Julie Haener Had the Power to Help Out Fellow KTVU Anchor Mark Ibanez, But...Anchor Shuffle Remains at KCBS; Thomas Back Monday (Ugh); Clint Reilly-Examiner Play Footsie with Phil Matier; John McCall/KRON Mystery Explained; A Simple Question to Giants' PBPer, Jon Miller; Sunday 415 Media Deli

HAD SHE WANTED TO--Julie Haener's influence at KTVU with the bosses, especially, ND Amber Eikel--was significant enough--Haener probably could have extended Mark Ibanez for another year's services at KTVU.

Ibanez, who took a retirement offer from Fox after 43 years, was extra close with Haener both personally and professionally.

Ibanez, who left last month, was close enough to Haener he personally chose her to conduct a farewell interview. Haener would have been management's choice too but there were several other candidates, including Heather Holmes and Claudine Wong.

Both Ibanez and Haener on several occasions met privately on and away from KTVU. Months before his evcentual departure, Ibanez met Haener at a deli near the station; they talked, they talked long and hard about each other's future. The relationship was enough that Haener, Ibanez figured, would nudge Eikel to extend Ibanez's run another year, maybe two. Haener had leverage too; she could have talked to Eikel and Belynda Hartal, the GM. But it never materialized because Haener backed off. There was no official request from Ibanez but clearly, he would have loved Haener's support.

After his last night at KTVU, they both met for a soda and crackers at an office nearby the studio for nearly fifteen minutes.

*The anchor shuffle at KCBS remains on the docket: after six weeks of artificial meh, Jason Brooks, boring and disjointed, Eric Thomas will return to the morning-drive slot on Monday with bumbling, stumbling, Holly Quan.

KCBS's revolving anchors have included Jim Taylor, Dan Mitchinson, Thomas, Matt Bigler, Margie Schafer and Brooks. All filled in, sort of, for retiring Stan Bunger who left last June.

KCBS and its parent company, Audacy, likes the current business model because it's cheaper and cheap is the magic word at Audacy.

*After various internal memos got to the desk of Jen Seelig, KCBS's inept ND, she replaced Sunday AM news anchor Lisa Chan, with Jennifer Hodges this morning. Hodges, a former KGO tonsil, is adequate enough and knows how to run a board, something that Chan can't perform. And Hodges is a far superior anchor. Maybe Seelig has one less picture than I thought.

*If, god forbid, a major earthquake struck the Bay Area in the middle of the night, not to worry, the SFGate Chronicle will have it all covered a few days later. A week or two tops.

*The Chronicle is a great high-school newspaper. Especially those of you into red-painted houses, burritos, and Bay City news updates.

*Read further.

*Had Clint Reilly's Examiner offered Phil Matier about $100G or so for a couple columns a week, Matier might have been interested but instead Reilly began with a low-ball and that's a no-no with Matier.

*Speaking of which, rich businessmen, like a Reilly, who made his mega-millions in real estate and political advice, are so DUMB when it comes to making basic decisions involving pet projects, like a tabloid newspaper. The Examiner is a fourth-rate, throw-away fish wrap in print and on-line. Reilly is clearly trying to make it a digitial destination --with a name like Matier, SF-centric, that could happen but your a can't be real when you play rope-a=dope with street-wise Phil, Reilly should know better.

*Jonathan McCall was a crafty, well above-average news anchor at KRON who suddenly disappeared --McCall was considered too troublesome by staffers and not worth the trouble, from a professional and personal perspective. They had a sort of mutual parting, which is a smame because McCall had some chops and a decent presence.

*You can build a much better Bay Area by ridding your station of circus clowns like Reggie Aqui, ABC7.

*Simple question to Giants' play-by-play broadcaster, Jon Miller: would Vin Scully ever wear a Dodgers cap to the broadcast booth? 'Nuff said.

*Of course the Giants booster club press corps and state radio, (KNBR) would never broach the subject.