415 Media Exclusive: Mike Shumann Mulls Legal Action Against KGO-TV Over Alleged Warriors' Theft Incident; Says Whole Affair 'Was Total Misunderstanding'; KGO/Warriors Didn't Buy Excuse; Shumann 'Lawyers Up'

Mike Shumann

  IT WAS THOUGHT TO BE A MUTUAL PARTING, right? But we all know behind the scenes it was anything but.

Until now.

415 Media has learned, through multiple sources aware of the situation, that former sports anchor, Mike Shumann, is "highly considering" legal action against KGO-TV, the ABC local station which essentially fired him back in April following an alleged theft incident with the Warriors that ultimately spelled his doom.

Shumann was caught on video in San Antonio at the end of a team practice that shows him taking a jacket and then walking away --its images with various shots of Shumann looking around the scene and then leaving an almost empty arena with jacket in hand.

Shumann denied the story outright and said the whole thing was "a total misunderstanding."

I concurred.

In fact, the whole bizarre drama had almost the entire KGO newsroom in a total daze because Shumann, a 24-year employee at the station, had never been in any sort of trouble nor was he ever accused of something so damaging or seemingly out of character like this incident in San Antonio where he was immediately sent home by KGO with the Warriors' organization approval.

It turns out there's a more recent explanation.

Shumann, according to 415 Media sources,  told both KGO brass and Warriors' team officials:

he took the jacket when he left the practice because there were no other Warriors' personnel present and he grabbed the thing because he wanted to return it to the security guy (really, Steph Curry's main security guard) to whom it belonged.  But when Shumann went under the stands to find him, the guy wasn't around. So Shumann took it back with him to the hotel, with the intention to give the jacket to the guy the next time he saw him -- at the game.

But within hours and before Shumann was able to convey what really took place, the video of him "stealing" the jacket went viral and that Warriors' players seeing the video had immediately wanted him out. Soon, he was sent home from San Antonio and not so long after was taken off the Warriors' beat leading eventually to his leaving KGO in a mutually agreed-upon decision.

Only now it's learned the decision was rushed up and that Shumann denied any wrongdoing and feels he was thrown to the wolves. And even though his tenure at KGO was clean and that he had a solid relationship with Bay Area sports teams he was nevertheless sent packing.

KGO officials didn't buy his excuse and worrying about a backlash with a key sports client; a partner that directly provides the station with millions of dollars of revenue and national exposure; KGO quickly disposed of Shumann.

Now it appears Shumann is headed to court and has lawyered up.

*415MEDIA EXCLUSIVE

Frank Somerville Defends New KTVU 4PM Newscast; Tells 415 Media Criticism Of Mibach And Arnold Not Fair; 'They're Not In The Business Just To See Themselves On TV'; Friday Opener

 Frank Somerville shot back at my report involving the lackadaisical numbers involving KTVU's new 4 PM newscast that debuted a little more than a month ago.


In the report, I quoted anonymous station sources who attributed much of the blame (early on) to anchors Mike Mibach and recent Fox2 hire, Keba Arnold.


The sources ripped both Mibach and Arnold:

       (Arnold) a Sacramento 'lightweight." In other words? "She doesn't know the market here." Just 30days in? Rough.

 

 

Same source on Mibach: "He's just coasting in here--This isn't Mornings on Two--you really have to work here --it's a newscast."

Somerville reacted to the quotes direct to 415 Media:

"I sit right next to Mike and Keba. And I really like both of them. I can tell you for a fact that they work very hard. I see it every day. I can also tell you that they care about the stories their covering. They care about the people they’re interviewing. They care about getting it right. And they’re not in this business just to see themselves on TV. Those are all qualities that I value and look for in coworkers."

I pointed out to Somerville that the sources never said anything about Arnold and Mibach not "getting it right"--just that they're obviously critical of the new duo's performance so far.


To which Somerville countered:

"Look, they called Keba a lightweight... and they implied that Mike was coasting and wasn't working hard... I'm saying I respect both of them.. and I like their work... and I listed the reasons why."

I pointed out so far, early on, I too have not had a favorable opinion of KTVU's 4 PM presentation --granted, it's way too early to gauge what's to become of its fate but results so far (by station internals) are not promising. The newscast has a very ordinary look and offers nothing of substance which, who knows, may be KTVU's intention given its FOX-owned infusion.


We'll wait and see. With AUTHORITY.




































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KRON Unveiled Its New Look And It Looked Positively Average; Get The Lighting Right And You'll Be OK

KRON debuted its new studio set Monday night--it finally moved into the 900 Front building that also occupies KGO-TV.


The news set looks fine; infinitely average; nothing out of the ordinary; extraordinarily benign; although there's a few issues and problems to work out and in due time they probably will be.


The two-seat, main anchor desk is awkward-looking. It's sort of the trend these days but it's a bad look. It also limits the entire design of the new look. Picky? Sure, but vital too. Why not give Pam Moore a more expansive area to work? She's your star power, KRON--it would be great to get her into the mix.


I'm also not thrilled with Gary Radnich roaming the set and now, being to the left, (on camera) of Moore. It looks odd and it hurts both Radnich and Moore. Better to place Raddy back in his familiar position.


The worst part of the new look is the lighting. It's terrible. On several occasions it looked too dark and then worse yet, it looked as if KRON overcompensated and lit up the joint like something out of Downtown Las Vegas. This needs work and here's hoping they get it right, eventually.


Overall, I like it. Again, it isn't something that dazzles; maybe that's OK here. It is much nicer looking than the old garbage at Van Ness with the spiral staircase and spaceship look. How 80's.


KRON can do more too--GET RID of the old graphics and news jingles. How annoying. This isn't 1986. The new look and the old sound doesn't mix. As long as you look different, might as well give yourself a complete makeover.


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Your TGIF Mood Inside the Bay Area TV Newsrooms

    KGO: Disappointment, rancor, natives think the ND and her assistant are way over their head. Nobody watches the 4 PM; stories are fluff-central, disneyized, one veteran reporter told me. Way too many meetings by the divas. The Heather Ishimaru development adds to low morale. Grumpy's has been packed lately.

KRON: About as could be expected. Could it be any worse since the GM left? Yes and no. They're just trying to carry on. Surprising numbers in the early evening--they still occasionally do good work but ultimately, it's still KRON.


KPIX: Mellow and reasonably happy. Nobody at least in the lunch room bitching and moaning. The video exclu of the fire trucks at SFO rummaging near the still-alive Asian girl was nifty and Rosenheim seems to have the confidence of his boss, mysteriously quiet, Bruno Cohen.


KTVU: About the lowest in recent memory. Changes galore, mucho story count, seems like a new reporter every day, oh, and they hate the ND. When people miss Special Ed you know there's issues. Said a staffer, "thank God we got the Niners game!" --And the Super Bowl too. Now if only they could 86 the way too many weather teases.


KNTV: Surprisingly cool and relatively mellow. Olympics bounce bound to help and perhaps mute NBC's horrific nighttime schedule. Anchors and reporters are happy but the Investigative Unit is in-house mocked. Hey, Kovaleski? Buy the staff lunch and everybody will be forklempta happy.


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Leigh Glaser, Star Weather Meteorologist for KGO-TV; Sunday PM Looker

 I've always liked KGO-TV's classy weekend weather forecaster, Leigh Glaser.

For starters, Glaser possesses terrific presence on the screen, knows her craft; (she's been predicting weather for 21 years at Circle 7) and has developed a strong following--she's been in the biz overall for over 30 years.

She's also well liked and respected inside the newsroom at Channel 7. Graceful, smooth, and a real pleasure to watch her handle her weather duties.

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KTVU is still Bay Area TV News Gold Standard but Star is Fading; Change Inevitable at 2 Jack London Square

Has KTVU News lost its luster? It certainly seems that way.

Much of what KTVU does best it still does best but due to circumstances, some of which is beyond their control, the Oakland news powerhouse simply isn't the same.

Let's start with simple personnel. Channel 2 has lost a lot of its star power: the retirements of Dennis Richmond and most recently, ace reporter, Rita Williams. Add Lloyd LaCuesta and Randy Shandobil to that list. And don't forget Ross McGowan too.

And while KTVU still commands heavy-duty respect within the local and national news biz; and makes a ton of money for its corporate owner, Cox Communications, its cachet has taken a hit and has been intensified with a great deal of consternation and angst in the newsroom. Many veterans complain of too many short-story counts, an inordinate intensity of the quick ten-sec snippets that lack zip and reek of simple filler. There's also major grumbling with the "Thanks for trusting us" garbage line uttered by the less-than-thrilled anchor team who cringe. They try to hide it but you can see the what the hell are we sayin?-look on their face.

Most evident at KTVU is the number of new faces. Again, part of that has to do with simple attrition and nobody has control there. People come and go, it's only natural, but KTVU was once the epitome of stability. They still have the familiar faces and anchors. But there's more newbies and out-of-towners than ever before. Nothing wrong with that only these newbies don't possess the kind of Channel 2 brand the station has established over the years. Perhaps the new News Director may give his workforce a needed jolt. They certainly need it.

Channel 2 makes its bread and butter at night with the still-regal "10 O'clock News", but there's no competition there and significantly less viewers. Its newscasts at 5 and 6 PM need major overhauls as it is routinely beaten on several nights even by KRON; (which has suddenly become a major player on the local scene with its beefed-up newscasts); KTVU is also getting killed by both KPIX and KGO-TV in the early evening which has become a thorny issue and cost the past ND his job.

KTVU is most certainly not in the abyss. They still do very good work. Their morning show franchise, "Mornings on 2" has a respectable following and decent numbers. But they need to refine and re-brand their product. They also need to shore up some of their core assets like weekend anchor, Ken Wayne, whose contract status remains up in the air. And they need to make clarity with the likes of stalwart reporters like consumer editor, Tom Vacar, and science reporter, John Fowler. Both Fowler and Vacar are excellent reporters and continue to bring forward solid stories only their status at the station is muddled with uncertainty. Which, according to a few insiders is now the biggest problem with the rank and file. Nobody knows what direction the station is going. Does it do a simple tweak? Is it time to re-shuffle the anchor desk in the early evening? Nobody has a clue other than there needs to be change and change is coming. Bank on that.

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