Exclusive: KTVU Under The Gun Only Now It's Big Time; Ratings Down 40% Since (Frank) Somerville Demise; Frank Still Dealing With Drama; Staff in Complete Dismay; Mibach-Haener Pain at 10 PM; ND Eikel Could Face Consequences; Pressure at Jack London Square

SINCE he was kicked off KTVU's "10 O'Clock News" newscast earlier this year, KTVU ratings have gone down nearly 40% --something The Firm (Fox) doesn't want to hear but hear they are hearing.

Frank Somerville has been gone from the newsdesk almost a year now, still battling his own demons and not to mention dealing with legal issues and still trying to get his life together after a hellish 2022; his tense situation has staved off his career path forward; a possible reinvention in Sacramento is now officially off the radar, not that it was imminent anyway.

While Frank fights hard to get his life back, KTVU continues to muddle along --seems they really didn't have a contingincy plan (what else is new?) ready once Frank was let go and The Firm starting a new path forward but it's clearly not working out.

*KTVU staffers, a good majority of them, have railed privately to management about how lousy it continues to be at the station. And this was before the Somerville mess. How they have been able to operate and conduct business is a testament to a staff overworked and overburdened with malaise and morale issues across the board. It's a work environment that gets more toxic by th day.

ND, Amber Eilel, is still in her position mainly because Fox suits have given her a pass --they seem to think that the Somerville drama wasn't her fault. It wasn't but it happened on her watch and she was part of the local Fox mafia that gave Somerville numerous passes and chances to get his act together. He didn't. Now KTVU is hemorrhaging viewers; not only at 10 PM but almost every time slot and it's not going to get easier anytime soon.

Eikel could have rallied the troops --she could have called a series of meetings to invigorate staff but instead she just carried on as if nothing happened. Remember, Eikel has been working under a "NO CONFIDENCE" era at KTVU. The rank and file still has no faith in their bosses, Eikel at the center of the storm. They go to work and do their job, (for the most part) but their disgust is evident.

*Mike Mibach, the former boy wonder news anchor, is now just an unofficial dud. He isn't respected by the folks at KTVU and women especially. More ominous for The Firm: the 10 PM numbers get increasingly worse by day. Mibach is being given extra time to shake his shaky image but he himself doesn't have a clue. Instead, he just shows up--smirk and all--and pretends that all is well and it's business as usual, which is anything but the case.

*The Julie Haener status is murky at best. Clearly, Haener thought it was her presence that guided the ship at KTVU; she's been in denial for months now. Haener's MIA deal at the desk has essentially ceased to exist --she's been a relative good soldier and showing up for duty almost every day now --but the numbers continue to plummet. And Haener is downright worried now.

*Bill Martin, the aloof weather veteran anchor is only there at KTVU in spirit (figuratively speaking)--he's still on retirement call but stays nonetheless. Maybe he needs the money. And staff is not crazy about Billy boy's "gift" to the newsroom: "he brought us Roberta Gonzales," said a longtime news staffer.

*Any day now, Fox will do away with sports reports from its O and O's and that includes its Bay Area station --which is why Joe Fonzi is looking to move out and Jason Applebaum cohtemplating another stint at either KRON or KPIX.

*Bad news for Fonzi: he still wants to work but Fox isn't interested.

*Another depressing aspect of the KTVU malaise: the reporters that were recent hires and show it. "We're not looking good in that dept.", offered the staffer.

*Even in the old days, pre-Fox, KTVU could rely on NFL and Fox programming as a solid lead-in to its news fortress but all that is a goner. Fox shows are in the toilet themselves.

*SO WHERE is KTVU at now?

"We come here and do our best to keep things going but we're all fed up and strung out," said another veteran newsroom wonk. "They (management) still take us for granted and just go about biz. The lack of communications here is just terrible and non-existent. It's as bad as ever."

*Sweeps numbers for KTVU suggest a tipping point could be in effect. If the numbers continue to el sucko, then The Firm will have a reason to get rid of Eikel --a move that would be met with massive applause at Jack London Square.

*Pressure? Oh, a tad.

*EXCLUSIVE --"Rich Lieberman 415 MEDIA.