Every other day, I'd text Frank Somerville, the KTVU anchor who was suspended, and ask him what was going on. I'd inquire if there was any news about the situation at KTVU. He indicated several times that "nothing was new." Most every time, I'd tell him, "Frank, why don't you go on the record." And he'd always tell me no.
Until yesterday, (Tuesday) when I said his story was getting murky; that Fox/KTVU was letting him dangle away and maintain this sort of quagmire. He agreed and said, "yeah, OK, let's 'go on the record." This was on the phone. I told him to text me some quotes and he did so in a few minutes.
HERE'S THE STORY, check the time stamp. I was both stoked and excited because my hard work paid off. I managed to get Somerville to go on the record and I immediately tweeted out my get. (Again, notice the time stamp). I then feverishly wrote a story to make the blog and it immediately gained traction and the buzz was official: Frank had said he'd most likely done his last newscast on KTVU and that he was clearly frustrated over the entire matter.
Then THIS APPEARED.
Only a few hours AFTER my original story posted, Martha Ross of the Mercury News wrote almost an identical story. What a coincidence. Yeah right. I re-read the entire story and Ross made NO MENTION of my story, the story I reported FIRST. I was stunned. I had the Exclu. I had contacted Frank and had the entire quote(s). Had Ross LIFTED my story and not credit me? Did she give me attribution and her editor simply remove my name? I didn't care because I was steamed and angry. I worked my ass off and I felt my hard work was being stolen.
Then I really began to become ENRAGED when I saw this. A story by Joshua Bote of SFGate that was a virtual duplicate my original story. Worse, Bote (or his editor) had the chutzpah to credit the Merc story. The earlier piece that STOLE my story that was already published on 415 Media hours before. Incredible. So it then made me fume. I was livid. Talk about needing a stiff drink.
Was it to naive to expect to see this disclaimer, "Reported First, by Rich Lieberman?", something that is usually placed in stories like this. But no. Boy am I a sucker.
I then saw this link from SFist. Jay Barmann, the editor who noted my story (albeit with a 'hound" remark) nevertheless, an ATTRIBUTION. It was the right thing to do. Too bad the Merc and SFGate didn't get the memo.
I contacted both the Chron (SFgate) and Merc editors to ask about all this and got no response. How shocking. (wink)
A Few Things; again, I WORK HARD to bring interestng, informative, unique and yes, sometimes, ORIGINAL content. It's not an ego thing it's more a desire to get more and more people to the blog. Which is why I PUSH and PUSH for my stories. Because it's for survival and doing my best and all so that when I get the scoop, maybe more subscriptions pour in; maybe the donations increase. That's how I roll. Every day. So yeah, when I'm RIPPED OFF, I get angry.
get in line Rich. You and other's have taken my scoops and run with them many a time, with no credit whatsoever. Happens, you move on. Grow a pair. Big boy pants. Those fishwraps do it all the time. Working for independent media is hard work. Especially for me in Alameda.
ReplyDeleteThat sucks Rich, really weak...but not surprising, these aren't newspapers, they're garbage rags that editorialize and publish DNC press releases as if it's news. No actual journalism to be found in any major paper in the entire state.
ReplyDeleteRich, anyone who knows anything about anything knows that you ARE the go-to source for all things media. The fact that the millennial 'burrito editors' at the comical/sfgate lifted your story is a testament to your influence. The fact they won't credit you proves they're a bunch of insecure babies who're threatened by you. The Murky, comical, and that sfgate thing are nothing more than pathetic clickbait rags. I never read the Murky and I stopped reading anything from the comical and sfgate a couple years ago. My life is better off because of it.
ReplyDeleteHa. SFGate and The Chronicle do seem to have more food writers than actual reporters these days.
DeleteYep. I saw those "articles" and my first thought was you got ripped off.
ReplyDeleteShe went from writing about the Kardashians to lifting your Somerville story? That's range I tell ya, range!
ReplyDeleteWith the exception of Jon Wilmer and Mr. Roadshow, the Merc is a shit excuse for a newspaper. With the exception of...well, nobody...SFGate is a shit excuse for content pretending to be news.
ReplyDeleteThe Press Democrat in Sonoma County also ran the story and did not credit you, Rich.
ReplyDeleteAgree, they should have given you credit...
ReplyDeleteThose bastards.
ReplyDeleteThis was pathetic of them to do, lift your story without any credit. But this DOES point out yet another reason why people LOVE your blog, because you get scoops that nobody else gets, or you get them before anyone else. I remember when those crazies at KGO, meaning Ming, Horseface, and Winnebagos, among others, had the nerve to sign a letter that was meant to hurt you because they said you didn't write the truth. Once again, this points out that they were wrong and you were right. Funny thing is that is probably these same people who tried to hurt you, who look at your blog the first thing in the morning, to see what is happening in their own newsrooms! You Go, Rich!
ReplyDeleteIf this sort of blatant plagiarism occurred at a real newspaper, like for example the New York Times, someone there would be fired and they would've issued a formal apology in print. But when you're dealing with a publication that has more burrito editors than fact checkers (yep, it's true), this is going to be the end result.
ReplyDeleteis that fake news or do they really have a burrito editor?
DeleteIt's real. I'm not going to dignify it by mentioning her name but if you Google it you'll quickly see what I'm talking about. Yep, this is what the Chronicle has become: paying some 20-something wannabe Instagram influencer to critique burritos but they can't find the money to hire an actual journalist with a shred of integrity.
DeleteI was annoyed when the Murkey News deleted my comment. They should have given Rich credit or even contact Rich to use the story.
ReplyDeleteI guess they were too blind to see the tag on the story "*Rich Lieberman 415 Media Exclusive." I'd be livid too. Shows the news organisations have gone into the black hole.
I found it ironic and funny that all of the ‘outraged’ women who signed that letter lambasting Rich were all washed-up, old fart has-beens who haven’t received male attention in decades. I mean seriously, look at who signed the letter. Honest to god these are people who are irrelevant and who Rich wouldn’t even think to mention on his blog because they’re a bunch of nobodies.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the sentiments shared in these comments, but sadly I think this is all falling on deaf ears. The ‘editorial’ staff at the comical/SFGate are a bunch of entitled millenials who regularly take three hour lunches at Thirsty Bear, play fuseball and cornhole in the office, and spend the rest of their time ooogling over ‘influencers’ on social media, thinking about what their like could’ve been. I’m not kidding. Yes folks, this is ‘journalism’ in the Bay Area in 2021.
ReplyDeleteI saw the story in the Daily Worker. Also no credit to mr Lieberman or 415 Media. They named name of Mercury news. Shameful.
ReplyDeleteRich, if anyone in a position of power at these garbage rags has even the slightest modicum of professionalism remaining, I would expect them to contact you personally to apologize and discuss the matter. Hell, they've already demonstrated that they read your blog and value your content enough to blatantly steal from you. Please keep us updated when you hear from them. If they don't bother, then f%ck em, they're a bunch of p#$%^'s anyway.
ReplyDelete"Rich, if anyone in a position of power at these garbage rags has even the slightest modicum of professionalism remaining, I would expect them to contact you personally to apologize and discuss the matter."
DeleteHA HA HA HA!
Yeah, right.
Back in college I wrote briefly for the school paper. I broke a major story about a shooting on campus. I found out everything that went into the story, except after I left for the day the victim died of his wounds. The e-o-c adding that one piece of information--the time of death and nothing else--and put her name above my name for the byline. The way it looked, I was just a hired assistant, even though I did all the work.
The professor who oversaw the paper defended her...Sisterhood and all.
They learn to do things like that early.
No, when you are an intern, you don't get the credits, nor should you expect to. You aren't a reporter yet.
DeleteI wasn't an intern and didn't say I was. I was a reporter. Learn to read. I got credits on all my other stories, just not that big one, which made the national news.
DeleteI switched to radio and then did get credit for a story I broke. The soundbite even played on Nightline with my name credited on the screen.
I would not use the Chronicle to line a bird cage or paper train my dog. Hearst ruined a once proud newspaper. I stopped my subscription as the annual rate went up and the quality of journalism deteriorated. As excellent reporters and columnists left, the Chron is no longer credible.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I read this blog everyday. #1 Bay Area Blog. Keep up the great work you do Rich...
ReplyDeleteWhat's fair is fair and they were wrong to not give you the credit for the scoop. You've been talking to Frank since this all started.
ReplyDeleteThese frauds are featherweights. You're a heavyweight.
ReplyDeleteThey don't deserve to wipe your ass let alone get into the ring with you. Big middle finger to the Murky, comical and SFHate.
The problem here is that the story is screamingly obvious.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts as well. Because this blog has been beating this dead horse for weeks doesn't mean that once it is official, and now newsworthy, it doesn't get reported by others.
DeleteIt's unfair to the original reporter, but I rarely see news organizations give attribution anymore to a different person or organization that breaks a story. I'll read multiple reports from different media outlets about the same event, and large chunks of the reports will be copied and pasted from one organization's report to another.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Merc is a shit paper now. Used to enjoy reading it every day back in the 80's and '90's (especially Sundays), but they raised their prices, went Woke and shrunk the content. The lady Business section columnist from a few years ago (forgot her name), spent half or more of her columns beating on white men in business. I finally had enough of her anti white male crap and cancelled my subscription.
ReplyDeleteFigures. They’re nothing but a bunch of lowlife scum.
ReplyDeleteMartha Ross also seemed to have stolen the Frank Somerville "beat" (continuing coverage) from her fellow Merc colleague Chuck Barney. Chuck wrote stories about Frank's first suspension, then the subsequent suspension following the Petito commentary dust-up. Chuck mentioned that perhaps Frank may have had a way of conveying his side to management that may have been an additional factor in the suspension decision. Martha then seemed to take over coverage of the story by covering the two protests for his reinstatement. She and Joshua from the Gate are largely sympathetic to Frank and never mention his other issues, nor the possibility that his request for a commentary could be perceived as a way to deflect from other issues. It's about scoring political brownie points and generating clicks from social media links. Professionalism is no longer required.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely outrageous. And the fact that they would not respond when you confronted them with the theft speaks volumes.
ReplyDeleteNot really surprising. Media outlets lift and repurpose 'content' all the time to make it look like their own. Having worked in local news for nearly two decades, I would see it every day. It used to be in the assignment meetings when staff would look at the newspapers for story ideas to simply do the same story that was already reported. Nowadays, it is reposting a story from somewhere onto their own website or Facebook page. There is so little original reporting, most is all just regurgitated from somewhere. Kudos to you for getting it first. While credit is great, knowing inside yourself that you did it, knowing the truth, should make you feel proud.
ReplyDeleteMy friend posted the SF Gate story on FB. I then wrote in the comment that a link to your page saying the story came from you.
ReplyDeleteThe mercury article said there was an interview with the Bay Area News Group so I though maybe Rich sold the article to BANG but it looks like they just stole it.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with the Merc but I am so disappointed with how it devolved over time.
If you go on LinkedIn and search for writers and editors currently employed by SFGate you quickly notice that they pretty much only hire 20 something, wannabe social media influencer types. Go check it out for yourself. These journalistic thieves would shit their panties if they came face to face with Rich.
ReplyDeleteHow does this work? If Rich is the first one to get Frank to go on the record, but then another reporter contacts Frank and Frank supplies that reporter with essentially the same quotes, does anything (other than, maybe, professional courtesy) oblige that reporter to credit Rich?
ReplyDeleteNo surprise. Integrity and professionalism don't go hand in hand with what passes as "journalism" these days.
ReplyDeleteRich: I went to Martha Ross' FB page and posted a comment, asking why she couldn't acknowledge her source for the story and posting a link to this very thread. It was deleted in 15 minutes.
ReplyDeleteWhat else would you expect from dying newspapers like the Mercury News and The Chronicle? Owned by the Bay Area News Group and Media News Group, the Mercury News staff has been cut to the bone, leaving a skeleton staff of inexperienced, overworked and poorly paid entry level or talentless hacks who can’t get better jobs elsewhere. Likewise at The Chronicle, the best reporters have fled to greener pastures, or got out when they could, leaving the inexperienced or untalented behind. Why does anyone bother read either paper?
ReplyDelete