415 Media Friday; KPIX's Liz Cook Is Prego; Media Notes

 As some sage observer wryly pointed out to me, maybe "there's something in the water there"--in this case, it would be at 855 Battery: home to KPIX.

Another TV anchor is pregnant: Elizabeth Cook. Her first.

My 5 spy is everywhere.

Cook is part of "baby-talk central"--she joins Michelle Griego and Elizabeth Wenger, who are also expecting.

MEDIA NOTES FRIDAY

*Never met Erica Kato but by all accounts a really nice person and cheerful woman, KRON's loss, Erica, go out and breathe some fresh air.

*I have no idea how and why KSFO has been running old and outdated "Melanie Morgan--Brian Sussman promos." Morgan left the show back in July, 2013. I don't think they're coffee buddies, just a hunch.

*Desperate local weather people: "we can report some sprinkles are possible Sunday Night, but only a 10% chance and mostly in the North Bay." Thanks for providing us such informative updates. Fill more time.

*From a local radio broadcast observer about a certain painful, new local nighttime "talk-show": "It's bad when the show is merely awful and gets poor reviews--it's worse that it's so bad people just haven't even talked about it."

*Chip Franklin: started fast out of the gate but limped coming into the stretch.

*I would write more about FM radio in this town if their were something to write about other than Jack Kulp/KOIT and KCSM.

*Noted without comment: They were playing hip hop music under a concert tickets giveaway on the KGO Radio Morning News Friday.

*"I'm Jason Middleton, LIVE in the studio." As opposed to live from the parking lot. Thanks Jason.

*First known impression about the new Cumulus SF Cluster building on Battery: the coffee sucks.

*Voting for a union is one thing--negotiating a contract? Good luck.

*The only show on KPIX that did OK during sweeps was the noon news which has an older demo.

*Listen to a Savage monologue some day and understand why he's the best storyteller on radio. That doesn't mean you have to like him.

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Rich Lieberman

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 TIME for your questions about Bay Area TV/Radio Media.

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Is There A Baseball Game On Tonight? Heather Holmes Power Chick At KTVU; Katie Marzullo Please Smile; Ditto Allen Martin; Vern Glenn Continues To Act Like Raddy; Ashley/KGO 9 Newscast On KOFY Best Bay Area TV News Show; Tuesday Starter

 TUESDAY START-UP ITEMS

*Is there a baseball game tonight?

*KCBS' Bob Butler, also head of the National Association of Black Journalists is pissed off at CNN. 

*For the life of me I thought that the All-Star Donut place in Soma was the location of the Sudden Impact robbery scene--I was wrong. No donuts for me, I'll stick to the turkey sandwich at Tommy's Joynt.

*Heather Holmes is telling people that she really is the straw that stirs the drink at gloomy and doomy KTVU. How much so? Well, if Haener and Michaelalien were cat-fighting, Holmes and the other assorted femme fatales would be having an all-out brawl. So goes the word.

*Katie Marzullo apparently subscribes to the Claudine Wong, I'll only smile if I have to. Memo to Katie: you are an attractive news reader --try not to act like a robot otherwise you'll end up being a Peggy Bunker.

*Allen Martin: have a cocktail, loosen up. Ask Rosenheim if you could take a night off and get a couple of pops at the Old Ship, damn, quit acting like your shit doesn't stink.

*Dennis O'Donnell: Careful there, Shooter. (GAME OFFFF!) (She really does have a crush on you but that's entering troubled waters.)

*Vern Glenn: Remember the good old days when you acted like you and not Raddy? Vern, be yourself. And quit the schlocky interview yap with 49ers players, you're embarrassing yourself. It's a pain in the ass to watch lately.

*The big newsie inside KPIX is that the ex-female weather star is having renewed snippy snips with Dano. Oh, for gods sake, Dano, bury it once and for all.

*More torture than a half-hour of being waterboarded: hearing Veronica De La Cruz chortle, GAME ON! VLDC: Oh please, just stop.

*Unclear on the concept department: live shots in front of AT&T Park today and tonight. The game is in KC, not SF. Game 3 is in the city. Speaking of which, time to hit the Marina bars for screaming, drunken, fat white guys and chicks wearing Panda hats and Buster Posey jerseys.

*Radnich had a tough day: sat in traffic on 101 on his way to Levi's Stadium to do a radio show. Well, see everyone, when you have kids and all that responsibility in life you have to ....wait, that's what Raddy will use soon on the all-commercial station. That's his entire script. Watch, Giants lose first game: Maybe the Royals are just a little better. Blah, blah, blah.

*KCBS: Repeat...Repeat...Repeat...Repeat...Repeat. Jesus Christ! ...and another thing, THIS JUST IN: Susan Leigh-Taylor doesn't know shit about sports. If you're gonna ask Madden a question just know what the hell you're talking about--or let Bitker handle it.

*Speaking of Madden: count the number of times the old coach says...."That's the thing."

*Sussman on KSFO: count the number of "OK's" and "folks." On an average day, double digits in half-hour alone.

*Sussman sidekick, the traffic chick: you're beginning to sound like, wow, totally, dude, hopeless, (sound the mattress train sounder).

*Bitker to Madden this morning: "So, you going to watch the Giants game tonight?" No, Steve, he's going to a wedding party in Fremont.

*Hands down the BEST TV newscast in town: Dan Ashley/KGO 9PM on KOFY: Real simple news. No nonsense or silly games. Occasional humor. Quick, straight tosses to Beil and Christian. The fastest 60 minutes on local TV--a newscast that doesn't dumb down its audience with gimmicks and artificial theatre.

*KRON/Pero Update: more screaming and yelling at staffers. Maybe he has a small something.

*Would any of you mind it if I had a quiet couple of drinks tonight with a new female reporter from a TV station? I ask because it's strictly business but with all you guys kvetching it might be interpreted as much more than that. It isn't. Who is she? None of your damn business.

*Royals in 6. 

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KPIX Musings Inside The Newsroom; New KTVU GM Might Be Wooing Rosenheim; Larry King About To SF Abode; KGO 'Woo-Woo'; Sacramento TV Chick Under Arrest Had Dinner In Fisherman's Wharf; Monday Starter

 MONDAY STARTER


*PIX STICKS


Inside 855 Battery at KPIX, Allen Martin still can't stand Elizabeth Cook who can't stand Veronica De La Cruz who can't stand her ...more? Cook is nervous about VLDC' increasing influence at the station which has the regular staff on high alert. We haven't even mentioned the general malaise, angst and disgust over the new 10 PM "NightBeat" that is a disaster after only two weeks. One producer at PIX told me the show's "a certified joke" among the rank and file. Wonder if they place the sentiment in the "Two-Minute Mix?" Ba-DUMP-Bump!


*Larry King is about this close to leasing a condo near Green and Webster in the Marina: "San Francisco, hello!


*That Sacramento TV chick anchor under arrest for grand theft had dinner Sunday Night in Fisherman's Wharf. She's already lawyered up with a prominent local attorney proclaiming "she's 100 percent innocent." I hope she left a good tip.


*Speaking of PIX, I assume ND, Dan Rosenheim, is happy at the Battery and Broadway outpost but word on the street is that the new GM from Boston about to lead KTVU is prepared to offer Rosenheim a hefty sum to cross the bay.


*That would make Roberta Gonzales happy.


*Tonight on the NightBeat, Mark Sayre tweets live from the Balboa Café; asks cougars which type of guy they like: slim, trim and maxim? Later, Mark analyses the data and sees if it's trending on Twitter! ...Meanwhile, on Facebook, Jeanie from Livermore posts: "My man takes me for granted and is not emotionally responsible!"


*Has Kevin Keeshan snatched anymore KGO staffers for NBC Bay Area? He's working on one more and it's a biggie.


*Brian Sussman Show on KSFO in a nutshell: Read Drudge Report headlines; play actualities 76 times every five minutes; play false patter with the traffic chick whose voice sounds like the Daly City sewage dept; rip Obama every other break; and repeat same process over and over and over and over...."Thanks Brian." (Genius idea: Play the Sleeptrain sounder another 900 times)


*That idiotic Casey guy at KGO Radio is gone in case you care and I doubt you do. He's not the only one on the chopping block.


*Tonight on the NightBeat, Ken Bastida is in the newsroom with breaking news!, Ken: "Veronica, we're looking at new studies that indicate male subjects can actually improve their sex life by increasing their role on social media! I asked Guy in Burlingame if he believes in the study---well, I tried tweeting more and more and asked my wife if she noticed anything different--she told me I still can't get it up. "...Back to you Veronica. ("Ba -Dump-Bump"!)


*Sure, it would make perfect sense if Tony Bruno, (who's subbing for the vacationing Neanderthals on 95.7, FM, The Game), got the morning show gig but there's a few too many issues...for one, Bruno bounces all over the place and GMs are weary of that personal Bruno peccadillo. 2. Bruno doesn't work cheap and Entercom, which owns The Game, would probably have to shell out about $250G to lure Bruno from Philly, something very unlikely. 3. Bruno's personal feud with Greg Papa, (think Raiders).


*Sarah and Vinnie update: He's been running his mouth again behind the scenes that Sarah is "hogging the show." Well, sad to say, little guy, she IS the show. Here's a tip: take her out to dinner every now and then and she might be want to throw you a bone.


*Any year now the Raiders will be on KGO Radio, you heard it here, first. Helps the Raiders, helps KGO too.


*"Talk 910" -KKSF-AM, Clear Channel's audio Titanic: the new GM has no idea what he's doing which is a prerequisite in local talk-radio. He's so lousy Cumulus might hire him.


*Mike Amatori: KGO Radio's sound guy is currently getting screwed by the company but Mike is a proud man who will overlook the human tragedy.


*Ben Fong-Torres: Think of visiting your grandma's house and she has the plastic draped over the couch with the old National Geographic magazines from 1974.

*Stan Bunger: You know, I really want to be Mike Pechner.


*Steve Bitker: Good morning Stan, Good Morning Susan, Good Morning Kim, Good Morning Mike, Good Morning Doug, Good Morning Hal, Good Morning Rebecca, Good Morning John, Good Morning Paul, Good morning Stan, Good Morning Susan, Good Morning Kim, Good Morning Mike, Good Morning Doug, Good Morning Hal, Good Morning Rebecca, Good Morning John, Good Morning Paul...


*Jim Kozimor: I'm white, bright, and right and for good measure, I'm not an Insider.


*Good marketing award for The Game's 95.7  TV commercials airing on Giants games. The station is the Oakland A's flagship. Maybe someone in PR didn't get the memo.


*Surprise, surprise, surprise: Cumulus is ...once again...airing help wanted ads for salespeople on its iconic stations. Only most salespeople generally like getting paid so expect to hear that ad a lot.


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Leigh Glaser Leaving KGO-TV after 23 Years; KTVU Adds LA Investigative Reporter; Newsroom Buzz; Will 95.7 FM Ever Break a 1 Rating? Wednesday Media Opener Notes



Melanie Woodrow

 News that Leigh Glaser is leaving KGO-TV after 23 years as weekend meteorologist is not at all shocking.


Glaser told the boss as much in an e-mail late last week. She wants to spend more time with her family and makes that clear in her bio:


Family is everything. My young daughter is my heart and my husband makes me laugh. I love football, am an avid runner, and love to entertain. I have a passion for gardening, country music and everything Southern.


I believe Glaser and have no reason to believe there's any other speculation. It is, however, a rather sad tale of the TV news biz how many veterans, even the good people and performers like Glaser, are leaving en masse.


Rare are the air talent that reach middle age and beyond stay on the air and continue to work in an environment that is becoming more thirty-something every day.


*KTVU has added an LA "Investigate Reporter" to its news staff, Melanie Woodrow.


Woodrow, by all accounts, is a fairly decent reporter and looks like she's easy on the eyes. I didn't say the latter--it was sort of the buzz in the Channel 2 newsroom. Is Woodrow the new Rita Williams? Guess so although I would imagine that a few other people, like say, Tom Vacar or Rob Roth might be perplexed.


Maybe they haven't read the handwriting on the wall.




NOTES: What happens first? Will "The Game" ever break a 1 rating and when does KGO Radio reach a 1?...KSFO: Very much for sale. All stations are for sale you say but Cumulus is looking to unload this increasingly useless property, probably to pay off some exec's per diem account in Atlanta...(Psst, that part was a joke but you get my drift)...Speaking of KSFO, that morning "show" has become a de-facto morning zoo but I don't think their bits are resonating with listeners. Unless you like a guy doing Hee-Haw jokes and the gravel-voiced traffic performer who thinks she's hilarious. Oy! and the endless Joe Biden cracks: nauseating...My sports-predicting days have ended after a 72-hour experiment. Damn!...April 1 is not a good day to announce TV/Radio biz transactions. I received a few e-mails last night that were interesting. One was actually true...The item about the alleged, all-sports FM station having difficulty selling spots on the new PM drive show came direct from their sales dept, no, not on  memo, dummy...Sarah and Vinnie: quite an act!--off the air...From the mouth of a person who knows: In its heyday, KTVU's "10 O'clock News" accounted for 1% of the entire gross profits of its corporate owner, Cox Media. That's a lot of moolah...KTVU slogan making the rounds: Who have we hired today?...800-Kids-for-Kars, clever but not so clever...Morning terrestrial radio: repeating stories that were already told two hours earlier as if they were fresh and spontaneous--another tale of we got nothing to say, we're not creative and having a simple conversation is way above our food chain...The new song videos posted from time to time is a occasional break from the news--some of you really like it and a few want constant media items and gossip--well as Herb Caen used to say, send me items! Rich.Lieberman@Gmail.com but damn, those George Benson and Average White Band selections were DYNOMITE !!


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