Dianne Feinstein --more than just a mere six-term senator.
Hell, she transcended politics.
She single-handidly lifted SF oit of emotional ruins at a time when it needed it badly.
Ms. Feinstein was stately, regal, and elegant at the same time. She understood civility in a business that didn't have much. Today, especially.
She held convictions, of course she did, but she gave respect to the other side. She was tough as nails and always on point but she always looked and listened. Emphasis on listen. How many politicians actually LISTEN these days? Not many.
From a media standpoint, Ms. Feinstein was superb. She talked the straight talk; NO BS, no hyperbole, always speaking on real terms and sincerity. You could agree or disagree with her on certain issues but you couldn't argue against her passion.
Like I said, she transcended politics.
Today is a sad day in the world, especially here in the Bay Area, SF in particular. We knew this day was coming, even so, a sad day nonetheless.
THE MONEY IS THERE--by today's standards, it's not a lot, about $10M give or take.
That's the easy part.
Here's the HARD PART: convincing a few Bay Area millionares and BILLIONARES to invest in a project that would involve bringing a radio deadbeat to LIFE: a KGOesque reinvention of the current old KSFO.
This much is certain:
There's a current VOID in Bay Area terrestrial radio, more like news-talk radio, the only viable format that exists on the AM dial.
The Bay Area is the 4th-largest radio media market WITHOUT a newstalk station. Like, NO newstalk station minus a few hours of KQED's Forum, which is scant at best and really dooesn't count.
Even the old, old KGO, which officially died last October had a talk presence, albeit diminished.
Today, there is a ZERO talk presence on Bay Area radio. Given market size, political interest and most importantly, a General Election looming in 2024, quite amazing and frankly, outrageous in my estimation.
A new, perhaps "The All-New KSFO" --a HYBRID mix of Conservative, Liberal/Progresive newstalk; a John Rothmann here; a Melanie Morgan; a Tom Sullivan there. With LOCAL emphasis and national too, LIVE and pre-recorded on the weekend, but newstalk nonetheless.
Anything now beats the alternative.
There is movement, I hope.
The Bay Area without a talk-radio outlet is a TOTAL ABOMINATION.
KTVU and Fox have an unofficial Power4 new plan for the "10 O'Clock News" once Julie Haener and Bill Martin depart the premises, (or are told to)--it's a contingency already in place and ready for execution, probably Jan. of 2024...
Heather Holmes and Alex Savidge on the news side; Mark Tamayo on weather on weather; an unknown, as of yet, sports anchor.
Yes, Mike Mibach is the odd man nout but Mibach simply hasn't jelled with viewers.
KTVU needs a new change of scenery and fast.
*ANOTHER STAR POWER duo for KPIX: I've mentioned Juliette Goodrich and Reed Cowan.
Here's another: Devin Fehely and Anne Makovec.
.
A FORCE for 5PM and a PixPlus bonanza. Fehely is a rising STAR with great technique annd BUZZ personified. Understated wonderment. And Makovec finally gets a PRIMETIME home. Talk about DUAL benefits for PIX.
RADIO DAZE: Morning radio in SF: a full amount of nothingness.
The morning buffoonery on KNBR, where Smurph and Smack don't possess an ounce of sincerity; the thoroughly robotic, drone-like KCBS team of Eric Thomas and Margie ShaferKGO? Never mind.
And KQED? A hodgepodge of wind chimes and audio potted plants. There's just a big VOID.
*Looks like NBC Bay Area suits are going to send an ARMYto Paris for the Summer '24 Olympics, among the throng, Raj Mathai and Janelle Wang, which is great for Raj, not so great for Raj's wife.
*BEST Crime reporter in Bay Area, bar none, KTVU's Henry Lee.
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LOTS of internal misery at ALL BaY Area TV News stations--most of it will come to a head at ythe end of the month. And it won't be pretty. It never is.
*KCBS the other morning: take away all the ads, weather, trafic/sports and you had 7 minutes of actual news --in an hour! 7! minutes! Of course, some people would cheer because listening to KCBS these days? Ads are a welcome relief.
*As I surmised, the ABC/Nexstar deal has a lot of issues to deal with, mostly doing with the deal itself, which is basically a trial balloon..
*Gives new meaning to, when the lights go down in the citay...
*IF YOU LISTENED to KNBR the morning after the 49ers victory, it almost sounded as if it was Greg Papa who won the football game.
Papa and his pretentious football jargon geek is simply unlistenable and murky; a case of ego and personal chaos run amok. I can no longer listen to the radio account --the TV net broadcasters have a much better call and minus the HIDEOUS Papa TD call, a total ABOMNINATION!
Heather Holmes has resisted the urge to move on from KTVU; she has all but LEFT countless times, only to stay on in hopes she'd finally get her dream gig: a PRIME TIME, permanent anchor slot, ideally 6 and 10/11 PM.
In fact, Hoplmes has repeatedly threatened to LEAVE Channel 2, going so far as to swoop in when oppurtunity struck. But, as of now, she's still stuck in quasi back-up mode.
HH is clearly PISSED FF and frustrated en-fuege at KTVU. Her leverage is waning too. Heather isn't getting any younger. Could we see her anytime soon at a competing Bay Area station? KRON, even? NBC Bay Area? Oh, stay tuned.
*ADD HOLMES--secret ally: Frank Somerville.
One of my many spies at KTVU told me even as Frank Somerville killed off his gig at the station, Holmes and he had often met outside the newsroom and held private liason meetings at a nearby Jack London Square coffee cafe. They met for hours. Heather was one of Frank's closest confidants; even when he was fired by Fox, Frank and Heather held court at various cafes abd restaurants.
Today, their relationship is srill strong even if Frank is no longer at KTVU.
Publicly, Anne Makovec is a good soldier; the KPIX anchor is resolute with her slight-primetime presence at KPIX. She understands Juliette Goodrich and Liz Cook aren't going anywhere anytime soon. She knows the pecking order.
But Anne also knows, ( thinks at least) that her time has come. She wants to be considered for a more prominent placement --and NOT just PIXPlus--Makovec wants 5,6, and/or 11 PM.
That aij't happening anytime soon at CBS Bay Area.,
Could Anne bolt 855 Battery and look elsewhere in the market? Sure, if there's outside interest.
AL MICHAELS had his own entourage at the Fairmont Hotel this week; good for Al, the VERY BESTNFL announcer --he and Kirk Herbstreit will work tonight's 49ers'-NY Giants game from Levi's Stadium.
Don't listen on radio--keep it on Amazon or the local aff picking up the game.
*Michaels and several Amazon/NFL execs dined Tuesday night at Original Joe's; the assorted blonds at the back room were, uh, noted in Joe's house.
After a $5000 tab, Mr. Michaels left a $1500 TIP, more than 20%--Al knows his SF roots. In the 70's he did SF Giants play-by-play with Lon Simmons.
*And another classic Al Michaels'moment, via Candlestick Park, Oct. 17, 1989...
THE KRON misery took center stage the other night at Kokkari. The bar was packed and the old regulars were on full display: Vicki Liviakas, Ken Wayne, Cathy Heenan to name a few.
KRON is back to being its old KRON.
On the HOTSEAT now: M, Jim Rose.
*On land full, literally and figuratively: KGO/900 Frontl senior staff,, ALL of em.
The building a better Bay Area mousies know how to RUIN peoples mental capital.
*Larry Beil, the guy almost all interns DESPISE: with authority!
'
*MOST POWERFUL GM in town: PIX's Scott Warren, CBS flavor with Black Rock fog, SF style.,p>
*The yentas at ABC7 who had a cigarette in the parking garage should know there's security cameras everywhere. It's not KTVU but its damn close. They were not exchanging cookie recipes.
*Speaking of yentas: lurking near KQED Radio: Jan Wahl. Sje never gives up.,p>
*Male yenta: Lee Housekeeper.
'
*TWO PROMINENT media groups; CNN and MsNBC, that might go after, (again) KGO/ABC7 stalwart: Dion Lim. Dion might, uh, say, SHOW ME THE MONEY!
KPIX brass knows they made a mistake in the hire of Ryan Yamamoto, which is why they stuck him at Noon--that said, he's a total disaster even at 12 PM.
He looks lost and out of place with a deep sense of NO ENERGY and NO PRESENCE. Nothing has changed in a couple of years, PIX knows it.
*MORE NOON quagmire: KTVU's ridiculous-looking, sounding, Gasia Mikaelian, anchoring Tuesday with the opening story of a nasty truck crash on 580 in Oakland. The Gaas could have been more appropriate emceeing the start of a disco dance night out, talk about out of place.
Then again, it's KTVU, what else is new? I rest my case.
REAL LIFE love connection? Raj Mathai and Janelle Wang in San Jose at NBC Bay Area, I'm certain it has to be double mojo.
*They don't even pretend it's like old times at KTVU, the mood is DOWN and SOUR. every day, every moment. Just another LOUSY TV news station that was once Bay Area royalty. Too bad nobody gives a damn there, especially Julie Haener, who should know better.
*While I was in an Oakland shul celebrating the beginning of the Jewish New Year on Saturday, less than a few miles away, in a dark back part of a cafe in Jack Londom Square, both Haener and Mark Ibanez huddled and talked about a lot of things, it seemed both sad and poignant. Whatever it was, it was SECRET, oh, but my spies were on it.
*The MOOD at KGO-TV, even before the Disney/Nexstar rumors, was pretty sad and PUTRID, toxic to a point of serious and extreme. Circle7 staff saw some of its best personnel leave and/or retire. Producers, news writers, directors, the whole shebang. Dan Ashley knew, so did Kristen Sze and others, but said nothing. They could have but, well, that's all you need to know about ABC7 these days.
*ABC7 news boss, Tracey Watkowski-Silva and Disney: birds of a feather...
*MORE ABC7: mystery woman who all of a sudden, says nothing, does nothing, to the surprise of many at 900 FRONT: Ama Daetz. Bizarre and a little curious too. Ama maybe waiting in the wings to make a move once Ashley makes his move or when he's told to go home.
*Yes, KPIX (CBS News/Bay Area) continues to shuffle the deck and try, try, try. It's innovative, it's an attempt to try new stuff, it's creative, but so far, the numbers haven't moved a lot. CBS will stay the course, they have to, they have way too much moolah invested here, trust me.
*One person on the rise at PIX: Devin Fehely.
*ON THE OUTSIDE, LOOKING in, but FAILING miserably: Larry Beil, he had high hopes. Mp>
Disney didn't.,p>
And even with a weak, powerless FCC, the formality of such a deal faces enormous obstacles.
So, your KRON/KGO future is clouded with lots of fog.
*If Nexstar suceeds in its deal, almost assuredly, Dan Ashley is GONE from Bay Area TV news airwaves.
Can't even begin to explore the complexties of a KGO/KRON circa 2024, so I won't go there yet.
*MY AFFIRMATION for Black women, especially Black women TV News anchors is yes, transparent. I have a deep--seated respect for the sisters who have it a hard way, in an industry, like America, where the challenges and struggle is monumental.
Therefore, yes, call me a little biased and impartial, skewed, but at least I admit it.
*That all sid, Lezla Gooden is a FORCE to study and observe, what's not to like?
She's confident, engaging, compelling and is damn good.
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Barely a month into her new reign at CBS/SF, Ms. Lezla Gooden has become quite the STAR! Even the 855 Battery vets are impressed with her on-air presence and overall news moxie. But there's more.
She vvery much LIGHTS UP the screen. Already network savvy and a pleasure to watch, what a double bonanza!
EVERY HOST on KNBR prerequisite: you must GIGGLE every second or face immediate terminaion.
*Paging Adam Copeland, John Lund, Greg Papa and Brian Murphy.
*The lawyer who advertises "the best attorney we hope you'll never need." Yeah, and I'm George Clooney.
*If Dan Ashley does indeed leave KGO- or ABC/Disney tells him to take a hike---I would bet the house Ama Daetz follows him, just a good hunch.
*KTVU: the house of dysfunctional universe.
*Heather Holmes is openly shopping around her resume to Bay Area TV stations; HH has had it at The Firm.
*The KPIX Plus news is perfectly bland and Melba toast--I kinda expected that, which isn't such a bad deal these days although CBS might have a different take.
*Both Raj Mathai and Janelle Wang were seen holding hands in the NBC Bay Area newsroom the other night. Love is in the air and on the teleprompter too.
*The new Cal football pbp-broadcaster, Justin Allegri: stylistically, he's fine. Personality wise? He's a robot who needs to loosen up and show some emotion. That all said, I miss Joe Starkey. I know, yikes!
*Joe loves termites, ask his bank account.
*ONCE AGAIN, KRON is facing loads of internal issues, problems and general malaise; it wouldn't be such a big deal if a modeartely capable GM was at the helm but KRON has NO LEADERSHIP. Darya (Folsom) is once again being Darya in the morning; the midday is a colossal MESS; at 5PM and beyond there's TURMOIL with a capital T and Nexstar meddling. What a clusterfuck and then some. "We need help," said a KRON mole.
Boy do you ever.
*KCBS on Wednesday night ran over ten, TEN! minutes of commercials; I knew there was something going on because I could hear a lot of shit in the background. The only good news: more spots droned out the rock salt/human voice known as Shane Guiness, mister ":thank you very much." Guiness and assorted other nothings on KCBS is courtesy of incompetent ND/VP, Jenny Seelig. Seelig must have pictures.
*Crystal Bailey is another newbie on KTVU and she looks great and sounds great too which could only mean whe'll be in Sacramento in a couple mnths.
*INDUSTRY CHATTER: KTVU is barely functinal and hanging on a string. The whole place needs a complete makeover and blow-up. Like yesterday. Yes, it's URGENT!
The sudden suspension of her son, Jake, from the NFL's NO Saints; her diminishing presence at KTVU; her full-blown DEPRESSION over her former deskmates, Frank Somerville and Mark Ibanez.
That's quite a load.
Haener, according to my KTVU spy, is trying her best to maintain her professIonal image, especially to KTVU staffers who are no longer in her corner and have become jaded over her ongoing malaise. They sympathise with her various personal issues but are angry she's been provided full rope from The Firm's Bay Area TV news execs.
Rumors abound at KTVU over Jules murky status. It's a CRISIS that involves EVERYONE! And everyone needs each other.
Haener, despite her frequent absences, is still considered a valuable anchor, the last of the BIG 3 and a holdover --the ONLY remaining member of the vaunted force that made KTVU the KING of the hill, top of the list.
Nowadays? KTVU is a scene of TURBULENCE and CHAOS and Haener is at the forefront.
I'll be diplomatic: the KNBR account was cringeworthy.
Both Greg Papa and Tim Ryan were utterly over the top and disgraceful. Again, I'm being diplomatic. At least trying to.
While Papa stuck to his usual nutty, out-of-moment routine, Ryan was downright disgraceful. Screaming and yelling and acting like a drunken fool, RYAN WAS SIMPLY OUT OF CONTROL. IT WAS EARLY AND OFTEN.
Ryan, the alleged color analyst, didn't provide anything other than crazed cheering and vocal mayhem. You wanted analysis and insight? Ryan was more like a maniac fan from the bleacher zone. It's quite OK to show enthusiasm and cheer. Ryan took all that to the extreme.
Papa knows football. So does Ryan. I just wsh they would demonstrate their knowledge and bring us the account of the game.
It's THEIR JOB!
After a half of this abomination I couldn't take it anynore and went solely with the Fox broadcast.
Which is what I should have done in the first place.
His family has basically left him, the few family members still around. And all that has taken its toll.
Somerville's professional career is essentially over and that's a reality hard to accept, say his friends and allies.
Somerville has avoiided public life. rarely going out and pretty much staying home and dealing with everything; that's a tough chore on anyone's plate and especially for Somerville.
It's not official yet, but soon to be: Sal Castaneda will sign a new contract extension with KTVU to do traffic and assorted other goodies for another three years or so.
Sal could have milked his free-agency a tad, ever sp gently, but he remained at KTVU because he likes stability and The Firm was interested in bringing him back, albeit with virtually no raise, but in today's world, that's OK. Sal has a family and Bay Area roots.
I'm sure he can live on his $200K yearly salary give or take a few fender-benders on 880.
*Why Gasia Mikaelian insists on being overly chatty is beyond me. She just talks and talks. The pathetic giggle, which is ultra-phony doesn't help.
Somebody, please, tell her to calm down, Taylor, que the orchestra:
*Anatomy of a nothing burger: KNBR and its insipid hosts MILKED the Nick Bosa non-story/holdout-- it was apparent to anyone with a quarter brain, Bosa would soon be getting back to the 49ers after winning the lottery; only a few extra millions was to be negotiated and Bosa's agent worked the deal right for his client.
