415 Media Tuesday Breakfast; No Bay Area TV Anchor Super Stars; The Guy With The Used Black Bentley Doesn't Really Tweet; Warriors Pushed To KNBR 1050 Because of Giants; Who Gives A Crap About Bay To Breakers; June Gloom In May Equals No Live Shots From The Walnut Creek Fountain; I'm Back, Just As Sweet As Ever

 I've talked about this before but it bears repeating: there are no Superstars in Bay Area TV News. There are some very good anchors but not one definitive standout who you can say is a major figure.


Or am I wrong? I don't think so.


I like Frank Somerville quite a bit; so too Dan Ashley and Jessica Aguirre but while they are solid performers they don't compare to a Van Amburg, a Dennis Richmond, a Pete Wilson.


There are also a great deal of underrated anchors here; I'm fond of Carolyn Tyler at KGO; I've always appreciated Anne Makovec at PIX and I'm warming up to Katie Marzullo. Marty Gonzalez saves the weekend at KRON and doesn't get a lot of credit.


Then there's the mysterious appeal: Dave Clark at KTVU. Peggy Bunker at KNTV. Cheryl Jennings at KGO. I'm not necessarily ripping the latter anchors--I just never understood their appeal.


*I'll bet you a turkey sandwich at Tommy's Joynt that some Investigative unit here does a report on the Hells Angels. I wonder why.


*Yeah, it's now official: the obnoxious True-Car woman-screaming and yelling woman is hands down worser than the Kars-For-Kids monstrosities. Not even close.


*Is it just me or is there a mountain-lion story fetish here in Bay Area media reports? Look, we live in a geography that combines urban setting along hills and mountains. There are various critters that live there, among the rest of us humans. 'Nuff said.


*19 days of June gloom weather bummer: No Walnut Creek fountain MOS interviews and live shots of yuppies eating ice cream. Promotion dept. must be in mourning.


*Speaking of live shots and the Promotion dept: PIX's Paul Deanno incessant reports from the Eastbay burbs, like Danville, Livermore, Pleasanton, etc. We get it: PIX likes suburban, white, young soccer and little-league moms. (Good for sweeps too).


*Is Stan Bunger in reality a secret weatherman? God, the infatuation on weather embellishment.


*Please, can me have a moratorium on the AirBNB, Lyft, Uber stories? I get it, they're screwing a lot of people, but I don't have to hear 870, 000 times.


*SFGate in a nutshell: pictures of food, dogs and cats, multi-million dollar houses and lots of color. Next.


*BREAKING NEWS: KGO Radio's Jason Middleton has so impressed Ronn Owens, Ronn is buying dual manicure/pedicure sessions on Union Street.


*Not even close: KTVU's Steve Paulson is hands-down the best weather guy in the Bay Area.


*Speaking of KTVU: memo to management: pay Sal Castaneda before someone else does.


*Nobody is complaining because they have no alternative but the Warriors being relegated to KNBR's little sister of the poor, KNBR 1050 (as opposed to 680) has a lot of people pissed off. The Giants basically dictate and control the 680 broadcast and the Warriors know that; it's just t are that with the Warriors impending surge deep into the NBA playoffs (screw jinxes) a few big suits are shaking their heads.


*New contest: Guess how many times KCBS will REPEAT the SAME story every other hour win a free breakfast at the Emeryville Dennys.


*Gil Gross' wife, Rhoda, must have pictures.


*Pulitzer Prize for this guy on his Bay Bridge woes reporting: The Chronicle's Jaxon Van Derbeken. Just relentless and hard-hitting.


*Tim Roye and Tom Tolbert on Warriors'/KNBR radio broadcasts: very good combo. Not great yet because too many jokes. Sorry, I'm a stickler but I'm honest too.


*You don't really believe the guy that drives the used black Bentley and parks in handicapped zones in the KRON garage actually tweets, do you? You're wrong if you do. He pays an intern to do most of his work including blocking people he and the intern deem as thought-provoking or those with half a brain.


*The NFL owners meetings open today in SF. The hookers are having orgasms.


*Noted without comment: KCBS' golly-gee Susan Leigh Taylor asked John Madden about the pig she wants to eat at the Madden Bocce Ball BBQ next month.


*Home for wayward Bay Area TV/radio performers: the KCBS traffic airplanes featuring the likes of Erica Kato and Dan Dibley.


*Another thing that jumped the shark about 65,000 years ago: the Bay-to-Breakers. Seriously, does anyone really care about this useless spectacle of parading, drunk, urinating, fecal-faced morons? Go away, please and I'll buy you a case of Corona.


*Da Lin: why? (But he means well)


*I'm back, just as sweet as ever.


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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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KTVU State of Uncertainty; KGO/KSFO Prepare For 'Pig Virus'; Ama Daetz Is All But IN at KGO-TV 6 and 11; CBS NY Suits 'Livid' Over PIX F-Up on New 10 PM Cast; KQED Angst; Sunday Bullet Points

 SUNDAY COFFEE BULLET POINTS


*KTVU: Staff and workers in understandable state of uncertainty; GM on way to Boston, lame duck News Director, reporter-a-day instability, continuing graphics and internal screw-ups and oh this too: one year anniversary of Asiana F-Up beckoning.


*KGO/KSFO: Metheny, so-called, "Pig Virus" starts week from Monday and the horror stories are already being heard and told all the way from Detroit to Chicago, and now SF. Saving grace: he can't do any worse --this all amid the major changes coming as KGO nears its hybrid morph back to TALK and news with emphasis on "Live and Local"; KSFO "Morning Show" in deep doo-doo as the station continues to be very much for sale.


*Screaming and yelling CBS O and O honchos LIVID! over KPIX screw-up on "new" and "compelling" 10 PM Newscast on CW sister station. Lots of pomp and circumstance with endless ideas and staff meetings, star air-talent, and the show is late on arrival. A few heads likely to roll or be rolled.


*Continuing unease at KQED with engineering dept. morale in its lowest stages. Heart of matter: managers who rake in high, six-figure salaries while rank and file barely get their fair share--complicating matters: management openly screwing with union reps all the while making it appear everything is hunky-dory --WRONGO!


*Expect a formal announcement soon that Ama Daetz will become the new, weeknight co-anchor at 6 and 11 PM on KGO-TV with Dan Ashley. It's been Daetz' job to lose and no one has stepped to the plate to unseat the steady, if not spectacular, Daetz who is solid enough and appealing to replace Carolyn Johnson. Memo to Ama: might be wise to vacate the practice of checking out Netflix between newscasts.


*KTVU ND: With Boy Wonder on his way out the door, an interesting replacement is early rumor-mill chatter. Wait to you hear who he is. (Psst, think Channel 7!)


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Quick Saturday Damon Bruce Bullet Points

 1. I'm wondering if Hoosier boy's women sportswriter guests write anything? So far, Ann Killion is coy. Kate Scott, the alleged Knibber personality hasn't said a word, (big surprise), which is astonishing. Why? I told Hoosier boy a month ago that I thought Scott was a lightweight. He told me, "she rocks." Really? OK, yo, Kate? Any comment on Hoosier boy's rant?

2. Short-term bonanza: Concoct a 10-minute rant sure to attract attention, move the needle and extract all the 21st Century electronic machinations. You did good, Hoosier boy, and Hammer is happy. Hell, KNBR doesn't care about women anyway even though their in-house office line is "booze, beer and boobs." As long as the leather lungs; the fat, well-to-do, white guys wearing Ronnie Lott's jersey aren't pissed, who gives a shit. The bottom line still exists in a bottom line world.

3. Bruce is not a misogynist--one of the most misunderstood words in the English language. He just likes to use them, (women), as a metaphor for his own occasionally twisted personal and professional universe. Notice the cute-sounding chick on the Nooner bit? Hoosier boy has a hard-on for the marina girls. He used to date a younger woman with large boobs. He understands your plight ladies, don't let the "ladies, you don't know sports shtick"fool you, it was a bit for god's sake, even if Killion and Scott and Gwen Knapp provide faux outrage and they won't.

4. Hoosier boy knew exactly what the hell he was doing and so long as his un-pussy, (he loves using that word) 99% guy posse praise him, everything's just fine. Hammer knows there's no pulse on 1050 anyway and that the other guys on the more mainstream, plastic-on-the-furniture, 680 do most of the heavy lifting. Again, boys and girls, this was your garden-variety publicity stunt--a 24-hour ice-cream cone in a 24/7 media cycle--nobody was killed and the lights are still on. Chill.

5. Sure, Hoosier boy is a hypocrite but a good one at that. He's not going to get fired nor should he. If the Dickey/Cumulus SF commerce department is less recipient, of say, an Old Navy account, then they might take a glance at Hoosier boy's file. But I tend to doubt it.

6. Again, KNBR is not the domain for women, unless you like listening to Hoosier boy's chick fillets like the ex-Laker girl who's name I forgot but he likes having her on to, I guess, show he's a regular, modern-day Gloria Steinem. There could be good news here: given his feelings about women and sports, will Bruce fire his mother who provides Friday football picks? Inquiring minds want to know.

7. I mentioned the women scribblers --interesting thought: wonder if any male sports writers/broadcasters appear on the program. Yes, too many BASG and Bleacher Report comrades need a home to talk about football so they'd even appear on CSPAN4.

8. Somewhere, Ralph Barbieri is saying, "And you fired me*&^@!!"

9. Somewhere, Hoosier Boy, probably tonight, at, say, Monaghan's in the Marina: "Hey, how ya doin?--I'm Damon Bruce, what's your name?" Pretty, drunk, 27 year-old brunette, "We'll, hi, I'm Monica, who are you?" Bruce: "You don't know who I am?" Chick: "Uh, no, not really." Bruce: "Ever heard of Keith Olbermann?"

10. And just like that, he's gone! Uh, not really. Not yet. Maybe a small bonus. The future? We're not worthy.

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