Look, PIX, I know why you hired Jessica Burch in the first place and there's no crime in that--hell yeah, I love observing Lt. Burch and especially lots of guys in Union City who drive trucks and watch Wheel of Fortune too.
*Ill-fitting suits are the least of Andre Senior's issues. How about showing some personality, an emotion or two? And I'm not talking about side banter when the anchor tosses to the sports guy or weather anchor. Of course at KTVU, tossing to the sports anchor is sort of ancient history lately, thanks Fox.
*Bret Burkhart and Melissa Culross had the chemistry of a wet melba toast sandwich on KCBS this (Monday) morn--the artificial ambience was totally amazing with more vanilla wafers heard than a shopping spree at the San Leandro Safeway.
KCBS hasn't just lost its news-radio register, it's also lost its soul. Not that it had any of it the past few years unless 7000 commercials and traffic/weather reports are passionate.
By the way, Jen Seelig, you lost the newsroom. They only put up with you because Audacy ain't gonna touch you, I guess.
*A KCBS sage told me Eric Thomas is lousy and Seelig knows it but that "we're stuck with him" and can't let go because something about a backlash.
*Current rumor-central: Thomas will team with Patti Reising on PM drive and Burkhart will work mornings with Culross.
*If KTVU and the foxies were smart, they'd feature Senior and Cristina Rendon together, say, at 5 o'clock --but KTVU doesn't know creativity and effective news anchorship if it hit 'em in the head a thousand times over.
*Noelle Bellow, KRON's most compelling and astute anchor is really now just too good for local TV, certainly KRON--she has NETWORK and CABLE gig written all over her and it's only a matter of time before she's either in LA, NY or Chicago. I'm not saying she's a goner anytime soon but the TV people love a talent like the underrated Bellow. She is news savvy; she is graceful; she commands the screen; she is pleasant; she has a personality to boot.
Or in another words, everything the "Lt" doing weather for PIX isn't.
*KCBS is LOSING talent every day; the anchors and reporters you hear every day are going. But two VERY KEY voices--one that simply split and one that is under-utilized--Peter Schofield and John Atkinson--are the very reason(s) why KCBS is so OFF THE RADAR.
Schofield, the invaluable traffic anchor (Kim Wonderley's chosen backup) was simply fed up with being taken advantage of and screwed with by the yahoos who run the station (my sources) and Atkinson only stays on because he has options. A good management would see the light and should have tried to KEEP both happy but MORONS run KCBS these days.
Pelley is a total pro! Nice to see him at the consummate SF dining institution. On another subject, I was away from the Bay for three weeks, and turned on .KNBR this morning, when making coffee. I immediately got a tsunami of Paulie Mac on the tattoos on the lead singer of REM. Had to hit the off button instantaneously.
ReplyDeleteWho is the morning anchor replacing Lens? I didn’t watch the news this morning.
ReplyDeleteI think Justin Williams is going to replace Len. He’s already in the studio during the am show and not reporting from the field.
DeleteNoelle Bellow is not good. Amateur hour
ReplyDeleteCarlos Ramirez needs to go away. From antics like the one mentioned, to his constant overpronouncing of Hispanic ballplayer names, he worses the Giants pre and postgame shows by his very presence. Everyone else is not bad, but he makes them look great by comparison. And he can take the annoying Summer Sunday crew with him.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Haven't liked him from day one. Those antics are completely counter to his normal persona, which is of someone who takes himself very seriously and thinks highly of himself. He seems more interested in impressing people with his knowledge than actually being entertaining to viewers.
DeleteIf someone can clue us in on how Ramirez and those Summer Sunday rejects got their jobs, I’d be grateful. I’m also a no-talent hack who will work cheap. On second thought, they give us no-talent folks a bad rap.
DeleteWhat a pandering buffoon Ramirez is. I am Hispanic also but his elongated pronunciations are embarrassing. Every time he lurches out one of those over-analytic stats makes me want blow out burrito chunks. Don’t get me going on that SummerSuck Day debacle.
Deletecant stand peck
ReplyDeletecant tell what gender he is ..
his ahh shucks bit sucks
Man Rich, once again, reading this blog is exactly why I come back every day because you are THE MAN! You hit it right on the head, regarding Jessica Burch and Noelle Bellow. Noelle is clearly working out or something because she has lost a lot of weight, and she has improved in her appearance a LOT. But even before she started her workout program, I saw, just like you, the vast potential she has, and as you said, she has everything that THE LIEUTENANT, doesn't have!
ReplyDeleteexcept flight skills and real world experience being in the middle of bad weather, in a helicopter she's piloting.
Delete@3:07: How are having flight skills and piloting a helicopter even remotely relevant to being a news anchor? Noelle's doing a great job and she's not even a sergeant.
Deleteduh...let's send you up in a rescue chopper in bad weather and see what decisions you make about evading same.
DeleteWhoever happens to be available for any given shift is the *ONLY* thing that ktvu factors into their decision about who to put on air. That’s it. As long as you’re a warm body and you are available then they will put you on air.
ReplyDeleteJessica Burch would make a great legal disclaimer reader for the end of commercials. When she is on KCBS radio she talks so fast you have no clue what she is saying.
ReplyDeleteWOW someone must have read this and told Jessica. Smooth talking this AM. Thumbs Up!
DeleteCarlos Ramirez is awful. Aurilia refused to look at him after his stunt, and even Laura looked embarrassed.
ReplyDeleteScott Pelly and John Rothmann were spotted having lunch with Steve Moskovitz, Kevin from Anchor Funding, Ev Dirksen, and Raymond Burr at Calmart
ReplyDeleteComment of the day!😂
DeleteThe Whispering Weather Girl is cute. Peck is awesome.
ReplyDelete😂😂 Whispering Weather Girl. She’s like the low talking Puffy Shirt woman from Seinfeld.
DeleteI don't know who's worse: Jessica Burch or Lisa Chan. Burch talks so fast I can't understand her and Chan is so soft I can't hear her. I'll take Culross any day. She speaks clearly and I can hear every word. I like her folksy style. I think she'd be better solo than with Burkhart. As for Scott Pelly, he brought class back to CBS Evening News while he was there. He was too good to last.
ReplyDeleteJust remember...
ReplyDeleteIt's those Wheel 'o Fortune watching-Union City truck drivers that deliver your food...to Oakland! Don't piss them off...or you will get melted It's-It's.
We like the LT...and her soft weather words...
Plus my wife "Approves" .
They hired Carlos Ramirez hoping he’d appeal to the Hispanic audience. I guess they think Hispanics will watch the post-game show just to see him, even though he’s a total buffoon who knows nothing about baseball.
ReplyDeleteYou just love to complain, Rich. You complain Andre Senior doesn't show emotion, but you long for the days of Dennis Richmond, Evan White, Dave McElhatton, Pete Wilson, et al, but they were mostly all business too, even more than Andre is. And when today's anchors do show emotion, you diss them for being "phony" and "dramatic." What do you want?
ReplyDeleteEric Thomas: "...something about a backlash."
ReplyDeleteSubtle, Rich. Very subtle. Also very true.
Rendon and Senior are solid. I don’t run a tv news station and it’s OBVIOUS they work well together. Btw has anyone else noticed Mibach is now featuring a silver streak on his head? Is he laying off the “Just for Men” because he thinks a few silver hairs will give him more GRAVITAS? He still looks constipated with or without silver hair.
ReplyDeleteWho is more constipated, Scott Pelley or Ted Koppel?
ReplyDeleteboth are immensely successful.
DeleteCumulus actually springs for Peet’s coffee. #wow
ReplyDeleteWhy CBS dumped Pelley from the evening news and replaced him with goofey Norah O'Donnel is a mystery.
ReplyDeleteYou have to ask?
DeleteI know you're not a fan of Liz St. John, who fills in on KCBS. But heard her work during that traffic shit show in Oakland yesterday and she sounded like a professional. If Rebecca Corral isn't available, then Liz should be filling in. She's a damn side better than Eric Thomas and Holly Quan, who has the inept board skills of Lisa Chan.
ReplyDeleteWhy is no personality a problem for Andre on KTVU. Dennis Richmonds on set persona was defined by betraying no emotion and worked well for the broadcast
ReplyDeleteIf anyone had done what Carlos Ramirez did the other day a few years ago, they would have instantly been fired. But given some of the embarrassing ‘broadcasters’ NBC sports Bay Area has on the air, Ramirez’s embarrassingly juvenile behavior is typical of what programmers want. People such as summer or those amateur ‘Warriors’ insiders,’ would have never even been considered for Fresno TV in an earlier era.
ReplyDelete