Today's (Tuesday) US-Iran showdown could have been a great chance, post Noon to pair Julie Haener and Mike Mibach, yes, unusual daytime, but exposure to a new, younger audience?
Of course no one in Jack London Square has any creative growth and if they did, they'd be somewhere else.
*Melissa Culross was reporting on KCBS Tuesday but she's leaving --it's just a matter of days. Culross and ND, Jen Seelig were/are at odds and the conflict could not be dealt with; sure, I was never a huge fan of Culross but as a GSA reporter and occasional anchor, she was good, just not Morning Drive.
That said, to lose her is another blow to SF Audacy and a growing disconnect between Seelig and her less-than-admiring staff at KCBS.
*Kyla Grogan solo-anchored the Noon news on KRON Monday and was simply outstanding and worthy.
Yes, I was initially not a Kyla fan, during her KTVU days, but I've found her presence both invigorating and special. She's grown on me and now I see what all the fuss was about and why everyone seems to like Countess Grogan.
*At KPIX and KCBS in the morning, Jessica Burch, is simply not working out and PIX knows it.
Her TV weather spot is an ongoing awkward watch, (at best) and her radio spot, (on KCBS, AM Drive) is a mess. She still talks way too fast and you can't hear what the heck she's saying. And if you did, would you care?
Jessica is growing on me. She's getting better and better. As far as Grogan goes... watch out.. there is a Mauna Loa moment coming... you can already see the steam rising in the newsroom... wait for it...
ReplyDelete"Jessica is growing on me. She's getting better and better."
DeleteThat doesn't say anything. She's at rock bottom so it wouldn't even be possible for her to get any worse.
As a Persian I have heard very few pronounce it correctly. It is pronounced as Rich typed above. I left there as a child and only been back half a dozen times.
ReplyDeletePathetic that media people, who should be better coached, butcher Iran. But then again, so many Americans still say Looey-ville and New Ore-leens.
DeleteMy beef is news folks that cannot pronounce Hawaiian names like Mauna Loa, the volcano.
Delete8:08 I remember back in the day when SJSU hosted Hawaii in football...and the local radio guys and PA announcer struggling with a lot of the Hawaii player's names. For a couple of years, SJSU had a Tongan DB whose name the locals would always butcher. (Lafo Malauulu).
DeleteJennifer Seelig is absolutely clueless but is not the only one to blame for KCBS’ decline. Whoever the idiot was who hired her in the first place should be pushed out the door. But I’m sure the GM of KCBS is slavish to the chief beancounter of Audacy back in New York, David Fields. It’s really sad how KCBS has become a joke. Most of the good reporters and veteran anchors and producers g Gombe been unceremoniously thrown into the street like yesterday‘s garbage or have been forced to quit. Meanwhile, KCBS continues to hire ‘eager beaver’ youngsters who they pay peanuts to. “ Come join our team!l” And this is public service? Oh wait, public service doesn’t exist in radio anymore. It’s all about creating a ‘buzz’ and “driving traffic and eyeballs to our web page!”
ReplyDeleteSusan Larkin , now chief operating officer of Audacy , hired Seelig . Larkin wouldn’t give Susan Kennedy, a seasoned pro, an interview. Larkin is even nuttier than Seelig. A major reason on why Audacy is well on its way to bankruptcy.
DeleteJessica is the weather person. She’s doing just fine.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about Jessica Burch is that she talks in this monotone voice, that is low, and so as such, it is just hard to decipher what she is saying. I would totally bang her though.....
ReplyDeleteBurch is fine on the news, but I do agree she speaks too fast on KCBS. No concerns here.
ReplyDeleteI caught Kyla anchoring yesterday. Good stuff! That woman is a news machine and I'm here for it.
ReplyDeleteThe more they put Kyla on KRON the more I watch. She's great and I used to watch her anchor on The Weather Channel.
ReplyDeleteIt is not "E-ron". It is "Ear-ron"...Iraq is "ear-rock"/
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteRe Kyla: I wonder if Amber Eikel realizes what a terrific talent she let slip out the door. What an inept idiot.
ReplyDeleteYep. Big mistake. But then again there have been so many fumbles over there.
DeleteWhat are you talking about Rich? Jessica Burch sounds great on her KCBS weather reports. Don't watch local TV at all but I totally disagree with you about her on this one.
ReplyDelete"Don't watch local TV at all..." Right. Thanks for the input, Jessica.
DeleteI am NOT Jessica. I have never watched her live on TV because I don't watch any local TV but I do hear her on KCBS and think she does a good job. It's only a 30 second spot and is all the weather I care about in between stories about racism, covid, global warming and high fire danger, Trump and the homeless.
DeleteWas KTVU afraid Mibach would see the soccer balls and start telling jockstrap jokes to Julie?
ReplyDeleteI agree. They probably felt it was way too risky to put Mibach in a position where he might not be able to control talking about his jock straps, especially if a player got hit or kicked in the nuts.
DeleteWhich begs the question, how does Julie Haener take him seriously knowing he’s sitting next to her every night wearing nothing but a bare-ass jock strap under his suit?
I don't know why you continue to run over the corpse that is KTVU? We all know that you can't pick up a turd from the "clean end". Unless someone immolates themselves during a newscast nothing will change. Kyla Grogan is a strong confident woman and it shows in her presentation. Don't screw this up KRON. Now, the constant browbeating of Jessica Burch has worn thin. She does a fine job. Does she read to quickly? Yes! I think most everyone has gotten used to it by now. You come off as petty by these dogged efforts. You're better than that.
ReplyDeleteKyla is a pro. All the way.
ReplyDeleteIf you're a native english speaker it's "I-ran". Pronouncing it "E-ron" is only one step above the annoying d-bags who suddenly affect an accent whenever they say a Spanish word or name.
ReplyDeleteTrue
Delete2:00 If you're a right-wing uneducated Trumptard...who thinks the universe revolves around 'Merica, it's EYE-ran. If you're someone with a minimum of a high school education, it's ee-RAHN.
DeleteYou sound like one of those retards who SPEAKS LOUDLY IN ENGLISH when talking to foreigners....or who gets upset when people kneel in silent, peaceful, freedom-of-speech protests.
Wonder if KTVU has had any second thoughts about choosing Roberta Gonzales over Kyla Grogan. Major flub in my opinion...
ReplyDeleteTotally major flub, but Amber doesn't seem to recognize talent if it falls on her and Kyla's better off where she is. KRON is far from perfect, but it's a better choice than KTVU. Almost anything is a better choice than KTVU.
DeleteBurch has only about 3 yrs in the business so everyday she works she is going to get better. Its not her fault KPIX hired her into a job she was not ready for.
ReplyDeleteJeez what's with all the Jessica apologists today? Maybe all her LT buds?
ReplyDeleteShe is crap.
Wrong. She’s not crap. She’s complete and utter crap. Correction, complete and utter smelly shit.
DeleteAnyone who claims otherwise is either a troll, one of Burch’s friends or family, or hasn’t ever seen or heard her.
She’s the morning weather person. She’s doing fine. Has she ever given a bad forecast? Nope she’s right every time.
DeleteThat’s all she can do and I have no concerns here either. Pretty accurate throughout.
DeleteNow she is not as good as Mary Lee but she’s not bad either. I miss Mary Lee, she goes into in depth science & gets to the point wheras Darren Peck tends to be slower and more verbose.
Definitely Burch has a lot of potential and I can see it. She will surely get better over time.
5:02, she does just fine. All the chatter here about her kcbs weather reports is ridiculous. She has a few seconds to cover all the changing weather news and does so ably and completely. Are you jealous that she can fly rings around you?
DeleteRich, the constant KTVU bashing is making you look like the idiot/asshole you really are. Were you a bully in school too? Or were you bullied? What ever it was you have a problem.
ReplyDeleteWhy? They suck. Have you ever seen some of their broadcasts in their glory days? (They're on YouTube.) The current leaders inherited a Rolls Royce and they turned it into a Yugo. They deserve all the shaming they get. I know people who used to work there who can't watch anymore, and with good reason.
DeleteI hope the first thing Thurston says on the air is "good afternoon I'm pat Thurston" Lol..
ReplyDeleteNoon news?! I think you are the only person who watches the news at noon. Last one out the door, please turn off the lights.
ReplyDeleteLocal noon news is out here in LA, replaced by the national GMA3 and NBC News Daily (except KTLA, which is news most of the day).
DeleteRich, as a media monitor and analyst, why aren’t you asking about KCBS’s fixation on vaccine-promoting stories and segments? Could it have anything to do with who’s their sponsors? I don’t know the answer, but it seems like a legitimate business and media question - whether you’re personally inclined to get “boosted” or not.
ReplyDelete@431: A good question. KCBS thinks Dr. Petey Chin Hong is DA MAN when it comes to anything Covid. Somebody (hello drug companies) must be footing the bill when he appears. He's not going to do it for free. And what about the Chronicle? They have a music critic dabbling in Covid coverage. A music critic? Maybe he's looking for a comms job with one of the drug companies. And there isn't a news source in the nation that has the fixation over Covid like the Chronicle. Even the NY Times has placed the Covid maps at the bottom of the web page. It's got to be money from the drug companies. What a nation we live in.
DeleteUCSF is taxpayer funded, with a media relations department charged with providing medical experts to get reliable information out to the public. Over the course of the pandemic quite a few prominent UCSF doctors became media savvy and were very generous with their time. They are experts in their field at one of the most prominent medical research universities in the world. There’s no money changing hands.
DeleteThe sultry, doe-eyed Dr. Monica Gandhi is my preferred COVID expert. But I like Dr PCH. My guess is that his institution makes him available to the media as a public service
Delete7:04, the world is facing a resurgence of a killer virus and you don't want to hear from an epidemiologist...how smart is that?
DeleteYou might want to check out what's happening with viral variants worldwide, headed here. Check out China for starters. It is defamatory to suggest that a local, highly regarded physician whose expertise is in epidemic and pandemic medicine would charge money to educate the public through radio and television interviews.
DeleteFor KCBS or the Chronicle, Covid reporting is the easiest thing they do. It's all single-source reporting. Whatever the government line might be, the regurgitate it. When a UC SF or Public Health Dept. spokeshole says you can get covid by touching your face or that Covid started in animals, at a wet market, they go with it -- without getting a second source. When county Health Depts got caught inflating their death numbers, they issued the briefest correction on a Friday before a holiday weekend -- no need to embarrass their sources. This isn't journalism, it's PR. And it's easy to do. No resistance at all. I doubt anyone is being directly paid off, but the pharma industry will see the Chron and KCBS as "friendly" media outlets the next time they buy ads.
DeleteWhen 75% of the US population could not point out Canada on a map, having folks mispronounce country names seems inevitable. Fewer yet would know that Farsi is the main language spoken in Iran.
ReplyDeleteSports announcers are good at their “games”, general knowledge is not their strong suit. No surprise there.
The USA MNT plays Netherlands next, and will be unceremoniously knocked out. No surprise there
@4:55 PM
DeleteThe U.S. soccer mania that existed during previous contests has yet to manifest. As such, you're absolutely correct that USMNT will be eliminated by the Netherlands and once that happens, scant U.S. viewership will dwindle to almost nothing.
Many think that Persians are arabs and that Palestinians couldn't possibly be semites.. Both beliefs are wrong.
DeleteKyla rocks.
ReplyDeleteI’ve always been a Kyla fan. But does that make her a good anchor. No. Maybe she’s a good reader. I’ll give her that. But that’s not what makes a good anchor. A good anchor can ask reporters unscripted questions. A good anchor can adlib based on very little information. A good anchor can seemlessly cover up mistakes when all hell is breaking loose in the control room. A good anchor can handle a phoner during breaking news. With no information other than the persons name. People think that all anchors do is read. They have no clue. GOOD anchors do so much more. They also help edit scripts and catch mistakes. Rich have have you seen Kyla do Any Of those things or are you to infatuated with how she looks. I think she’s fantastic at weather. But I find it disappointing when management thinks that they can handle anchor duties as well. It’s just another sign of how far local news has fallen.
ReplyDeleteAs the control room is working on a automated timeline asking what is our anchor doing? It messes up the control room people when the anchor goes rogue. Please remember, these stations do what corporate want. Period.
DeleteNo one is talking about an anchor going rogue. There’s still a producer and a director in the control room. They are the ones who tell the anchor what they need. I hate to say this but you have no clue what you’re talking about. Have you ever worked in a tv control room?
DeleteGood Times!
DeleteWhat are you babbling about? Did you see the show? Grogan was fantastic.
DeleteI have seen Kyla do countless live interviews on The Weather Channel. Used to see her live on MSNBC sometimes too. Also she and all weather people ad lib weather everyday. Weather people are the ONLY people in the newsroom who aren't tied to a script reciting someone else's words. It's clear whoever wrote that comment is clueless. Anchoring is the easiest gig in the newsroom.
DeleteYou clearly haven't watched her anchor yet. She has experience anchoring national shows. This local stuff is a walk in the park.
Delete1115. I worked as as anchor for 40 years. I know what I’m talking about. And again I really like Kyla. I’m just saying that I’d like to see Kyla handle breaking news. That’s where an anchor earns their money. When there is no script. And you have to think on your feet. Have you ever worked in tv news. And if so what did you do?
Delete11:31 20 years producing 10 anchoring in a top 3 market. Yeah, I know what I'm talking about...what a bozo.
DeleteGotta give it to you that’s pretty darn impressive going from a producer to an anchor in a top three market. We’ll done!!!
DeleteI don't think there is anything special about Kyla. She doesn't offend me, but I can't see what it is that her fans see in her.
ReplyDeleteHot, smart, great personality, really good at her job. So glad you're "not offended" LOL!
DeleteWhy do people still act surprised when Amber Eikel botches something? This is a near daily occurrence. She's a complete nincompoop.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Kyla goes, it's important to remember that Amber is, and always has been, threatened by attractive, smart and successful women. She believes in assigning prominent roles to women she believes are less attractive than her and won't draw too much external positive attention or accolades. It burns Amber to the core when women flourish and succeed, so she does all she can to prevent that from happening. This is a well known and indisputable fact.
This explains what on the surface are bizarre and inexplicable decisions like making Roberta Gonzales the new face of weather, keeping Claudine Wong as a prominent anchor, letting Julie Haener bring her drama to work as she ruins her reputation and ages like a prune. She let Maureen Naylor walk but brought in Lamoonica Peters. Not to be confused with the other black reporter who lasted about 3 weeks. This also explains why Amber happily let Kyla walk out the door and hasn't promoted Cristina Rendon and Heather Holmes into primetime roles.
Amber would rather run KTVU into the ground than bring in or promote competent and attractive women. And we all have a front row seat.
Delete@5:39 PM: 100%. I work at KTVU and you just hit the nail on the head.
There are many, many more examples of this, and even more examples of us rank and file employees falling victim to Amber’s insecurities.
what a crock of misogynistic drivel, 5:39
Delete8:41pm, i was at ktvu for a number of years before jumping ship to another local station. There's nothing in the OP's comment that I find inaccurate or untrue. I can tell you that the overwhelming majority of my ex-colleagues were of the same opinion. That goes for those who were in front of the camera and those of us whose faces the public never saw. Even back when she was the assistant ND, the themes and decision-making patterns were the same.
DeleteAlso, keep in mind that as employees we were privy to internal discussions, decisions and other stuff that never made it into the public discourse. This is to say it wasn't as though everyone was jumping to outlandish conclusions simply because optically something looked a certain way.
Here we go again, Julie Haener is starting up with her missing work thing again.
ReplyDeleteWhere is Justin Andrews in Kpix? They need a male there in the morning.
ReplyDeleteAccording to his IG he went to St. Louis (his hometown). Probably he’ll return next week
DeleteMs. Plastic should retire.
ReplyDeleteHow do women such as Amber Eikel and Jennifer Seelig keep their jobs? If they were men they would have been fired a long time ago. Lee Hanmer is a rare exception to that rule. And he’s even more dense than the 2 aforementioned ditzes!
ReplyDelete“ Lee Hammer says no!”
Kyla Grogan doing the news anchor duties on KRON is interesting. I have to agree she is pretty solid even doing news and weather during the entire newscast. Maybe KRON should just bump (diva) Darya off the mornings and replace her with Kyla. Pretty solid move...
ReplyDeleteNote to KTVU since I know many of you read this blog:
ReplyDeleteSoccer games end in a 'draw,' not a 'tie.' Also, they're referred to as 'matches, not 'games.'
If you're going to have your anchors and reporters provide commentary, at least ensure they use correct terminology.
This is America, where we speak American English, and not British. We have games, and fields, and teams, not matches, pitches, and sides.
Delete@2:07am, Hi Amber, nice of you to stop by. Oh, and while I have your attention, don’t forget to double flush when you drop a load at work. The first couple of times it was funny, now it’s outright disgusting.
DeleteHere we go again, Haener has missed 5 of her last 6 shifts.
ReplyDeleteOliva Horton has a problem with the pronunciation of words. A few months ago, she called Yosemite National Park Yose-Might.
ReplyDeleteHow to pronounce the name of a country is not so easy. Do we use the countries spelling and pronunciation or do use American English?
ReplyDeleteI call Burch the “hippy dippy” weather woman. (Google George Carlin’s version and tell me I’m wrong.) She sounds like she just stepped off the Chico State campus. Seriously jarring the first time I heard her. Now I just laugh and think of Carlin suing her (were he still with us) for stealing his routine.
ReplyDelete