KTVU and KCBS Dysfunction Max; Local Ukraine/Russia War MOS Idea; Saturday Deli

I REPORT TO YOU what I know and what I know is that the morale at KTVU borders on despair. People are genuinely disgusted. It's not a tag line. It's the truth and it's reality. I can't be any more direct. I tell you all this because it's an important part of this blog. And because every day I get notices from many of my sources that there's tremendous anxiety and frustration over just how bad it is and how the troops still carry on under the most dire of circumstances.

Again, the feeling at KTVU is something I hear, have heard, and continue to hear: A REJECTION of the management currently at Fox2. Staff has NO CONFIDENCE in both the GM/SVP, Mellynda Hartel and ND, Amber Eikel. The rank and file carry on and are able to put out newscasts but for the most part, they do so with a pent-up frustration about both bosses utter incompetence and lack of direction and mostly, what I hear, experience. KTVU staff are completely dismayed and disgusted over how the duo runs the news operation and how such a dysfunctional place that is KTVU is allowed to perform. This is what I hear on an almost everyday basis. It is beyond constant.

Fox corporate knows it and has looked into the matter. How they proceed is anyone's guess. Eikel, instead of reaching out to her work force, has instead doubled down and maintains her embattled, care-free nature. She simply doesn't care. In fact, she seems to be emboldened. I don't get it but I'm not surprisd anympore. Maybe she knows someting. Maybe she's an ice queen, either way, her staff is fed up. And Hartel is straight out bizarre. Nobody ever sees her. Oh, she's there every now and then but she apparently just hides in her office. Maybe she's afraid of the bad odor outside. Who knows.

KTVU is at a boiling point about to explode. There is so much drama and anxiety and it's real. Why are SO MANY people LEAVING and retiring now? Is it all just a coincidence? Heck no. Rob Roth couldn't wait to get the hell out and run for tranquility and breathe fresh air. Same too others. Those that stay do so because they need to take care of family and further their career. The anchor desk is the most obvious change and look and it's about to get more muddled. Reporters are ON THE GO. Newsroom staff personnel, including editors, producers, writers, etc. are FED UP. I know 100%.

*At KCBS the anxiety level is a bit more muted but quite strident and pronounced itself. And it shows. Have you heard this audio farce lately? What a disgrace. What used to be a respected, admired, radio news juggernaut has been buried into the ground and is nothing short of a daily embarrassment. The anchors, for the most part, are a JOKE. The reporters, especially the newbies, are terrible. The product sounds like crap. The mistakes, constant. The rancor permeates the entire facility. If KCBS had any direct competition, they'd be buried in a nano second. Thet don't. They exist on being a virtual monopoly which goes hand-and-hand into how they maintain their badness and exist. They have NO management. NO direction. And they are led by a boss who carries on because she is allowed to do so because her corporate suits are afraid of terminating her in PC-engulfed San Francisco. What a crock. But it's the truth.

*I'VE BEEN CRITICAL on the tepid, predictable local coverage (orlack) on Ukraine-Russia ongoing carnage. There is so much creativity lacking out there. You all deserve better. Instead of just generic visits to folks on the street with a Ukraine flag and asking dumb questions, what about, say, asking anyone on the street how they feel. How all these war scenes are affecting them. Do they care? Are they paying attenion? Are they watching the scenes out of Kyiv and do they understand what is taking place. It's a simple chore yet extraordinarily easy. You'd think some AE would be privy to such a story but maybe their busy building a better Bay Area.