KGO-TV/ABC Offering Very Little To Would-Be Talent; Why Dana King Would Rock The House At 855 Battery; I'm De-Constructing KPIX; 'Gary and Larry' Get TD'd On KNBR By CSNBA Ahmed Fareed; 7-15-15 Media Minutiae; Happy Hump Day, Humpers

 HERE'S THE DEAL (I sound like Ross Perot) --a KGO-TV informant tells me that a lot of people turned down that weekend anchor gig because ABC was offering little money, like a pittance. The bare union minimum. Which further explains that San-Crane-Cisco is still the envy of lots of anchors, even those in lovely San Diego.


*Dana King isn't yesterday; she's smart, sexy, a damn great reporter and news journalist who is difficult only because she demands hard work and dedication, imagine that! No, she wouldn't bring KPIX up to the mountain top but she most certainly would provide a much-needed JOLT! to a news operation in desperation for identity, relevance and VIEWERS!, remember them? In addition, HR/CBS, Dana King has crossover demo favorability among whites, blacks, Hispanics, gay, the whole shebang. If the same circumstances were in NY, she'd have been signed back in a big apple second.


And get this: Dana King would love to come back. She wasn't fired nor did she quit. The business got to her and she needed a sabbatical--we all have moments like that in life, granted King, unlike a lot of us, had the luxury to walk away under her own terms and now she feels enlightened, invigorated, hallelujah, get her butt back to the news desk, Bruno, Dan. She's instantaneous buzz meter!


I'm not shilling for King--I received an innocuous tip that led to another tip from someone at PIX, not affiliated with management who would know a thing or two about juicy little things like this. For the record, yes, I like King. Many people love her too. Some think she's overrated and yesterday because she's 55 even though she looks great and has enough energy, power and spirit befitting a 30-something. Dana, and I'm not speaking for her; but I believe Dana has mellowed and got the rest she needed and is ITCHING to get back into the job she left much too soon. Sure, she's probably not going to make the $500K she was making when she split but if it's only money that is preventing a return then money is negotiable.


Dana has STAR power, Bruno and Dan! Ask the boys in NY. She also has Bay Area cred so you know what? She'd make for an immediate hammer attack and move the needle. You guys could use her. Get at it.


It's a not a knock at the current staff at PIX most of you that know me and love me and hate me understand that I'm completely in awe of you (pause) and that for the most part you all do a decent job, except:

VDLC: Veronica, it all started out well. What the hell happened? Is it all about the hair? No, you're better than that. You can read a teleprompter and perform the basics but too many extemporaneous things--maybe by you being forced to anchor that crappy 10 PM show, you became infected with PIX poo. I don't know but out of nowhere you lost your mojo. You became infatuated with your smart-ass phone and Twitter. "GAAAAME ON" destroyed your inner sanctum and "TRENDING" tore into your upper abbs. I still dig you, dear, and I know you work hard. You and Martin working the 5 would be just fine. And the 10? Your game, VDLC, but tell the boys enough of the side shit, just make it a regular newscast and go home, good night, breakfast in the morning.




ALLEN MARTIN: Al, I've praised you more than my 4th wife, Sheila Cornicopia, whom I met years ago at the Emeryville Dennys. Yo, Allen? You musn't think that you're curing cancer every day! Relax. Laugh. I know you still can't stand Liz but she's a new mom and actually getting better on the air. Go to lunch with her. Mellow out, dude, too --life is too short. It could be worse: you could be on the Night Beat.


*ROBERTA GONZALES: Who was it that said you're the greatest thing since sliced bread? Me. Who was it that had your back when the big guy relentlessly went after you? Me. Roberta, take it easy, you're set for life there if you want it--he can't touch you unless you pour lighter fluid into Mike Sugarman's coffee and you're not going to do that, so, hey? Détente --we Jews and Mexicans must stick together otherwise, who know, we may end up waking up in the middle of the night yelling, "GAAAAAME ONNNNN!"


*JULIETTE GOODRICH: Ms. Goodrich, I have a question: Why are you considered "smart and arrogant" over there on Battery? Staffer on weekend: "Juliette is the best anchor in this building but she takes herself too seriously--maybe it has to do with her 'proving herself again." Huh? Proving herself? I like Jules. She is gorgeous, not her fault, and she reads well and would be in LA now on KTLA anchoring on the primetime weekday news if not for family matters. Jules, just keep doing what you're doing and to hell with what the others (including me) say. Yes, you are good.


* A few quick hits...


*KGO Radio news dept: Be in the lunchroom this Friday and pack some Ketel One for later.


*Ahmed Fareed of CSNBA turned down an invite to be on Gary Radnich and Larry Kruger's KNBR Show Tuesday. I don't know what to make of that other than, shit, I'd be embarrassed for all three.


*Fareed? You're kidding, right!!


*Big News from KNBR on the Mark Ibanez front: he's dyed his hair once--back during the Carter administration.


*I've written in to Bill Berton over there at KGO-TV to consider me as a media critic since I won the "Hottest Jewish Male Blogger" back in 2000 from the Bakersfield radio station, "K-JEW, 101 on the dial, but for you? 99.95!"


*I still don't get it: Gasia Mikaelian.


*Heather Holmes: you too, speaking of Bakersfield.


*THIS JUST IN: Brian Hackney just told Bruno Cohen he is responsible for saving the world and, thus, providing peace and tranquility to every known man, woman, child, and hairdresser.


*BREAKING NEWS! Jan Wahl just semi-crushed her Sleeptrain temperpedic --good thing she didn't have burritos for dinner!


*Christine Craft: "My baloney is my first name--it's O,S,C,A,R..." (Did I gettt the spelling right?)


*Christine hates Benjamin Netanyahu: How do I know? She's said it about 62,500 times in the last month.


*Tonight on the "Dreck Radio Show" on KGO: The host and his hostess talk about women who like to cut cactus in the nude.




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Exclusive: Ex-KPIX Anchor Notarangelo Skips TV For CC County PR Gig; Anti-Union KNBR Enablers In The Morning; KRON's Pero: Sympathy For The Devil; Wednesday Notes

 WEDNESDAY NOTES...

I will tell you first that Ann Notarangelo, who had her last broadcast on KPIX Sunday will not be reading a teleprompter --she will become "Media Relations Manager" for the Contra Costa County 'Employment and Human Services in Concord. She starts May 11.

*Yeah, Imagine this: A blogger has the audacity to write negatively, relentlessly, about a News Director who continuously badgers a good majority of his workforce --then asks said director for comment. Someone call the cops.

*Sooner rather than later, a KRON notable will GO ON THE RECORD and we all can finally sort all of this out.

*Notarangelo leaving the business isn't so unusual: Priya David Clemens split KTVU to become the GG Bridge PR person. $114,000 a-year and not having to worry about ratings and egos.

*Sunday Morning anchors in the city and news people love, I do mean LOVE their gigs. The general consensus: "We like the fact that no one from management is here and we have relative calm and get to do our job."

*Union negotiations are tough enough but when KNBR's main "star" in the mid-morning 9-12 PM has been demonstrably anti-union (quietly) and one of the major players trying to louse up the efforts of the rank and file, he pisses off his few friends. His co-host hasn't been that much better.

*Speaking of union issues, lots of pissed off cameramen and photographers at KTVU as FOX has cut their wages and reduced their benefits. Across-the-board major headaches in Jack London Square.

*That's a hearty endorsement: Pero only has the ND gig because KRON and MG doesn't have anyone else who wants the job. Try Craigslist, guys.

*Dan Rosenheim: Maybe you should have taken the KTVU gig after all.

*I mentioned the other day that KPIX has no identity --no face of the station. When you have revolving anchors who are outside the market, don't have a freaking clue about the Bay Area, then you have major disconnect from your viewers. Hey Bruno, get a clue. Can't wait for that May book.

*John Rothmann, David Weintraub or Spencer Hughes: Talk 910 10-1 PM gig. We should know soon. There's an outside chance someone else is in the mix.

*The irritating "Tru-Car" ads: I've heard and seen worse. Here' a novelty approach: TURN the dial!

*KGO Radio's ace in the field: The versatile Kim McCallister --a true hard-working radio journalist reporter who tells it like it is and better yet, doesn't giggle or cackle on the air.

*Pero finally got an assist from one of the trades today, BREAKING NEWS!

*Geraldo in Baltimore for Fox News Channel: now that's a riot.

*Geraldo makes Don Lemon look like Ed Bradley.

*John Madden/KCBS: time for another bocce ball anecdote. I mean, there's only been about 42,553 stories as of Wednesday. Even Bunger is bored.

*Class and eloquence: KGO-TV weekend weather anchor, Lisa Argen. Does her reports and leaves the stage--no gimmicks needed when you possess grace like Argen.

*Ditto Carolyn Tyler.

*Finally...Aaron, take a hint from an East Coast media sage. He's been in the business for over 25 years. His wife works as a publicist for a NY stock company. They do a lot of schmoozing over lunch. They e-mail and text. They do lunch at 21-- he works the room. Even with his enemies. In other words, Pero, they know how to play the game. It's a game. Some get it, others don't.  Wait a minute, you started out in Sacramento, I should know better.

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TV Station Update; KPIX New 10 PM Newscast on CW Draws Early Chuckles; Ibanez and Inglis; PIX Gags Its Staffers; Wednesday Mid-Summer Mood

 KTVU: The nervous nellies at KTVU speak of an uncontrollable fear that permeates the newsroom, the upper executive offices and most prominently, the sales and marketing dept. Fear of the unknown as Fox takes over sometime in the fall and the inevitable chopping --and no one knows for sure how much of it will take place--is on the ledger. One of the senior back-up sports anchors, Fred Inglis, is out come August, to retirement pasture safe from the Fox chicken hawks. Mark Ibanez is talking to Channel 7 about a gig and you can attribute that to the uncertainty. Adding to the conundrum: Tom Raponi, the GM headed to the Fox station in Boston, hasn't said a word to the troops, (good leadership, Rappy!), and the Boy Wonder, ND, Lee Rosenthal, is rarely around the newsroom--he too is headed to Boston and just waiting to get out.--hence, people at the station view him a complete joke.


KPIX: The debut of the new 10 PM newscast on its sister station, KBCW, has drawn early considerable ridicule among staffers --I watched only a few minutes Monday night and switched out of unintended laughter--I expected actually worse but this was pretty bad. A hodgepodge of over-bloated visual minutiae --dumb, irritating, nauseating, really to the eyes and ears--I will hold off an actual review until I see one full show and make sure it's as bad as it is, or worse. VDLC? Don't ask.


KRON: A frequent chant from staff: "We come in, work, and get the hell out." And that's about right. Still waiting for the late move across town to share studios and offices at Channel 7, no one knows the long term future of the independent albatross and no one seems to care either. So sad.


NBC Bay Area, (KNTV): Still grappling with an identity--haven't we been down this road before? "Do we want to be a SF station or a San Jose/Silicon Valley outlet?" The money in Silicon Valley is huge but the city, with its growing tech sector and building en fuego is nothing to sneeze about. KNTV is relatively calm and quiet with a large decision looming: will Jessica Aguirre be signed to a new contract come the end of the year? We'll know soon enough.


ABC7NewsBayArea, (KGO-TV): Key personnel decisions exist in both the news and sports divisions: Ama Daetz, as we've noted here, is all but certain to become the permanent co-anchor alongside Dan Ashley at 6 PM. No formal decision has been made --expect the announcement in September. Meanwhile, Larry Beil is telling people, (again), he'd just as soon return to Hawaii and do sports anchoring, hence, KGO's talks with Mark Ibanez about moving over to Channel 7. The ND and her assistant are increasingly losing trust inside the newsroom, no shocker here.


NOTES...


KPIX has put a multiple gag order on a certain 415 Media blogger which means I'm thrilled because the more they gag, the more info I get...and speaking of PIX, why is their PR person penning potentially irksome posts on her Facebook page? Because she can get away with it--for the time being...


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