Things are not exactly rosy at KGO-TV.
My newsroom insider tells me that morale is lousy; lots of bickering among many staffers and News Director, Tracey Watkowski, and to top it off, the ratings on the 4 and 5 PM newscasts are lousy.
And we haven't even mentioned the hostile-work environment lawsuit in the offing. A process server served papers last week in the newsroom. It involves one of KGO's senior Executive Producers and although some say it has no merit, others are not so sure. The specifics of the suit aren't entirely known however it doesn't involve sexual harassment.
My insider, who is a veteran camper at 900 Front, says acrimony is especially evident between Watkowski and staffers. "She'll look at 100 things of which 97 are great and she'll complain about the three things that aren't," says the source.
Furthermore, the EP who is the target of the proposed lawsuit is not popular among the rank and file although the individual has been at the station for 14 years. If there's an ounce of merit to the suit, expect Disney, (which owns KGO-TV), to settle this; Image-conscious Disney does not like the prospect of depositions and the potential land mine of information that could get out that doesn't suit their interests.
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I know who your "insider" is and while I truly like him, and he's kind of (KIND OF) right on a couple of issues, things aren't that bad at 900 Front. Especially considering what's going on at PIX, KRON and KTVU (KNTV is irrelevant).
ReplyDeleteThe ND is a micro-manager and not the friendliest but her job is stressful. The 4pm and 5pm ratings aren't ideal but Katie is to blame for that. Brian Copeland was getting better numbers. Really.
People are just under a lot of pressure and there are minimal resources. Just like most places of employment these days. I think RL is making a mountain out of a molehill with this post.
Oh, and the EP getting served? Not a big deal AT ALL.
Brian Copeland and his show 7Live was getting better numbers than Katie's? On which planet? I've watched 7Live to help me doze off for my afternoon nap.
DeleteDavid K.
Uh, no, you DO NOT know my source unless you are the source and I don't think your the source...Btw, I have a lot of sources, but thanks for chiming in, Mr. Mountain.
ReplyDeleteOf course morale sucks at 900 Front. Your sources are right on! Direct Hit on your sources. Right on. The problem was and will be the current News Capo.... better known in her Philly days as "Trixie." She RULES BY FEAR, primarily because she's clueless on tipping the ratings needle, and blames anyone within firing range. The other EP's are scared s-less but hang on. KGO is still the best SF news operation, and pays more than the coal mines across the street. Most staffers are betting she's a short timer. Its a safe bet the U-Haul Van will swing by in January.
ReplyDelete"Trixie" won't be a short-timer. She plays the power politics game well. That's what gets you places in the biz--not ability. They kicked her sad ass to Fresno for a while (or was it Stockton) and the day after she left someone brought champagne to the front desk and we celebrated. But she got the reins of power again and she's back, and has probably watched lots of episodes of The Sopranos in the meantime and knows just what to do.
DeleteShe once told a writer there he could no longer be trusted write stories about Palestinians because he was Jewish and incapable of being objective. That alone should have gotten her banished from KGO forever. Sadly, it did not. No wonder Keeshan took a non-stop out of there so fast he didn't have time to pack more than one suitcase.
It was Fresno, not stockton, and you are right. I worked under her there. She rules by fear and is damn good at it too. She is also good at the game.
DeleteCan Not be as uncreative as Fox 40 Each Night at 10 we get the Latest Breaking News of the Latest shooting in Stockton.
ReplyDeleteRich, what TV or radio station around here has good morale? Do any of your "insiders" ever share that? Seems pretty easy to just say "morale is lousy at 'fill in the blank' station"
ReplyDeleteTell you one thing, if I was being confronted by a gun toting wack job, I assure you, I sure as hell wouldn't be on the phone with my 19-year-old friend who sounds like she flunked e-bonics. I'd have hung up and called 911 in a heartbeat. Dem der iz de fax, jak. What's happened to KSCO?
DeleteIf the 5/6 ratings are bad, who is doing well? I thought KNTV wasn't a player and KPIX's ratings are in the toilet. So are KTVUs for that matter.
ReplyDeleteSo wait a minute. If everyone's ratings suck... then no one is winning right? Which is it?
ReplyDeleteRich, I read your column every day, but rarely comment because I hate giving weight or credibility to someone who gets it wrong more often than not.
ReplyDeleteYou know next-to-nothing about the inner workings of ABC7. You're peaking around corners and through cracks. It's a whole lot of unfounded gossip, Rich. You have no facts and entertain comments from readers who are driven by their own insecurities.
Watkowski is under a great deal of pressure and handles it far better than anyone on that staff would if under the same circumstances. Most people cannot see past themselves.
I have been an abc7er for a very long time under multiple news directors. We will be fine.
Yes, KGO will succeed. It will probably always be the best operation because of the most talented staff in the City. Milt W, Ed K, and Kevin K were somewhat ok, Tracey is a power hungry mess, has no idea how to generate ratings or any good will at 900 Front. Part of ABC's success is a somewhat ruthless evaluation of middle mangers like Tracey....so ask yourself this. Can Tracey W ever be a General Manager??? Not a chance. Too much baggage. She's stuck and Eastbound to ruin some other operation by the end of the year. Its a lock.
Delete> You know next-to-nothing about the inner workings of ABC7.
Delete> You're peaking around corners and through cracks. It's a
> whole lot of unfounded gossip, Rich. You have no facts and
> entertain comments from readers who are driven by their
> own insecurities.
> Watkowski is under a great deal of pressure and handles it
> far better than anyone on that staff would if under the
> same circumstances.
Okay, lessee...first you say Rich doesn't know anything that's going on but provide no evidence for that.
Then you say TW is handling everything better than anyone on that staff could but provide no evidence of that. Do you know everyone on that staff?
Did you work there when TW was there and when she was ousted so that you can make a comparison? No? Well, I did, and everything that Rich and the people posting below him are saying is dead-on true.
So you accuse Rich of having it all wrong, give no evidence for that, then say you have it all right, and give no evidence for that.
Hope you're not a trial lawyer is all I can say. Oh, and if you're TW posting under "Anonymous," you suck. Hope Steve Herring eats you alive.
Y'all fighting over deck chairs on the Titanic. Broadcast Radio and TV are irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteBam! You're so right! Newspaper is the FUTURE!
DeleteSo sad that TW is even back, so sad that Brian and other leadership are so out of touch that they do not recognize the negative impact she has on both the people and the business of KGO. She is clearly unable to rally a team behind her, she is unable to understand the market in which she operates and thus the people and the product (the news) suffers and of course both decline. Of course she reads this blog and likely posts (which is as ineffective as her crazy emails and her crazy feedback and her regular power plays with the people that in other circumstances - would look up to her if they did not always have to look down). Of course Brian reads this but as evidenced by her continuing to show up to work and her continued lack of leadership and results - he also must have some pretty large blinders on. It is a fact that in every business that failure is not about the product or the service (both of which are easy to fix) - Failure is ALWAYS about allowing people or a person to destroy the business. So all this crap about being under pressure is just that - crap. It is created by them and can be solved by them (hmmm, again people are the problem and it stands to reason that they are also the solution). No one is curing cancer here, so when we hear about pressure from people that accept large paychecks to do a job so poorly and who also treat their people so poorly - is it no wonder things are not exceptional at KGO?
ReplyDelete