old, trite typical day-of-the-mill "interview", people -on-the-street in the Castro sound actuality re: Prop 8 be aired daily? Its not as if we already know that most gay people, one would assume, would be anti-Prop 8, sort of a given.

Maybe, and shocking enough, a visit through some of the other hoods to get a more varied opinion, or would that require thinking and, oh, I don't know, a bit of topical edge?

The viewers might enjoy some depth now and then.

**I'm really liking FP Santangelo more and more every day, particularly on KNBR, where he seems less loose and gives out some very insightful opinion nightly; I also like him on Com cast SportsNet, but he needs to relax and 86 the robot look. I wish he'd just think he's on radio and come out and say what's really on his mind.

A good take, by the way, which Santangelo thought was absurd: the idea that, perhaps, Tim Lincecum's dad, should be summoned to help out his kid.

Sounds like something originating from the Giants booster club.

**Follow me on Twitter, please, will ya?

'Demanding' dreck at SFGate? You betcha

Herb Caen would have loved this.

Damon Bruce and the 'Magic Bullet'; three hours of infomercial goof on KNBR 1050, (and it worked)

You don't ordinarily laugh uncontrollably for the better part of three hours listening to a sports-talk radio show on KNBR, but Damon Bruce' hilarious foreplay involving the max-riotous 'Magic Bullet' infomercial special caused just enough of a ruckus Tuesday.

Best of all, it worked.

We've all seen the famed British-themed pompous host extolling the worth of a the infamous cutter on late-night TV. (Personally I like the shamwow guy.)

Bruce spent the better part of his program playing audio bites from Mr. "Nachos anyone?" You'd first think something gimmicky like that wouldn't work and that after three or four "drops", the bit should die.

Think again.

It worked because if you give a listen, the authenticity of Bruce' laugh made it work. I myself have always laughed my tuchas off at these programs, not so much the hawking of the 29-cent 'chopper or the 29 ginzu knives that could be had for $8.99--no, it's the dooofus' that are selling the product, but like Bruce, me thinks the 'Magic bullet series is intentionally goobey-dooed. (What is 'goobey-dooed? Its a word I just made up that befits the guy with the fake Brit accent pimping the 'bullet.)

**Follow me on Twitter

A's may be tanking, but Townsend is on fire

I don't have any idea whether the A's have decided to quit the 2010 season--they're playing pretty cruddy, especially of late, Monday night, versus Toronto, they looked like as if  they had other things on their mind. (That'll happen when you lose six out of seven.)

That's the bad news.

The good news? The post-game A's talk with Chris Townsend on XTRA Sports 860.

Although the Athletics, (minus their pitching) look god-awful, there's an upside: bad baseball occasionally brings good radio.

Townsend has the luxury of doing the show from his home in San Jose. As sick as the A's were, so was Townsend, but that didn't prevent him from spewing. And spew he did.

"God, it's bad, " offered Towny. I'm paraphrasing. He was more terse; the callers were pretty good too, which in years past was tantamount to listening to a sector of the A's booster club. That's not a knock on A's fans, who, although, maybe few in numbers, are very passionate about their team.

Too bad the owners can't see and hear this, although the intensity of calls driven Towny's way, we hope, may find its way to Lew Wolff and company.

We can only hope.

KRON fire drill, (Now THIS is entertainment); Monday PM laugh

THIS is FUNNY.
Now only if they could pull this off at least once a week. It beats "Henry's Garden" any day of the week.

Who makes what in the Bay Area?

Two years ago, I compiled a list of the twenty highest-compensated media people in the Bay Area.

Ronn Owens, (KGO Radio) was tops at just over $1 million, with the recently retired Dennis Richmond, (KTVU) second, at about $850,000. There are several mid to major anchors hovering in the $300-400K range, (Mark Ibanez, Dana King, etc) and Ralph Barbieri and Gary Radnich are in that neighborhood too, ($200-$300K respectively)

I'm not placing Michael Savage, (XTRA 860) nor Rush Limbaugh, (KSFO) in the discussion because they appear on local stations, but are syndicated. (Limbaugh is king with earnings hovering around $50 million a year, including his broadcast, book, and speech earnings; Savage earns a paltry $7 million or thereabouts)

Keep in mind that local earnings are considerably down from the good old pre-Internet days. At one point, Van Amburg of KGO-TV was the highest TV earner in the Bay Area, (about $900K in the mid 80's)

Someday soon, we'll post another Top 20.

'What's wrong with Lincecum?'; KNBR, blogs, react to Giants' Sunday

The Giants lost Sunday. Lost a series too, to the San Diego Padres no less, who looked remarkably crisp and utterly efficient.

More importantly, Tim Lincecum looked lost and aloof, and made for interesting, compelling views of just what's wrong with him, all the way from the KNBR post-game shows; (both Marty Lurie and Mychael Urban,) to the net, (SF Gate and Henry Schulmans' account,) to most notably, Twitter, where suggestions ranged from nagging Lincecum's dad, Chris, to talk to the lad, to other more noteworthy suggestions that The Freak has a "dead arm."

From my two cents? I think he's tired. (Maybe he should cut the hair?--predictably, the weed issue officially surfaced)

Who knows.

This much is certain.

The Giants still command huge attention in the city, even on a day the 49ers played, albeit an exhibition. And while most of the sports fans here won't ever confuse anyone in, say, NY, Philly, Chicago, SF baseball, Giants style, has a huge following.

Now, about that Lincecum guy.

**Follow me on Twitter.

GLOOMY SUNDAY

Salt in the wound.

There comes a time when you have to reassess a few things.

Even me.

Have a nice weekend.

KNBR 1050's Damon Bruce is having a good day

Sure, he's not Pete Franklin...

but he does a pretty good sports show and the ratings on his KNBR 1050 program are showing a little girth.

Bruce:

"We launched the show, without much promotion or fan-fair ... so I knew it would take a while for fans to find me, and than actually make the effort to switch from 680 to 1050. I plan on giving those who've made the switch a reason to stay, and for those who don't know ... they soon will. I'm thrilled with grass roots buzz this show has surrounding it. My audience is extremely loyal ... and it grows by the segment. I'm honored."

So am I.




**Follow me on Twitter

Pat O'Brien gets gig on Fox Sports radio

For the 20 of you who didn't know already that the business is going to hell...

What, was Byron Allen unavailable?

July radio ratings

The full breakdown.

Ten Questions

1. Will KGO's morning news ever NOT have a TMZ/Yahoo gigglefest? Ever?

2. Will Darya Folsom eventually become KRON's defacto GM/VP/High Priestess?

3. Anyone seen Dan Ashley lately?

4. As terrific as both Jon Miller and Dave Flemming are, (and they are,) will either of them remember, (as the A's underrated Ken Korach does) that its good to GIVE THE SCORE more often than not? (take a listen)

5. How many times will Ronn Owens blemish an extraordinary career with his incessant need to have guests read the Sleeptrain spot?

6. Since he apparently has more money than God, why doesn't Steve Moskowitz just buy KRON?

7. With the economy still tanking and almost every outlet kvetching that we "really don't have any money", who survives the hemorrhaging?

8. How long do the dynamic duo "news directors" get to keep their gig before someone goes public?

9. How long do I keep going before I flip MY lid, decide to pack it in and watch a KRON weekend infomercial?

10. Does Amy G have pictures?

**Follow me on Twitter if you have no life or even if you do, follow me and we'll have triscuits at Tommy's Joynt.

'Kruk and Kuip; KCBS' Evans; Dito's Press box; KRONers $500 bonus; Wednesday media rundown

**I go back and forth on "Kruk and Kuip." (Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper)

There's times when they infuriate the hell out of me, but they also demonstrate a dynamic tandem and work quite well together; it's fairly evident on both their radio, (KNBR) and cable duties, (Comcast SportsNet Bay Area) broadcasting SF Giants games.

Pretty obvious that their "homer tendencies" are neutralized by the fact that both know their stuff very well; will at times take umbrage at Giants miscues if necessary, and are immensely popular with the local Giants fan base.

By the way, glad that Kuiper was back on the air Tuesday night after leaving Monday's telecast with a temporary illness.

**KCBS's overnight voice of reason: John Evans

Evans is a veteran Bay Area news broadcaster, having worked at KFRC, K-101, and his steady, at times, humorous and mellow delivery is always comforting to check out in the wee hours of the morning.

**XTRA's, "The Press Box with Ken Dito", enters its second month with a niche among the SF market's sports broadcasters, writers, columnists--while the program is still relatively off the radio radar, its industry-laden hour-long chock full of interviews, press-box chatter and schmoozfest is an interesting alternative to KNBR, although to be fair to knibber, Gary Radnich has his style and Dito likes to do his thing. The upside? More variety on the sports-radio airwaves and that's healthy for everyone.

**Speaking of KNBR, on sister-station KNBR 1050, Noon-4 PM host, Damon Bruce offered up a potential nightmare for NFL football fans.

Bruce opined the possibility of a players walkout right after the conclusion of the regular season, thereby threatening the league's playoffs and Super Bowl. As Bruce pointed out, the players would have maximum leverage at that date--one hopes both sides would try to get a deal by then, but I wouldn't count on it.

**As first reported here, KRON staffers got a $500 bonus check from Vince Young on Tuesday. PARTY!

**That tragic murder of the German woman tourist in the cities theatre district received big play on the local media scene. As one SFPD lieutenant put it tersely, "the woman was simply in the wrong place in the wrong time."




**Follow me on Twitter and Facebook

Kuiper leaves Giants broadcast

Giants/Comcast TV analyst, Duane Kuiper, left Monday night's game vs. the Cubs.

Kuiper appeared briefly just before the game doing the line-ups and left shortly thereafter; apparently he was sick and was relieved of his duties on TV by Dave Flemming.

Unusual? Yes. I can't remember this ever happening. Hope he's feeling better.

Bay Area's Mr. Baseball, Marty Lurie on everything; Monday pulse

Marty Lurie knows virtually everything and everyone in baseball.

He is KNBR's baseball minion on the weekend before and after every Giants game, and sometimes, if Lurie's in the mood, that duty could extend anywhere from a couple of hours to more than five. Call it "MartyBall"

You get the feeling Lurie loves talking baseball, but occasionally, he hits to the opposite field. On Sunday after the Giants ferklempta in Atlanta, a caller asked where one could find a good NY deli, (pretty tough in the Bay Area)

Lurie then went on passionately about a good place in Phoenix where he devoured a tongue sandwich, making both himself, me, and a few others extremely hungry--between pickles, I asked him a few questions about the Giants, A's, baseball in general...

So, Marty, how 'bout those Giants?
This season has been one of the best I've experienced in the Bay Area. Coming out of spring training no one had any idea Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres or Buster Posey would be leading the Giants to the top of the NL Wild Card race.

What about Tim Lincecum?
Tim Lincecum showed signs during spring training that he had lost velocity on his fastball. The surprise for me is Lincecum has turned into a crafty pitcher much sooner than I expected. He is still one of the top pitchers in the league, but not a slam dunk to win every time he takes the mound.

Those Padres.
The Padres are still the surprise team in the NL West. Bud Black is a terrific manager who uses his personnel perfectly. The Padres score just enough to win and have the best lock down 'pen in the NL.

Any surprises about the NL West?
Not a shock to me that the Rockies are struggling. Thought their 'pen would be an issue and it is. In addition I thought Brad Hawpe's and Todd Helton's fall off late last year was a sign of things to come and both have been offensive disappointments for Colorado. Didn't think Carlos Gonzalez would be an MVP candidate this quickly, but he has....
Surprise that Dodger's young guns Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, and James Loney haven't become effective leaders on the club. This team misses Manny Ramirez even in his post fertility drug condition. Any team that relies on Vicente Padilla as one of its aces will be sorry. Padilla has become the best pitcher in the LA rotation and that's not good news.

Sabean takes a lot of heat, but I think he's done ok. What about you?
If Brian Sabean will take a good look at his offense he will realize that age is catching up (injuries) with Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe. The Giants should be the favorite to win the NL West if the GM goes out and adds a couple of players who can contribute. Andres Torres and Pablo Sandoval don't hit from the right side (in fact Sandoval has been a major disappointment at the plate all season). Opposing managers can bring in a lefty to neutralize these two in the most critical part of the game and Bochy has no legitimate right- handed pinch hitter to combat that strategy.

Talk about the A's.
If the A's made some moves to help the offense they could be in the AL West race. The A's pitch and play defense. Injuries have forced the call up of Chris Carter and most likely Jeff Larish. Wouldn't it be ironic if the A's stayed in the race and drew some fans to the Coliseum. What would Lew Wolff tell Bud Selig if fans started coming back to the Coliseum despite all the efforts of ownership to turn the A's into late Montreal Expos.

Got a few thoughts about "MoneyBall"?
If you overlook the silly "Money Ball " movie there is good baseball being played in Oakland. Imagine this-- it's 2002 a team wins 20 games in a row (setting an AL record), the players jell as a team under a manager who wins more than 100 games for the second straight year (no small feat), and over 2 million fans cheer the ball club in "small town " Oakland and they make a movie about the team and the season and they hire megastar Brad Pitt to play the .....get this.....the general manager...Huh? The GM who never has publicly given anyone connected with the 2002 season any credit for the team's success other than patting himself on the back for signing Scott Hatteberg...someone (wonder who?) has one heckuva PR rep...and it's no one who did anything on the field where anyone who knows baseball realizes 90% of the credit should go...

How do you really feel Marty?

**Follow me on Twitter











**SUPPORT MY SPONSORS!!






ADVERTISE ON RICH LIEBERMAN 415 MEDIA: Rich.Lieberman@Gmail.com

Where does Gerry Nachman like to eat in SF? Sunday short

Renowned author, former Chronicle man-about-town, Gerald Nachman's favorite eats in the city by the bay:

"Of the famous places, it would be Sam's, easily, followed by Westlake Joe's. Sam's is the second old bistro in SF, unchanged in 80 years, with hooks for hats on the wall, crotchety old waiters in tuxes who don't tell you their name and little curtained booths for rendezvous. Of the neighborhood places in West Portal, it would be Cafe for All Seasons on W. Portal Ave. and the little Lakeside Cafe on Ocean Ave. All honest, unpretentious restaurants with no music, relaxed atmosphere and great edible food from menus you don't need Alice Waters to translate."

**Follow me on Twitter



        

KGO's Walcoff newstalk Saturday proves entertaining and informative

Rich Walcoff--KGO radio's veteran sports director, (he's been at 900 Front for 26 years) hosted a new newstalk show, (1-4 PM Saturday) and hit a home run in the non-toy dept. as he swiftly anchored three hours on topics ranging from Oakland news to an author dealing with one of the Watergate burglars.

Walcoff occasionally hosts the travel show on Saturday morning, but Saturday's "matinee voyage" was his first newstalk venture and he proved to be quite capable, informative, and most importantly, entertaining.

Most impressively was Walcoff's interviewing--its a wonder why he hasn't subbed for any of KGO's regulars, but maybe Saturday's three-hour program will get him more time on the KGO ledger.

**Follow me on Twitter.

Anchorless TV news in SF?

Could you envision an anchorless TV news station here in SF?

They're trying it out in Houston, albeit a station with low ratings.

Something to ponder on a gray Friday. Go ponder.

Chronicle to Guild: Nope

The Chronicle has “overwhelming rejected” most of the proposals put forth by the Media Workers Guild.

Here's the story from the Bay Area Observer.

The old Dan Rather line

"Get it first...but get it right, first." (Cronkite actually said it first)

Indeed.

KPIX clarification/correction

Quick clarification on the CBS5/KPIX post.

Ann Notarangelo is merely filling in on the morning show, while John Kessler and Sydnie Kohara are vacationing.

A person who is familiar with certain station personnel was incorrect, although in her Facebook account, Notarangelo insinuated that a "new format" was intact.

The information off Facebook was NOT the primary source of the inaccurate account.

Apologies to KPIX, Kessler and Kohara.
RL 415 Media regrets the error.

Update/Correction: Kohara/Kessler still at PIX; Notarangelo fills in AM show

UPDATE: A good source got it wrong.

Both John Kessler and Sydnie Kohara are on vacation, still at KPIX, although their roles have been changed. Ann Notarangelo anchors fills in the a different AM program.





UPDATE:  Kessler and Kohara are no longer at KPIX. From a former colleague:



                                                   ***************************

The "Early Edition" from 5-7 AM with John Kessler and Sydnie Kohara is no longer. Both of their bio's remain on the station's website, but they're definitely out in the morning. (Their roles have been altered, however)

In addition, a knowledgeable source who is familiar with the station speculated that "both are probably 'out." Pressed further, the source would not comment,only to say, "bad business right now--no doubt about it."

Ann Notarangelo is anchoring solo, (filling in) with a new set and format, and she alluded to it on her Facebook account.

This has been a rather turbulent week at KPIX as Emmy-winning, Investigative reporter, Anna Werner was let go in a financial move.

Repeated calls and e-mails to KPIX were not returned at press time.

Follow me on Twitter

This and That; Thursday dish

**I encourage letters from you if you have any questions regarding the biz in general and any specific info; I'm planning a new Q and A feature, so include a 'handle or name so I can publish--if you'd prefer to be Mr./Ms. X, fine.

**Is KGO radio AM news the new TMZ? Both "Ed and Jen" were plugging mightily the celebrity gossip/news site this morning, (and frequently other times of late) and sure enough, the latter half of the "news" is Ed and Jen chit-chatting about innocuous Hollywood minutiae, (Lohan, Jolie, Pitt, et al)

This is all fine and dandy and KGO has every right to go down this road, but when its so clearly aimed at getting an audience that KGO clearly doesn't have, then it becomes mere disingenuous shtick. Beyond that, it also dumbs down the existing audience base--here's a thought, why NOT chit-chat about LOCAL items-maybe that would work and stop some listeners switching a dial down to listen to, uh, NEWS.

**Can the syndicated biggie locally, (not Rush) survive the year? There's a growing feeling that he's uber-flat-lined and the upper suits are mulling.

TIPS: Any tip is welcome and if you care to be anonymous, your name will not be used. Memos, e-mails, fine--feel free to copy and paste.

**Follow me on Twitter

An August abyss at local station, (dang, again?)

August, a time for vacations and revving up for September and Fall programming, right?

Wrong, well maybe, maybe not, but the latter has some teeth.

I'm told a huge personnel takedown/shakedown at a "significant" outlet is coming, enough to make its star(s) shiver like a winter in Moscow.

Damn, I wish I could tell you, but you'll soon discover and once again I'll be right.

Prop 8 ruling gets big Bay media play; Wednesday short post

The Prop 8 ruling will get a huge response from Bay media outlets.

KGO and KCBS radio; KQED-FM too.

And of course, virtually all the TV outlets too will break into regularly-scheduled programming to react to the Fed judge' ruling.

The ruling is scheduled to be released between 1-3 PM PDT.

Anna Werner aftermath; Copeland/KGO-TV sustainability; Tuesday dish

Sure, Anna Werner's abrupt departure from PIX isn't earth-shattering, and isn't likely to shock the town, but the move, (and about 80% of it was money--surprise) only reinforces what almost everyone knows: the economic climate is still pretty lousy, forcing ownership to dump high-profile names and more local TV anchors saying to hell with it.

**Brian Copeland's new TV gig at KGO/ABC7 was met with significant surprise by local industry figures, given the scarcity of money in bottom-line budgets.

Read this take from an anonymous poster:

                                        "Copeland ought to hope unemployment remains high. How else to maintain an audience for a show designed to showcase a very minor media personality doing an exhausted format in a Death Valley time slot."

Add to that KGO's recently-axed "View from the Bay" program that debuted in 2006, but never was able to generate an audience, and lost considerable money. Indeed, the 3PM time slot is challenging at best, and lacks the A-25-54 demo that most advertisers covet.

My guess is that KGO wanted to try something new and giving Copeland a shot, albeit slim, at proving his wares is a risk worth taking. Worst case scenario if the show fails, there's always something, be it a judge show or synd. program, to replace it.

Copeland's debut is Sept. 13.

**One thing local TV ad coffers delight in: it's an election year and political ads are welcome particularly when the car dealers are still holding back, (car dealer ads are the biggest source of income for a lot of local TV sales dept.) Of particular note, Meg Whitman may be a lightweight, politically, but her pocketbook is a delight.

**Ran into Vicki Liviakis at Kokkari, (she never ages) and talked about the good old days of KFRC and the 80's and 90's. (Liviakis once toiled as news director at the venerable SF music radio station that Dr. Don Rose built)

**Mundane chit-chat level at KGO radio morning news at 'epic-proportions' level. News? Nada. More talk about American Idol, The Bachelor, Lindsay Lohan, Jennifer Jones-Lee's married life with 'Scott; just this morning, "Ed and Jen" spent an ENTIRE FIVE minutes chatting with a lady in-studio about The Batchelor.

They still don't get it.

Anna Werner out at KPIX/CBS5; Investigative Reporter, latest to leave 855 Battery

CBS5/KPIX-TV Investigative reporter, Anna Werner, is the latest to have been let go at the CBS outlet.

No official reason was given, but a reliable broadcast source tells me it was a "financial move."

News director, Dan Rosenheim, confirmed to me, via e-mail, that Werner was "no longer at the station."

Werner's departure is the second big-name talent to leave 'Pix; Hank Plante retired last March.

Werners' tenure at Channel 5 won her numerous NorCal Emmys; Werner and producer/photographer Gerard K. Watson tied for the most honored local individuals by taking home four statuettes in 2010.

**RL 415 Exclusive

What I'm trying to do and not do

This whole thing came by accident.

Having worked in this business when it was a lot healthier and (not so healthy,) I've experienced the highs and lows.

Believe me when I say that I know its very scary out there. Truly, I do.

But back to this.

I know that there's a lot of you out there that read this. Thank you. Even to the bad guys too. I would hope that you like to read about media in the SF Bay Area.

I never intended this small space to be a gossip shop. It isn't, or at least that's not the m.o. The truth is there is no m.o.

I try to post pertinent information and opinion on this site. I don't pretend nor in any way say that I'm a "journalist", but "blogger" gives the impression that I just throw out -hit and hope it sticks. I don't. If you have read my material, most of the time, I've gotton it right. A few times, I've screwed up, and for that, I'm sorry, nobody's perfect.

There are those of you who like my info and enjoy this daily run; others, and a few of you, I think I know, that can't stand me and that's fine, as long as it doesn't get personal, I can deal with that, it's part of the gig.

Unfortunately, much of what I cover and post gets personal because it involves people who work in the business. I try not to spew out real bad vitriol, really I go out of my way, but there are times where I do make fun of people, but without any sort of personal agenda, (re: the local independent station with certain weather guessers.)

Right now, I'm at a crossroads, because I don't know whether to continue posting; I've begun to get advertisers, and I'm told that a good many of 'yous read me, even those who'd like to kick my ass and make me watch Ellen re-runs.

I'll gauge the e-mails and try to read the room.

This isn't easy to do, the daily postings and reads and the money is itzy-bitzy, at best. I know there's many of you who like this and look forward to it and I appreciate your loyalty. Even the enemies too because you read, thanks.

Enjoy your day.