A prominent source at the station who has labored for years was blunt: "why the hell are we giving this guy so much air time?"
Beyond the rancor is the deep-seated belief that Nexstar, (KRON's owner) is showing a sign of desperation here. In fact, just the other week or so, KRON BEAT KTVU at 10 PM. It was just a sliver but it was significant enough that industry peeps were astounded.
KRON, to its credit, is allowing this interview to carry on--like it or not, (and many of you aren't thrilled with this) Somerville is a news item, at least for now. And yes, for awhile, what he says could be interesting.
All that said, KRON's (and Pam Moore included) rep is taking an internal beating.
QUICK HITS...
*God, Frank, could you have at least shaved? The lower fuzz makes you look older than your current 65.
*What Pam Moore didn't ask but should have: the relationship, (Frank says it was platonic) Frank had with a KTVU intern not so long before his 2021 breakdown. KTVU and Fox were not so certain it was kosher, they paid off the intern so she could go away and not be future trouble.
*Joke making rounds at KTVU: that everyone there behind the camera will be watching KRON come 10 PM.
*A Frank problem that George Watson didn't have to deal with: George was liked at KTVU --respected too. Frank is detested.
*Don't invite Frank to Mark Ibanez' house for a coffee.
"A prominent source at the station (KRON) who has labored for years" had an opinion, but so what. The opinion wasn't great enough to keep the interview's airing from occurring. The "prominent source" nowadays could be the maintenance person; so what?.
ReplyDeleteRL, as negative as my first paragraph seems, I give RL's opinion more power as an industry expert, vs. an anonymous/unidentified source who may or may not even exist.
I agree, interviewing a competitor's former anchor as news seems desperate/uninteresting/lowly/any-other-negative-connotations.
I think KRON has been desperate ever since losing/carrying NBC as its network connection. I wouldn't even know if KRON was even considered for the CW or Fox programming as other stations are carrying those shows/broadcasts; or if carrying those shows would be a good deal or not business-wise.
Otherwise, I'm (just a viewer) also ambivalent whether giving Frank S. air time for an interview on another station was good tv, but there is no radio or newspaper worthwhile. There doesn't seem to be any serious internet platform to air, what is, a personal employment/personnel issue.
You can be prominent (an anchor, say) and still not be able to stop the suits from doing what they decide. Prominence and position have nothing to do with it. That’s why Liz Cook and others have been demoted at PIX and they’re labeling all this attention on tatted Sara Dee.
DeleteLet’s give Frank a chance, folks. Help is on the way, Frank. Thank you, Rich and Gary.
Delete@2:44: That's Sara Donkey thank you very much. She's proven worthy of that moniker.
DeleteZero-sum game. The only winning move, is not to play.
ReplyDeleteBS. This is going to get HUGE ratings. I'm here for it. Pass the Popcorn Petunia!
DeleteWrong. Both parties will get their 15 minutes in the sun, then Cinderella's carriage disappears after midnight.
DeleteIt's so entertaining to watch KTVU go down in flames. Totally here for the bonfire!
DeleteFS is full of BS. What a sanctimonious blowhard. Empty suit who read off a teleprompter.
ReplyDeletehere, here! i won't be watching.
DeleteAfter the airing of the interview, nothing more will be known, and few people will have watched. It will be a non-event, and no one will be the wiser. Not sure why so many folks have their pantyhose in a bunch - this is one of those human interest stories that ends with a “meh” in the ratings.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to FS, one hopes you find peace in your heart and enjoy life out of the limelight. There are worse outcomes that could have happened, but didn’t.
100%
DeleteSorry, won't be watching, FS was given a million chances to shape up but won't, not feeling sorry for him, made his own bed, own it
ReplyDeleteI bet none of this will be his fault.
ReplyDeleteExactly! I'm sure he'll continue to make excuses.
DeleteFrank looks like "The Most Interesting Man in the World" in that photo at the top. Not a good image to project.
ReplyDeleteI work at KRON. I'm not mad. I like high ratings. Anyone who works in tv does. Anyone who says they don't is lying. It's not called the news BUSINESS for nothing kids. Boohoo KTVU. Get used to getting your A** kicked. Kinda looks like you already have LOL
ReplyDeleteI'll be watching!
ReplyDeleteAll I know is it's making KTVU News Director Amber Eikel lose her shizzle and THAT is fantastic. Just ask anyone who works at KTVU and they'll tell ya the same. I say good for KRON.
ReplyDeleteWhy leave us hanging with tidbits? What was Frank’s and Vinyl Room Mark’s beef over … affection from “Jules” as Bill Martin calls her? I thought they were chummy in their banter. Both were highly paid in this market and had similar egos it seemed. Two peas in a pod, no? Hire them both KRON and finish off KTVU’s demise! KRON could be known as the station of last chance with negotiated nap time.
ReplyDeleteFirst rule of journalism...Never become the story. Looks like those rules were obliterated years ago. Now everyone in media seems to have their ownTwitter, Insta, TikTok..and so on. So some become kinda like local celebrities (in their own minds at least). Look at me...Look at my pictures!! I have a clothing line...I'm in a band...My son's the next Joe Montana!! (Yawn.) Which further proves Don Henley's accuracy when he says...'Well I coulda been an actor...But I wound up here...I just have to look good...I don't have to be clear...' Dirty Laundry, indeed.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, the Frank Somerville saga is one of those cookie cutter human interest stories involving broadcasters and their occasional fall from grace. Usually due to addictions, affairs or saying 'Fa Shizzle Ma Nizzle' air and not realizing that might get you fired. lol (Happened recently. Look it up.) Frank is not the first. And he won't be the last. Cue Cheap Trick's...The Flame. (Or is that Reggie Aqui? lol)
Frank was a good anchor, nonetheless. Part of that familiarity that helped keep KTVU on the top in the 10 o'clock spot. A legacy passed on from Dennis Richmond. I'll watch Pam Moore's interview just because broadcast journalism and all its foibles interests me. Although with the plethora of local media available these days, where they all essentially repeat the same stories ad nauseam (some stations better than others)...Hell, give Frank the whole last half hour KRON 4!!! The storm porn is not till Tuesday. lol
No dog in this fight. Wishing Frank continued mental health and clarity. We could all stand to lift each other up now and then rather than complain, criticize and backstab. (At least that's what they told me in church this Sunday.) I'll try, i guess.
agree, beard looks like shit. but, he has aged a lot, not just the beard
ReplyDeleteMiss the familiarity that Frank provided... wont miss the sanctimoniousness
ReplyDeleteThe very first anchor I worked with was George Watson and that was at KSBW in Salinas.Way back then( 1974) everybody at the station also really liked George. He was funny, nice, considerate and very talented. He co-anchored, at that time, with Suzanne Saunders, also a swell person.
ReplyDeleteChristine, I watched KSBW regularly back then. George, Suzanne and you were a better news team than what is available today in the Bay Area. For a small market, KSBW historically has been a stepping stone to larger markets for Allen Martin, Leslie Griffith, Joe Fonzi, Len Ramirez, and Conan Nolan.
DeleteI am grateful to watch you!
Never heard of Craft before KGO.
DeleteYou are probably way too young to have watched KPIX in the seventies, or CBS Sports.
DeleteIf KRON hires him, who is he trying to date this time??? He has a history of internal woman issues.
ReplyDeleteDid Darya ever find someone to replace her cuddle-bunny?
DeleteFrank is a clusterfuck. He had a well paying job and screwed up. Period. I would rather see paint dry rather than watch this sanctimonious anus. If he is hired by KRON or any other TV station, it is the best example of white privilege. If he were a POC named Joe Smith, we would not have this drama and KRON wasting time interviewing this schmuck. He would disappear. I am sick of his self inflicted tale woe.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Frank's weaknesses and foibles are any more heinous than anybody else's, public figure or private citizen. I want to see it. I've always wondered this: since news anchors don't just breeze in the studio two minutes before air time, why hadn't somebody in the newsroom taken a look at the shape Frank must have been in on that fateful Memorial Day night and had the authority or the nerve to tell him to go home, get a good night's rest, and see ya tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteAnd Anon 11:33, good call with "Dirty Laundry." Also, the "bubble-headed bleached blonde who comes on at five (who) can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye" was said to be Christine Lund of KABC-TV.
Seems to me like FS and this interview is from someone who misses the attention and thinks people care. Sorry, we don't. I don't see why news anchors think they are so important. Sorry, you're not. These local TV reporters and anchors are interchangable and irrelevant. Yes, even the best of them. They are wannabe celebrities with egos. Look at Instagram and other social media and all you see are selfies and self-righteous spewing (FS is best at the later). However, because the viewing public likes sensationalism, human suffering, and TMZ quality stories, people will watch and this will have interest.
ReplyDeleteThey are dressing up the interview by having it done by Pam Moore. For all of his screw-ups it should be done by Darya Folsom,
ReplyDeleteI have known Frank Somerville since childhood. He is and always has been a kind and decent person. He is a good father. He is a man of integrity. He has made some mistakes. Who hasn't? He has been through very hard times but they have made him stronger, more introspective. And he is a good friend. Want evidence? Frank has a handful of real friends who have known him for many decades and love him no matter what. How many of us can say that
ReplyDeleteI have known frank since high school. Your definition of kind and decent are certainly not mine. A kind and decent person does not cheat on his wife and drive drunk. Frank has had many issues like this in the past it is just now that he got caught on camera.
Delete