Thursday, February 2, 2023

Tieless Paul Heggen at KPIX is Supposedly Revolutionary Look--Gimme a Break, CBS

ANOTHER STUPID DEVELOPMENT in TV NEWS --especially at KPIX:

Some moron consultant decided it would be hip, (I guess) for some of the anchors not to wear ties.

Like, say, weather guy, Paul Heggen.

Frankly, it looks weird. Bizarre. Goofy. Dumb, like I said, stupid.

Heggen looks aloof, it's not a knock, just an honest observation. We've now reached the valley of the absurd. In trying to make the news package appear more watchable, KPIX, (really, CBS) is attempting to design a new pattern and it's false hustle.

How about doing your best, CBS, to make for a, god forbid, BETTER PRODUCT! I guess that would be asking for the moon.

Heggen, for his part, is relatively dull. He doesn't have a personality, which is OK, but eliminating him wearing a tie doesn't make him a sudden bowl of energy, for god's sake, just gimme the damn weather and lose style points. It's not like I'm asking for gold.

Yet again, another lame attempt to create a new dynamic that is wholly unnecessary.

They never learn.

They never will.

47 comments:

  1. Agreed. The morning news guys on Ch. 3 in Sacramento have stopped wearing ties and it looks like they have just crawled out of bed and too lazy or late to put one on.

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  2. there is no reason to wear a tie when you are doing the weather. Ties for men are no longer mandatory in the modern world.

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  3. And I don’t like seeing him on Saturday morning with those twice recorded forecasts. He is good but he needs to lose the casual attire. He was there one Sunday morning during the storm live from 6-7am and he wore casual too even when having a conversation with Devin.

    Where is Darren Peck on Saturday mornings? He is more professional and well groomed in terms of him wearing a tie. I want to see him back, even better bring Mary Lee on weekend mornings. She can technically still fill in.

    Oh and you know who else is casual? Reed Cowan….boy, why him too?

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  4. I see that Heggen lacks a bit of personality but I don’t think he’s too bad. He presents the weather really well, and some questions I curiously wondered why the atmosphere is the way it is, he answered my curious minded questions on tv. I think he is kind & humble enough on tv.

    At the same time he’s not a jerk like Darren Peck (who does have more personality). Brian Hackney has personality and does the weather very well and so is Mary Lee & Jessica Burch.

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    1. I have met Paul and his Wife and I think he is a very cool guy. Polite, humble, and classy.

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    2. Yeah, my mom prefers Heggen, Burch or even Hackney over Peck, and really likes Heggen’s presentation on the weather. For example, some days when I was doing my routine jog on the Hayward Hills, some sunny days you can see Oakland & SF clearly and other sunny days not so much as there is haze and Paul nicely explains and is observant of this small detail and explains why. And same with when high pressure builds in for blocking storms or any major heat waves. He doesn’t take too much air time like Peck but puts the information into a very straightforward fashion still giving a viewer like me an easy understanding of his forecasts.

      He puts rain chances & also important figures during the season like fire danger index, which Peck does NOT really do. All Peck does is look at the longer range models, which is nice, I agree but it takes up a lot of time.

      This is something not many meteorologists really do but Heggen seems to be good at it. And I really really like his Weather Extra Segments. While he is humble and kind to the anchors & viewers, he needs to show a little more personality on air when he himself is presenting the weather (he can take a few pointers from Hackney, Peck or even Burch, who are wonderful). Maybe put this information in a way that grabs the viewers attention a LOT more and makes you more excited to listen to (Peck, Hackney, Lee or even Burch can do this).

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  5. No tie is far more forgiveable than wearing a sport coat with jeans...worst look ever.

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    1. 4:34PM - Do you NOT spot the second problem in the picture? Heggen is wearing jeans….goodness gracious.

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  6. “KPIX Weather Guru, Paul Heggen Is Thumbs Up in My Book”

    - Rich Lieberman, 8/25/2022

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  7. Yes...I find him rather bland as well. But that's CBS 5's reputation. And you get to fail up like Paul DeAnno (who actually wasn't that bad) and go from market to market (SF-Chicago-LA) and still get paid. Even Darren Peck was filling in at CBS-LA from KPIX studios last summer during the wildfires. Crazy affiliate relationships.

    Brian Hackney was a good sarcastic load of joy when he did the weather at PIX. Not many weatherman get to graduate to the weekend anchor chair. I find his glassy eyed cynicism on the weekend a perfect fit for that struggling news station and the news in general.

    And Joel Bartlett whispers from the otherworld....'that's why I left KPIX for ABC 7 back in the day'. Best weather person in The Bay...Roberta Gonzalez (ducks). lol Ok...Drew Tuma. No? Well...I think we can all settle on Sandyha Patel to give us a concise, accurate and engaging forecast while wearing matching clogs to boot.

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    1. Brian Hackney does fit the balance of what a weatherman should do. But Mary Lee was awesome. Put a smile on everyone’s face and still gave the weather. I guess one thing I can agree on for both as well as Heggen is that they get straight to the details and do not have such a slow flow forecast like what Peck does (and I think Peck talks too much as many have said what could have been said in 10 seconds took maybe 2 mins).

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    2. “ Brian Hackney was a good sarcastic load of joy when he did the weather at PIX. Not many weatherman get to graduate to the weekend anchor chair.”

      You got it wrong. Doing PIX weather was a demotion. He always anchored back at KRON, and has always reported, edited and produced pieces better than 99.9999% of anyone, even at the network level. But he’s not hot, so Rich doesn’t notice

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    3. Hackney is good at anchoring & I love his science stories. Weather, yes he’s good but no in-depth expertise like Peck or Heggen. Thats why I’m glad he’s not in the weather center these days, and except for 1/1 & 1/2 because Peck subbed for Burch, it’s good he was not really on during the holidays and Peck filled in.

      Rich, I have been observing even after the recent storms subsided that Burch is on every day, but Mondays & Tuesdays Peck is there at Noon and 3PM but not there Saturday mornings nor doing live weather on Sundays (records the previous night and Devin plays them). Is this a sign of cost cutting till they get 1 more meteorologist? Just wondering if you know.

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    4. "Weather, yes he’s good but no in-depth expertise like Peck or Heggen."

      Huh??? He started out as a meteorologist, and was doing weather when Peck was at the junior prom.

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    5. 4:46PM - So thats how Peck was filling in at LA? Makes sense. I believe that was on Labor Day though we had casual Paul Heggen show up. I didn’t know that, so cool.

      One more place I want to bring up is do you know Seattle CW has a NOW segment from KSTW? Usually the evening meteorologists will use the weather graphics they use for CBS & point them to the Puget Sound/Seattle area. You will see Paul Heggen do it on the weeknights & Darren Peck on weekends (or if he’s filling in). Because Peck is there Mondays & Tuesdays now, he’s also filming the overnight segments early on as well as the Seattle forecasts so that it can be viewed at any hour. While the Seattle CBS is NOT O&O, it’s interesting they have the KSTW now with Anne Makovec anchoring Seattle local news (from the studios in San Francisco) & meteorologists giving the forecasts from the KPIX studios. Interesting stuff.

      Not only that remember the beginning of the pandemic? Liz Cook was filling in for the morning CBS anchors in New York (WCBS) from the studios in San Francisco for Chris & Mary. Bet you she was tired after that.

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  8. I remember the early ‘90’s when the old timers were having fits over Casusl Fridays, Don’t miss those days.

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  9. In many places in the corporate world ties are no longer required even at the executive level. Fashions change and have a silly, uncomfortable tie around your neck makes no sense. Steve Jobs ruled what became the biggest tech firm with a turtle neck sweater. Be happy the ties is fading away as the ascot and the top hat did.

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  10. How does wearing a tie make the temperature or rain storm more authoritative? He’s fine. Go chase phonies and bad actors per usual. Heggen one of the few things that’s good on PIX.

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    1. Agreed and even admitted on Instagram that first Friday in August that it felt good to not wear a tie and be casual.

      He is good, I am not finding any blandness or dullness. Maybe he can lose the jeans perhaps on air…that’s one thing I don’t like seeing in that part. Reed Cowan is no better, after getting to know for a while, he is also following that casual part too. But I think he dresses more professionally than Heggen except for the fact he can mess around with the meteorologists which Peck & Heggen sometimes got a little ticked off by…Hackney just went with the flow and was fine with it.

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  11. While a tie isn’t necessary, I do think that if you’re going to go tie-less you need to think of the entire outfit. If you wear a traditional ‘suit’ and formal dress shirt without a tie, then I’ll admit it looks strange because it looks like something is missing.
    But if you pair the shirt with a nice fitted sport coat and pants that complement both of the above, then it can actually look very good. While I don’t always like his particular style, Bill Martin does this well.
    Heggen on the other hand belongs on a What Not to Wear episode. His suit jackets are often too baggy, they flair out way too much at the hips, and he wears tennis shoes which makes everything look odd.
    Speaking of tennis shoes, let’s not forget about Mr. Raj Mathai who routinely wears cheap suits with dirty tennis shoes.
    And speaking of suits, Mr. Mike Mibach has a penchant for pants that are four inches too short. I’m not talking about well-tailored pants, I mean suit pants that are actually four inches too short. It makes his body look strange when they do the full body shots.

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  12. A reminder that ties have a long history of significance. So important, that Pete Giddings reportedly stipulated in his contract that only he could wear a polka dot tie on the Channel 7 news set.

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  13. Heggen's jackets flare at the hips because he needs a bigger size in the middle. He wears jeans with those ill-fitting jackets that make him look like he's at a casual Friday insurance-sales-meeting luncheon at the Yuba City Applebee's. (in the manner of Rich)

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  14. Remember the days before Aug 2022 where Heggen was tieless during the 3PM newscast & after the end of the 3PM newscast he would wear a tie? He is tieless at all of them now & if he wears a tie it’s during all the newscasts.

    On YT, some videos people do not like Heggen’s casual look and believe it’s unprofessional compared to say, Darren Peck.

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  15. In the Boston market, the male anchors and meteorologists at the NBC O&O and their sister cable news channel no longer wear ties in the studio. Their counterparts at the other four stations in the market continue to wear ties.
    It makes them look less professional, in my opinion, especially as the female anchors and meteorologists at the station and cable channel continue to wear dresses and business outfits.

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  16. I believe the issue here isn’t that Heggen goes without a tie, but rather how sloppy he looks. As others have pointed out he wears ill-fitting suit jackets, over-sized jeans, and running shoes that look plain stupid. The lack of a tie exacerbates all of the above and makes him look even less put together than he is.

    There are many ways to look sharp, professional and polished without a tie. In fact, ties are the exception rather than the norm these days, and most men who are generally regarded as ‘well-dressed’ aren’t wearing a tie.

    And as far as men on tv, there are plenty of men on tv who are well-dressed with body-appropriate clothing and present themselves in a polished and professional manner, without a tie.

    Heggen is most certainly not one of those men.

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  17. There are ways to look ‘professional’ without wearing a tie. However, it looks odd and dorky when one decides to ditch the tie while wearing an actual suit with formal dress shoes. Anchors who opt for this look like business men or car salesmen who take off their tie the minute the clock strikes 5pm.

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  18. Does he get the weather right? If he does he can come in dressed like Jed Clampett.

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  19. I guess the tie-less crowd would go apeshit if they worked in Hawaii....where anchors often wear Hawaiian shirts. I was in New Mexico for a wedding last year--and I noticed an anchor wearing a bolo tie (YUCK!!)

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  20. Paul Heggen is witty and smart. At first I wasn’t a fan but he is growing on me and he is funny with Goodrich and Donchey. He is great with everyone else too actually . His humor is subtle and dry and pretty funny at times. I don’t care what he wears. Cut him a break .

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  21. Am I the only one who thinks anchors could read the weather forecast? I wouldn’t mind seeing weather go the way of sports and it would be good for the bottom line as we transition to streaming only. BTW, Apple has an excellent weather app.

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    1. You may not be alone, but haven't you noticed that the weather affects everyone? The biggest stories are frequently tied to extreme weather.. It matters if you fly, drive, have a house in the path of predicted flooding...etc. etc.

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    2. Yes, I have noticed but I bet everyone still checks their phone for up to date weather in their neighborhood. Extreme weather strories are news content reported by news anchors. We don’t need sports, traffic, weather or consumer reporters and a lot of $$ could be saved by eliminating them. The “Show” is over.

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  22. Paul Heggen is a smart guy, but the worst dressed person in Bay Area media.

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    1. 💯💯 Exactly my point. Where’s Darren Peck on the Saturday morning newscast? Again Heggen was there, casual. Honestly I think he should lose the jeans, it looks really distracting on air.

      Probably when there is a Friday Heggen is off, surely the Saturday newscast the same way would be done by Peck. Is this a permanent new move done by KPIX? This was temporary for weeks between Mary Lee’s leaving the weather & Burch’s arrival.

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  23. What's in the water at ktvu? At night we have "Constipation Man" (Mr. Mibach), who looks like he was pushing and straining immediately before going on air. And then, in the morning, you have Pam Cook, who seems unable to control her flatulence, which results in occasional audible fart noises.
    Is it normal for a tv station to have anchors with chronic gastrointestinal issues? It's so strange. These aren't one-off incidents.

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  24. Today both Darren Peck & Paul Heggen explained about earthquakes (both what could happen here & recently in Turkey and Syria).

    Darren seems to permanently be there also Monday & Tuesday mainly at noon & 3PM. He was even there on the 7PM newscast with Jules. I think if Heggen is off and Peck does not work the same morning, Peck can still cover for Heggen in the evening, only it could be all day (or 11PM is questionable? Maybe Hackney would come but unlikely unless Peck has to show up for the morning show).

    Both Peck & Heggen presented very nicely with the right flow & details. Not something in this context I would compare with the weather (Peck goes too much into it but great detail, Heggen gets to the point while being humble. Peck has a little more personality that’s the difference, but both are great no doubt, my parents don’t like Peck that much tbh.

    On the attire side he did not wear a tie but no jeans. I don’t think I have seen any meteorologist on air wear jeans, Bill Martin perhaps? But he is at least wearing a suit & tie and looks better dressed than Heggen if I am being honest here.

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  25. Spoke with a 22 year old today and asked her if she uses Facebook. Big NO. It's for the older generation. The younger generation is not watching Bay Area News.

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  26. Today is Friday and typically the last several we have seen him wearing jeans. Monday, we had Peck filled in, so can't comment on that. The rest of the week either he had a tie or was tieless without wearing jeans. Guess this would look better since we are seeing Saturday morning forecasts by him (unless there's a major weather event that requires Darren Peck to be in giving live updates).

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  27. The Jeans gotta go, faded no less. Peck is my favorite. The woman, no. Young and blond got her hired.

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    1. Peck filling in on a Friday evening without the jeans (and Saturday morning recordings) was better to see than casual Heggen. Even Hackney wasn’t bad either except for the fact he missed a lot of information for 4/15 and it was just a rehash of the Friday night forecast (that should not be there on a Saturday morning) with incomplete details and missing the extended forecast. But at least he was still professionally dressed.

      Nice to see Heggen back from his vacation, but back to his terrible Friday outfit with jeans and a badly matching blazer. He could have worn like Monday where he was tieless.

      On another note hope Peck gets a break after this weekend, he’s worked too hard filling in for both meteorologists during the 2 weeks plus working his regular weekend duties.

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  28. Dirty dog Paul Heggen

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  29. I'm all for the tieless look of Paul Heggen, with the black pants (he seems to do that every other Monday and any random day of the week). But I hate the casual blazer and jeans look. If he can wear khakis with the blazer instead, that is MUCH better. One thing I notice about him is that only on a Monday he will never wear jeans (or rarely, he did on a few Mondays last year). At least I think he's pretty good in the weather and explanations (as his job should be).

    I do notice on KNTV that the same tieless look also occurs with Mayeda and Jeff Raineri, but neither of them wear jeans on air and are have a better fashion sense. Someone really needs to knock some sense into Heggen on his attire and jeans. If you don't want to wear a tie, no problem! Lose the jeans on air, Paul.

    Darren Peck is better in his attire, even with or without a tie. So is Hackney. I'm waiting for a Friday where Peck will fill in. This is not just a problem with Friday evenings, we see this problem extend into Saturday mornings and up to the 5PM newscast.

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  30. Darren can tell you the day's forecast so well, clear and simple without needless fluff, that you actually can close your eyes and get everything you need to know.
    Not only you can't do that with Heggen, who rambles constantly and quickly, but you can't even see Heggen's graphics and numbers with that terrible new VR presentation. Heggen is so bad, he needs to bring in his "Weather Dogs" only to keep viewers attention.
    Darren should have been given the Chief role.

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    1. Weather forecast too long. Heggen should be a teacher of the weather . Excellent explanations of weather cycles but forecast itself too long. Actually I really like his footwear really snazzy . Why is Paul Denanno back?

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