KTVU Fox2 '10 o'Clock News' Early 2019 Playbook

I'LL SAY THIS: DO NOT TRUST THEM AS THEY USED TO SAY, "Trust us."

It's a BS word, trust. They should never be trusted in the first place.

Never.

They used to be the gold standard in Bay Area TV News. It's a different world, I know, but they no longer carry the sword. They are a lot of talk with very little swagger. They've been reduced to everyone else and they happen to be in first still in a marginalized business in a marginalized town, is KTVU News. They still have very, very good people--on the air, that is--and they do good things but they have severe case of egotitus and mass carelessness, to wit:

*Frank Somerville: so, you're getting a divorce. It happens. Don't freak out, Frank. You're human. The news is not unsettling at least in the public. It would have leaked out anyway and besides, it's no big deal anymore even if you think it is. The only issue now is to get on with your life and read the news and quit worrying about the repercussions. There are none. You're a mostly good guy, Frank. A few personal peccadillos doesn't define you.  Keep on keeping on, Count Somerville.

*Julie Haener: Jules, why have I always been suspicious about you? For a time I thought you were a hard worker and honest journalist. Was it working with Dennis Richmond all those years? Oh, don't get me wrong, Dennis was good and for a time, cool, but he obviously had an effect on you and it took its toll. So Julie, the outside sheen is simply an act. Deep down you're as occasionally mean as all the rest of us civilians. Don't take yourself so seriously and just carry on the task of reading the teleprompter. By the way, unlike Dennis, have you ever gone out in the field? Ever? 

*Bill Martin: I have a ton of respect for you, Bill. You may think I've taken cheap shots but Bill, you know I was spot on. You seem to have taken off some time of late. The weathercasts seem disjointed and broken. All in all, you still got it, Bill, but there's no crispness anymore and a few of your cohorts seem bored. They are not alone. You need to tighten it up and become a lot more fresh. It's not that difficult.

*Mark Ibanez: Wow, have times changed. Mark, you used to be a total breath of fresh air. You wrote the best three minutes of sports in the whole market. You were the STAR! The real deal. The punch, the spirit, the salute, the gravitas. Now Mark, it all comes out. Don't be phony Mark. You know what a phony is? A phony is a person who does/says one thing; does another; has an image as a good guy and all-around cool person. But then behind the scenes is 100 percent the opposite. Mark, you have 40 years in the company and you still are the man, it's just that your star has faded quite a bit in the end and I'm the only one who knows. Mark, it's 4th down and 10 from the 10 and you have one last play. Don't screw it up and by god, don't text in the play.

*415 Media

To Be Continued

The Official Disintegration of KTVU

I REMEMER KTVU when it had a soul. A pulse. A beat. An incredible part of the community.

Not any longer.

KTVU has become a benign, soulless, less-than-ordinary TV News station with very little direction and institutional incompetence; a once-proud news operation that has slithered beyond hope and inspiration. You can see it in the eyes of its staff; there's a very vivid malign of people who used to care and give a shit which is now been turned into a home for chaos and no sense of direction. And that's the good news.

KTVU has lost its grip. And I'm not even mentioning the Asiana debacle in 2013 or the equally pathetic and embarrassing Nia Wilson picture of 2018. Of course those stand out and they should. It's pretty difficult to have one clusterfuck --KTVU managed to have two in five years.

No, I'm talking about the people on the air and the people behind the scenes; the bulk of these folks are miserable. They don't like going to work. They frown when entering the premises wondering what's next on the horizon. KTVU is about to debut a new set (which is why you see a lot of anchors reporting from the newsroom) but a new set can't create spark and energy for a staff saddled with morale issues and intensification of action by "The Firm." The Firm is the industry code of present day FOX and its management of its owned and operated (O and O) TV stations. They are run by fear and intimidation. They loathe human interaction and abhor employees who aren't thrilled with working conditions that harbor deep resentment but dare not say anything negative or you're likely to be liquidated (figuratively speaking) to the outskirts of hell. I'm being extreme but I'm right.

Used to be KTVU (under its old corporate owner, Cox Media) was a gold-standard station with a heralded news reputation with solid anchors and reporters in the field that knew their territory and had tremendous vision. They were smart and solid and not only great at their gig but invigorating to watch and learn quite a bit. This was evident most solidly on "The 10' O'clock News", which used to be the most respected and admired, singular newscast in not only the Bay Area but around the nation.

Now the 10 PM news is a load of spam and lemon jello. It no longer has any relevance nor supreme being. It's just an ordinary newscast with insipid anchors and vanilla reporters with about a hundred thousand weather teases and anchors asking fake questions and looking and sounding the quislings they've become.

Frank Somerville is out front and passionate but Frank seems to be sort of driven by artificial emotion. It's not a knock on him it's just the facts. Take a look at him. He's sort of just plain out there. If his real passion were sincere and genuine he'd be more than just a guy in a great suit and look and ask real, legitimate questions and not the Ron Burgundy variety presently on screen.

Julie Haener used to be a dedicated, friendly, smart, news reader who seemed confident and relaxed. She's no longer warm and fuzzy on the air which would be OK if she weren't too a conniving, gossip monger who likes to stir up shit off the air. How do I know? Trust me, I do.

Bill Martin was once clever and original and made his weather reports interesting and informative. His ad-libbing was point perfect and forecasts usually on the spot. No longer. Martin seems to mumble now, quite a bit in fact. If this sounds harsh it is and I'm trying to be diplomatic but watching Martin now is the equivalent of a double root canal. If Martin were to emit one, tangible thought on the 300, 000 weather reports he does nightly on KTVU's news platforms, call me, I'd be enlightened because I haven't seen anything close. Bill seems lost in the fog.

I used to love Mark Ibanez on sports. The best writer in the market and a sports anchor that could make even non-sports fans interested in sports. But that great enthusiasm has been tempered with flat-out arrogance and self-importance. There's no passion anymore and less sincerity. What once was a genuinely interesting man who cared and was your best friend has turned into an insufferable lout with all the heart and soul of month-old rye bread.

Reporters come and go. The good ones, mostly, have either retired or just took off; there's hardly any veterans left. Tom Vacar is old and boring, uninspired too. Rob Roth used to be decisive and effective in his understated manner but seems to be just hanging on until they tell him to leave. Amber Lee is so much of a lightweight I can't imagine how she's lasted this long.

I'm not going to drone on about the morning on KTVU because you already know if you read me how much of a disaster its become. If you like superficiality and vanity disguised as news presentation then watch Channel 2 in the morning and gyrate to the human windbag known as Gasia Mikaelian and brute force banality named Dave Clark. Gravitate to a once charming Sal Castaneda who's ego and smarminess is self evident. Observe the warmth and creativity of Claudine Wong who last giggled in the latter years of the Clinton administration. Yeah, I'm generalizing but you get my drift. Oh, did I leave out my biggest fan, the ego maniac Broom Hilda with about as much inspiration as a rotten kumquat, Countess Pam Cook? I should know better.

KTVU will tell you they still rule the ratings. They do, in certain time slots including morning and late evening. Fine.

They won't tell you how many diminishing viewers they have. Nobody watches TV News anymore anyway except media bloggers and retired bridge players but so what, someone still has to make a living.

It would be nice if KTVU were to go back in time and produce a half-decent newscast with people that were excited and dedicated to their craft.

I won't hold my breath on that last one.

Neither should you.

415 Media Exclusive: Chaos at KTVU Over Nia Wilson Facebook 'Gun' Photo; News Director Amber Eikel Breaks Down in Front of Shocked Newsroom; Source to 415 Media: 'Job On The Line'; Claudine Wong Also Crying; How The Controversial Wilson Picture Made KTVU's 'Noon News'; Staffers Worry in JL Square

ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE AT

KTVU; CHAOTIC NEWSROOM

Anchors/Reporters/EP's' staffers

still shaken over Nia Wilson

KTVU News Director Amber Eikel

picture

*The fallout from the inappropriate

picture of murdered Oakland teen

Nia Wilson continues at KTVU;

the latest?

In a stunning display of the angst

that haunts the building, VP/News Dir,

Amber Eikel broke down in the

newsroom; crying and crying all in

front of a shocked staff; according

to my source who witnessed the

scene, anchor Claudine Wong

also began to sob uncontrollably.

Said the source:

"It was the most awkward scene in the newsroom I've ever witnessed and I've seen some beauties."

Claudine Wong smiling here but crying in KTVU newsroom

The source indicated and I've confirmed through multiple contacts that Eikel may have been crying not just for the Wilson picture incident, but for her own future at KTVU: Word is she's more than likely to get fired over the incident. Someone has to take the fall and it appears Eikel is at the top of the list.

Why?

Eikel, says Fox2 contacts, was the only person willing to work for GM, Gregg Kelley.

"He could control her," said the source.

But it was Eikel's own hired reporter and Executive Producer working the morning (and later Noon News) that were responsible for allowing the Wilson photo (in which a picture of her holding a cell-phone case that resembled a gun) made Channel 2's air on its Noon News--so, says the source:

"It falls on her."

The name of the reporter and EP working Monday is not known but the reporter sent a piece back to the station for air and the producer, also not known, quickly pulled the Wilson image off her Facebook account and nobody bothered to check the image and just ran with it.

A newsroom source: "This is another 'fuckin' Asiana!" --referring to KTVU's most recent news blunder in which fake pilot's names off the downed Korean jetliner made it Noon News back in July, 2013, an embarrassing incident that still haunts KTVU today.

And now this. You thought it would never happen again. But it has.

And like the Asiana embarrassment, heads will roll. The first to go is said to be ND, Eikel.

Making matters all the more complicated, a series of protests are set to take place in front of KTVU's Jack London Square studios in the coming days.



#415MEDIA EXCLUSIVE

Former KTVU 'MO2' Weekday Anchor/Political Reporter Mark Curtis Gets Cut in Providence; Posts Status on Facebook; 'I Have Many Good Years Ahead Of Me'

 Got a text from the great political reporter, Mark Curtis, on Tuesday: "I was let go today, Rich."

Curtis, you may recall, anchored and reported on politics for KTVU from 1993 until 2008. He was mysteriously and out of the blue replaced by current morning (MO2) co-anchor, Dave Clark.

For the past five years Curtis has been anchoring in Providence at the ABC affiliate, WLNE.

He took to Facebook to post the following:

Dear friends and viewers:
As of today I am no longer with ABC 6 News in Providence. As a 38-year media professional, I am available for work in all aspects of the communications business including: news, public relations, government affairs, lobbying, legislative relations and business communications. As many of you know, I also earned a Doctoral degree and am available to teach at the college level. For resume, work samples, and employment offers please contact me at Mark@MarkCurtisMedia.com .


The timing could not have come at a worse time for Curtis, as his forte, Washington politics and the upcoming 2016 Presidential campaign are about to commence. The Iowa Caucuses are less than a year away. Curtis's analysis and political acumen are second to none. He's been doing some reporting for KGO Radio here and appeared on the morning news with some thoughts about Hillary Clinton's news conference.


I asked Curtis about his  fallout: "Well, I'm already getting job offers and calls from all over the country."


I'm going to state something that will be met with controversy. Curtis is a damn good newsman; he's also victim of an industry that doesn't take too kind to middle-aged white guys with a little extra body girth. That's right, I said it.


Sue me.


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Exclusive: KTVU Fake Pilot Name List OKed by Station 'Managing Editor Who Wasn't Fired; Station Feared Backlash by SF-Area Asian Community; Source That Provided Fake List Was Ex-Pilot

Several minutes before the moment the fake names of the Asiana Airlines pilots aired prematurely on KTVU News, a veteran staffer-- awarding winning TV News journalist, Roland De Wolk, (one of the four fired at the station over the incident), passed the names over to newsroom staffers whose duty was to make sure the names were authentic, according to a broadcast source close to the station. One of those staffers included the Managing Editor!

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the story.

"You better check these, (names), out", said De Wolk after he passed the names over to newsroom personnel.  KTVU's Managing Editor, Michelle Toy, who saw the list and whose duty, (among normal news procedures),  was to read the names out loud, phonetically, raised the issue that the names sounded suspicious. Told that they were confirmed by an NTSB official, (later to be known as an intern), OKed the list.  Toy, who is of Asian descent, was not one of the four staffers let go by KTVU and its corporate owner, Cox Media.

Another individual close to De Wolk said that the source that provided the fake pilot's names,(electronically via e-mail or text), was an ex-pilot who had worked with KTVU in the past and was considered to be trustworthy.

I asked the source if the pilot knowingly sent the names as a joke and if so, did the station know? "Apparently not." At least 4-5 people saw the list of names, including anchor, Tori Campbell, who read them on the air on KTVU's Noon Newscast, Friday, July 12th.

Toy, according to the source, made note that even though the downed jetliner was a Korean airline, the pilot, (fake), names were that of Chinese descent. Furthermore, the real names had already been posted on-line and KTVU was one of several news organizations that published them.

So, why then was Toy spared? Said the source: "KTVU didn't want to offend the Asian Community. They'd already did so with the fake name scandal and they were worried about a backlash."

Attempts to reach Toy were unsuccessful.

KTVU management has ignored repeated requests for comment on this and other items related to the story. 

De Wolk has hired SF-area attorney, Michael Cardoza, over a wrongful-termination act.

KTVU has placed a gag order on its entire staff regarding the affair. It should be noted that Cox Media sent its own media attorney out to the Bay Area to head an internal investigation into the highly embarrassing incident. An incident that has tarnished KTVU's stellar news product reputation and continues to haunt several of its key personnel, both on and off the air.

**RICH LIEBERMAN 415 MEDIA EXCLUSIVE

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Cox Media Conducts Internal Investigation; KTVU Namegate Still Fluid; Fake Press Release Latest Development

Now that Asiana Airlines has threatened legal action against KTVU, the internal investigation in Oakland has shifted to Channel 2's corporate owner, Cox Media in Atlanta.

Which effectively puts both the GM, Tom Raponi, and News Director, Lee Rosenthal out of the loop on Namegate. Raponi, the GM, was the latest recipient of a fake news release that looked and sounded genuine until the very end. It bears to repeat that someone out there really hates KTVU. Who and why remains to be seen and investigated. The situation gets more bizarre by the day.

Inside the station the staffers remain tight-lipped, (as they should now that the legal arena has entered into the equation). Even a few of my insiders don't know what's going on. They just go to work and do their job although all of this has put a tremendous amount of strain on people in the newsroom.

There's growing belief that someone is going to take the fall. No one is immune. Rosenthal has barely been on the job for three months yet if the situation remains fluid and/or more embarrassing developments occur, he might get the hook. This is Cox mind you; a private company fiercely protective of its name and brand. They've never been in love with their progressive entity in the Bay Area but they also acknowledge it's still a cash cow. (At one point years ago KTVU's vaunted "10 O'clock News" alone accounted for 1% of the overall gross earnings for Cox Media).

**Developing...

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KTVU's Richmond would have stayed on if asked; Ken Wayne negotiations carry on; Tuesday Mix

KTVU News has lost one of its more prized assets, Rita Williams, who retired last week.

One of its other major air talents, Dennis Richmond, called it quits almost five years ago.

With an asterisk.

Contrary to local industry buzz, Richmond--who retired in May, 2008, after 40 illustrious years would have gladly stayed on a few more but was never asked to do so. How do I know? Because a KTVU veteran talent, (on-air), told me directly. "Had they asked, he would have gladly stuck around--no doubt," said the staffer, who worked with Richmond and knew him well.

Sure, Richmond had some lingering health issues, (he fought and beat cancer), and was ready to hit the golf course but at 65 and in pretty good physical shape, would have gladly stayed on a year or so but management, (which is different now), didn't approach Richmond. Maybe that was on purpose.

Calls to both Richmond and then, KTVU GM, Tim McVay were not returned. And a call into current GM, Tom Raponi, for comment, was not returned.

Not that Richmond's exit, nor Williams, in the long run, will have any real punitive effect on KTVU, nor Cox Broadcasting, its corporate owner, but a station known for its quality news programs and relative stability has lost two of its biggest hitters and might portend for more transactions down the road.

Ken Wayne, veteran weekend anchor/reporter, is in the midst of contract negotiations, (his original deal is nearing completion), and although Wayne wants to stay put, it's not known if management has the same idea. Although an industry observer told me recently that he thinks Wayne will stay on.

We shall see.

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