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| Vern Glenn (l) and Ken Bastida |
I KNOW A LOT OF MEDIA PEOPLE IN THIS BAY AREA; Big Deal, right, and that's not the point anyway so let's go at it.
I'VE known Vern Glenn and Ken Bastida for years; Bastida all the way back to his KFRC days and Glenn when he worked at KRON on weekends until he landed at KPIX.
Both are good people. But they've changed. Vern, for some reason, still tries his darnedest to be Gary Radnich. He still does the pregnant pauses; shuffles his papers while doing his broadcast; he's not human anymore.
Bastida used to be a quality newsman --not anymore. He doesn't have a personality too which sucks because in order to be successful on TV News, it would be great to develop a style, an identity; at PIX, they obviously prefer non-human, bland, news readers. It's not that Bastida is terrible on the air; he isn't. He just lacks any real focus and makes for a boring guy. A boring guy on the air and off. Damn shame too because when Ken was human, he was a funny SOB.
I don't know what's got into Vern and the Gary shtick. And the thing is, Vern does have his own personality, so it's bewildering that he was kidnapped by the fate police and told to act like Raddy. I don't get it but then again, I don't get a lot of things.
What a country.
Vern and Gary "get by" with a bad stage act, and a cursory knowledge of their specialties. Half-assed presentations, peppered with distractions (to detract from their deficiencies).
ReplyDeleteI love how you call out Vern for trying his darnedest to be Gary Radnich as you try your darnedest to be Ray Ratto.
ReplyDeleteLike Bastida. Glenn has always been an obnoxious showboat.
ReplyDeleteAnd Amy G won an Emmy
ReplyDeleteUGH! The past Dodger weekend made it 10 years of Amy G! Sad. Can't watch Oracle Park games anymore without pulling my hair out. And people think that's Emmy-worthy? Have they seen a few Giants fans scatter at the sight of her? Sigh.
ReplyDeleteBTW, CBS success helps Bastida, Glenn. Network coattails aride.
I'm a former Bay Area TV news photog. Back in the day when Bastida was at KCBS740...and then a street reporter at PIX, he was known as a GREAT guy to work with. Everyone I knew at those two shops loved working with him. I'd come into contact w/him and his photog--and he was pretty funny and easy-going. All those stories where you'd have to do a lot of waiting around (election night, SWAT situations, etc...he was pretty cool to hang around at the scene).
ReplyDeleteI left the BA back in the 90's and have lost touch w/him and everyone at PIX. I don't know if Kenny has changed since them--but all I know is that he was a pretty cool guy out in the field.
Vern seems to stare downward towards the desk a lot. And it is said of many anchors that they've gotten a big head. With Ken, we mean it literally.
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