SUNDAY SUNDAES *THINK ABOUT IT: Three pretty good brands ever so tarnished for no apparent reason. KGO Radio tattered all for the sake of money by a bunch of guys that were born into money and managed to murder one of the greatest radio stations ever. Making matters worse the Atlanta bandits don't know a thing about radio. Checkmate.
*KTVU or Fox2: Early on I was complimentary of the new KTVU which was apprehended by Fox Network, not Fox News--there's a big difference. The network of Rupert Murdock would surely not mess with one of the most successful TV stations in the land, right? Wrong. Because consultants have to make a living and justify their worth, they begin eliminating jobs and injecting their own ideas into how to make the company better, only KTVU didn't need any major fixing. They'd been doing fine, thank you, with a successful, albeit jaded franchise called "The 10 O' Clock News" and a phenomenally successful "Mornings on 2"--huge money makers to boot. Only with Fox taking over last year, things suddenly changed and nowadays, are changing.
Fox2 has suddenly asked anchors to talk during news segments. Some of the talk is quite necessary, some, rather forced and contrived, like insincere. There are those TV journalists that can make it look good, sincere; they can even fake it. Others, like Gasia Mikaelian, who's fine at reading a teleprompter, but hasn't grasped the fine art of ad-libbing. Viewers know when something doesn't sound right and seems gimmicky and there seeing a lot of that on Fox2.
Legitimate Breaking News; a fire, an earthquake, some terrorist attack, requires anchors and reporters to talk on the air without the benefit of scripted copy and notes. It's simple reporting and articulating on the fly and it's especially needed when there's lack of information coming out and the thirst for news is evident. Somerville and Haener can perform the chore; Castaneda is pretty good; Ken Wayne is a credible newsman who's worked the field --therefore ad-libbing is much easier.
The insert of happy talk into KTVU isn't, to me, the most problematic issue. I'm more concerned with Fox going hellbent into using KTVU News as a platform for its TMZ shows and other tabloid fare. I wasn't so naïve as to not expect it but I've nevertheless been blown away by how shitty it looks. Beyond the tacky nature of diminishing 2's special brand, it makes the anchor(s) look particularly schlocky --how can that help the product? Then again, I know, it's Fox.
*KRON: I'll say this about KRON. In spite of incredible odds, they still churn out fairly efficient, if not overly splashy, news for over ten hours a day. That they do so under the most dire of circumstance is a testament to some of the people over there. The station of Pete Wilson and Evan White has migrated away from the spiral staircase of 1001 Van Ness over to 900 Front. The cameras are still much too close to the anchors face; the lighting is still way too bright; the awkward banter between the bloated sports guy who still parks his used Bentley in the handicapped zone is on-air mush and frankly, an embarrassment, but the train wreck is at least somewhat entertaining even if he isn't anymore.
*Greg Kelly, KTVU GM: It would be better to get the memo from your predecessor --the silence card doesn't work --viewers --your viewers!--read this blog. Ignoring them says "we don't care what you think." Big mistake. The last guy who practiced that strategy ended up in Boston with the Boy Wonder ND.
*If KRON wanted some immediate credibility it would cost them about $200G a year. It's called hiring Tom Sinkovitz as an anchor and/or reporter. Don't hold your breath.
*Mark Curtis would be great on KGO-TV as its political reporter especially as we near the 2016 Election but Mark has a problem: he's white, middle-aged, intelligent, politically astute, and therefore, not hirable.
*Those of you that complain about my asking for donations from readers, simply do this: take a hike. Seriously. I have a question: What do you do? How do you make a living? Nobody put a gun to your head and forced you to come here. Yeah, how dare I ask for donations to make a living. Get outa here! Go listen to Ryan Scott.
*Speaking of donations, if everyone reading this right now donated 10 bucks we'd be able to curtail the pledge breaks for six months. Checkmate.
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Seems to me that the only type radio personality that can draw a large long-term daily audience is a center-right (or perhaps center-right-right) strong-willed, very opinionated MALE figure who expresses himself with determination, certainty and bravado. Like a Lee Rogers R.I.P), Savage or Eason.
ReplyDeleteWomen can't cut it. Uber-Liberals can't cut it. Those without savior-fair can't cut it. Where do you find these people? The stars must align. Good luck finding that kind of talent!
....perhaps a woman who knows how to say and spell "savoir faire"?
DeleteYes Christine - but not you!
DeleteLeave it to Christine Craft to correct everyone on the most mundane & puerile of things. Nothing else better to do in lovely Sac? As Christine herself recently said, "I'm still waiting on my $3 royalty check from Cobra, goddamit!!"
DeleteExactly Menachem! Now Christine - name a nationally syndicated female radio talk show host of any real significance? Mon-Fri please (weekends don't count)!!!
DeleteTell the TRUTH Christine. Even women don't want to listen to women. They listen to Rush, Savage, Hannity - but guess what? No women! Why do you think that is?
PS. Thanks in advance for correcting any spelling errors you find in this post.
Christine Tard say what?
DeleteWhat is with you Christine? You take everything as an attack on women even when what was said is true. Women don't play in prime time talk radio! Can you cite an example of a woman who made it big coast-to-coast and prime time? No. So why is that?
DeleteYou know Christine - if I said "The sky is blue" you'd protest "Perhaps at times it's pink, you chauvinist"!
Get real Christine and admit that no woman has ever made a big national name in talk radio because they would not have an audience (perhaps some day one will come along - not you). I stand corrected if you can provide an example (current or historical).
The original comment was not meant as an attack on women - just an accurate observation. Sorry if you don't like the FACT that the sky is blue!
"savior fare"...Is that religious radio?
Delete4:25's faulty logic stumbles when he/ she alleges that no woman newstalk host has any significance. Let's stay locally. There has never been a weekday mon-fri woman talk host on a major local talk station in San Francisco. (Laura Schlessinger's schlocky psychobabble advice to the lovelorn doesn't count.) Therefore, the logic continues, I can't name one. That's true. In the search for "TRUTH", 4:25 asserts that women don't listen to women. That's factually correct because there are no women on the air to whom they can listen. I had an afternoon show on 50,000 watt KFBK when I was working my way through law school. The ratings went up a solid two points during my tenure, a good thing. My best demographic was always 40 year old men.
DeleteOne little thought here that's just too hard to resist,"Savior Fare", is that a new form of religious broadcasting?
Thank you, Christine, for proving my point. Far be it for you to give a substantial rebuttal to my FACTUAL observation.
DeleteReligious radio? Talk to your good friend Bernie about that!
Well, how about Laura Ingraham? Stephanie Miller (few markets that she has,) Dr. Joy Brown? The woman from Fox Noise?
DeleteNo Christine - women don't listen to women because they don't want to listen to female talk show hosts. If there was a demand it already would have been filled!
DeleteYour weak argument is a perfect example of "circulus in probando" - Circular Logic. It's a complex that many liberals suffer from.
On substantial "issues of the day" women prefer to listen to men. Could that be some sort of a "father complex"?
My one & ONLY choice for political reporter on any channel: Mr. John Rothmann! Say no more! For as Warren Harding once said, "I only get 3 channels on this thing?!? This is bullshit!!"
ReplyDeleteJohn Rothmann knows more about national and global politics than anybody, but being a political "reporter" and a political commentator are two different things. He is the creme de la creme of the latter category.
Delete" Others, like Gasia Mikaelian, who's fine at reading a teleprompter, but hasn't grasped the fine art of ad-libbing. "
ReplyDeleteShe had no problem on Friday morning, following the Supreme Court decision on marriage. There were a couple of times when she grabbed a thought, and ran with it, in some detail. She also asked some excellent on-the-mark questions of their many interviewees.
It occurred to me that she had easily acclimated to a "comfort zone," on the AM newscast.
(No ... I've never even met her.)
Totally agree with you about the KTVU tie-in with TMZ. Tells you what Fox values more. I just can't watch KTVU anymore with the happy talk and TMZ promos but apparently they're making money somehow without viewers.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you and Rich about the crap TMZ tie in, and yes, I choose to watch other programming (or nothing at all) instead of the KTVU newscasts more often these days and the TMZ type stuff is a major reason why.
Delete"apparently they're making money somehow without viewers."
ReplyDeleteThey have a history of reversing what appears to me to be your effect/cause: In the past they have grabbed viewers and then made money.
Menachem at 4:06. I'm surprised you didn't know that television anchors frequently do movies or television playing themselves. I had a blast doing a screen test for Sly Stallone and being well paid for the original work and subsequent looping sessions. It got me my SAG card. I also played myself, the local Santa Barbara anchor, on the NBC daytime drama, "Santa Barbara". Robin Wright was about 18, and played "Kelly Capwell" on that show. She was gloriously beautiful then, as now. I still get quarterly residiuals from my union and am always delighted to know that video rentals in Indonesia have provided me with a nice lunch. BTW, "puerile" comes from the Latin word for boy, "puer". I'm not a boy. A better choice of words would have been "juvenile".
ReplyDeleteI am home watching Heather Holmes tonight 10 p.m. Man is she hot!
ReplyDelete"the awkward banter between the bloated sports guy who still parks his used Bentley in the handicapped zone is...an embarrassment..."
ReplyDeleteDuring a couple of segments, Pam, Grant and Diane were a congenial blend while the sports guy seemed visibly uncomfortable.
It's a new Bentley. What an ugly car. It screams, "Old, fat white man who wears Brut and thinks the chicks dig him."
Delete> *Mark Curtis would be great on KGO-TV as its political reporter especially
ReplyDelete> as we near the 2016 Election but Mark has a problem: he's white,
> middle-aged, intelligent, politically astute, and therefore, not hirable.
Tis why I don't watch TV news anymore. But if he were female, 26, ethnic, and looked hot in a skirt with the camera at crotch level, but didn't know Hillary Clinton from Clinton Reilly, s/he'd be a red hot hire. Bonus if s/he could yell, "GAME OOOOONN!"
I think the main reason Curtis won't get hired is the fact that he lives in Rhode Island.
DeleteHe was great while covering the 2008 election campaign.
Delete