Frank is still SUSPENDED. KTVU/FOX has NOT informed him of his status. Not a word. Although you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that Somerville is NOT coming back to KTVU. He's been twisting in the wind while Fox figures out a way to part company. They've already met with their own lawyers and it's just a matter of how they both proceed with the divorce.
Frank's contract is up on Jan. 28th. While there's a sliver of a chance he could be back, but only to close out his tenure at KTVU, that is all very unlikely now.
*Developing...
Certainly hope not. It’s a win-win for the viewers if he stays on the front line news staff as he’s no doubt at the very top of the league of Bay Area television journalists. Think heavy hitter in the majors. IMO, no news reporting personality in our regional market quite compares to Frank’s caliber. Ask around a bit, it’s very clear that he is well liked, watched, and appreciated by the consumers he serves— quite difficult to find anyone that doesn’t hold a high opinion of him.
ReplyDeleteHe was an anchor....not a reporter.. Anchors read copy off of a teleprompter and pretend to look concerned, serious, or happy, depending on the story. This is not brain surgery, or "reporting"
DeleteI would put Somerville's anchor performance, at best, on a par with Ken Bastida. KTVU will survive without him.
DeleteFirst off, I feel bad for anyone who goes through substance abuse issues, including Frank Somerville. I can only imagine how difficult this must be to try to sort out these issues in the public eye. But at the same time, Frank brought this on himself and the only way to really get his life in order, is to focus on getting his life in order. How great a comeback story would that be? Prime time anchor falls from grace as he struggles with addiction issues, only to turn his life around and resurrect his career. While he’s at it he could be a spokesperson for people out there who struggle with similar issues. There is a lot of good that can come of this situation for Frank, but none of it will happen with the pressure and drama of KTVU weighing on his shoulders.
ReplyDeleteThere are anchors in the Bay Area who have had long careers without a single blemish on their record, whose reputations are impeccable, and who have not been embroiled in any sort of off-camera scandal. Frank unfortunately has a history of poor judgment including romantic relations with an intern, showing up on air intoxicated more than once, and reckless driving. These are just the stories that have reach the sphere of public discourse. (Continued in next comment….)
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ReplyDeleteWhile Frank will likely never appear again on KTVU, I don't think this can be taken as a sign that KTVU is taking a positive step in the right direction. I don't expect that this will cause them to look inward and let this be a moment of introspection or one of many changes they will make to regain their standing as a dominant name in news. I'm not talking dominant in terms of ratings alone, because they dominate ratings already largely based on the legacy of those who have proceeded them.
But it's all a house of cards and it's beginning to fall. In sports, teams often go through a rebuilding phase. The point at which they know they will be a laughingstock as they bottom dwell, all the while working hard to make their way back to the top. If KTVU had competent leaders who had a legitimate interest in revitalizing their news brand and taking it to the next level, then I would say they are certainly in the rebuilding phase. But with people like Amber, Simone, and Chris at the helm, they have no desire to rebuild nor do they have any aspirations of greatness. They're just ego-driven imbeciles who have no business within 500 miles of any news operation. For this reason, KTVU isn't in or entering a rebuilding phase, they're just a laughingstock perfectly content playing in the mud at the bottom of the well.
What do you expect? It's Fox.
DeleteAfter 31 years it is sad how it is ending. I wish Frank good luck.
ReplyDeleteWell…as Jack Ruby once said, “He still owes me $30!!”.
ReplyDeleteBye, bye, Frank. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
ReplyDeleteLike seriously, whoever you are PLEASE COME RUN THE KTVU NEWSROOM!!! Because you know a hell of a lot more about what to do than anyone currently running the KTVU newsroom.
ReplyDeleteI’m a former on-air KTVU employee. I still keep up with what’s going on there and sincerely hope they turn the ship around and return to national greatness. The opportunity to work for such a renowned name in local news is what drew me to KTVU initially. I have no faith that anything will change as long as Amber, Simone, and Chris are there. My only hope is Fox offers them a buy out just to stop the bleeding and get them out.
DeleteI'm a plumber and I can do a WAY better job then they can.
DeleteFrank would be back under my leadership only he would be moved to field reporter.
Think "Walnut Creek fountain & frank"
Consumer editor Vacar would replace those 3 stupid weather reports every 10 minutes with actual... news you can use.
It would be a buzzing operation with more story counts. No more "sad stories"
.. sorry Julie
Stories replaced with news.
Kiss the security cameras goodbye.
My new career. Plumber to Tv.
Hahaha...show me da cash $$
"My only hope is Fox offers them a buy out just to stop the bleeding and get them out."
DeleteWhat bleeding? The profits are higher than ever and the numbers are still very good. From a journalistic perspective it's a shithole but from a money-making perspective it's going great, which is all Fox cares about. They're not a news network in any sense of the word or they wouldn't broadcast the garbage news that they do. They just want to make money off stupid people. That they are doing, so Amber, Chris et al are safe. It's all about the Benjamins, and KTVU is currently doing better than any other station in that regard.
Frank thought his shi* didn't smell.
ReplyDeleteWhoops....
In the world there is no clear limit of tragedy and drama, if you have the ability to come out of tragedy, it is the drama, and if you are immersed in the drama, it is tragedy. .
ReplyDeleteBless you Frank
His "status" is that he is bottoming out and needs to address his disease: addiction.
ReplyDeleteI really don't understand people's animosity and vitriol toward Frank. He's certainly made his fair share of mistakes, but then again who hasn't? Let's see what he's done: he's struggled with substance addiction, which is sadly common in our society. He had at least one extra-marital affair, which again, while not excusable is not uncommon. He's shared his strong personal opinions on a number of issues affecting society on his Facebook page. Big deal. I'm not excusing poor judgement or irresponsibility, but let's keep things in perspective here. He's torn apart his family (due to his own actions), struggles with addiction and depression (can we at least show some empathy?) and has had to do so in the public eye. I've never met Frank and he wouldn't know me from a hole in the ground but it's sad that some of these comments feel very personal and vindictive. He's a human with flaws and inner demons, and now he's dealing with the fallout in a very public way. The hostile and snarky comments don't seem to fit the circumstance.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with Frank is that he started injecting his own personal comments at the end of so many stories over the past several years. They haven't been as blatantly political as the one he got canned for, but they still got annoying. I prefer my news to be as straightforward and fair as possible, without anyone's personal agenda or opinions being included. The way Dennis Richmond used to do it.
DeleteEmpathy seems in short surply these days, especially if you are a reporter, journalist or politician of either political party, depending which party you belong to i.e. the other party is ALWAYS wrong, and they don't do anything to improve lifes of others, they are always out for themselves, this is not what I believe, but seems like many do. I totally agree with your post, so much nastiness on social media and the airwaves, Tucker Carlsson comes to mind, a few others Mark Levin and Sean Hannity as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd Rachel Maddow, and Joy Reid, and ........
DeleteThe people pleading for empathy and sympathy for Frank may not have watched his newscasts for the past year or so. He has been difficult to listen to or watch. Broadcast announcers are paid for clear, articulate speech, and he no longer has that ability, even when he seems sober and doesn't make other mistakes. He should look for a behind the scenes job.
ReplyDeleteNobody disputes that Frank’s on air performance is unacceptable and he shouldn’t be anchoring. That’s not the call for empathy as I see it. It seems people are suggesting empathy for the fact he’s a human being who is struggling with inner demons as he deals with some serious mental health and substance abuse issues. I tend to agree with those people. I wish him well and good health, just as I would want the same for any friend or family member in a similar situation. So yeah, that’s the call for empathy.
DeleteWeather Frank is gone or not... dont really care. How come we have seen every combination of anchors but not HH and JH? Why not?
ReplyDeleteThey have been paired together but it's been very infrequent and it's been a while. They actually do well together.
DeleteAlso, as you would expect based on their outdated and old school approach to management and employee relations, ktvu still doesn't believe in putting two female anchors together unless they're basically left with no choice due to schedules. it's very rare. Other local stations are more progressive and focus on chemistry and which combinations of anchors work best together. At ktvu it's just musical chairs, any warm body in the building can anchor so long as it's one male and one female. surprised they put the janitor and security guard at the anchor desk yet.
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