Thanks for linking that gallery! Aug. 11, 2022 Updated: Aug. 11, 2022 10:49 p.m. Emmy Award-winning TV journalist Leslie Griffith joined KTVU in 1986. Longtime KTVU anchor Leslie Griffith dies - SFGATE Hope he can get some help . For decades he lived in an in-law unit behind the home of close friends Howard and Claudette Morrison, who ended up working with him at his papers. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), H-1B: Feds want criminal charges over application fraud for Silicon Valleys favorite visa, KTVUs Frank Somerville to take a break after bizarre newscast behavior. I told my wife I bet KTVU pulls him off the air at the commercial break, which they did. With Frank Somerville away, who will KTVU turn to? I have since rebuild my life. He was speaking more slowly than normal, and he was mispronouncing and slurring some words. KTVU's George Watson's 60th - plaing - SmugMug while a far more talented anchor toils away in the background {*cough-cough* Brian Hackney! The motorist, identified as Michael Williams, 30, of Hayward, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. On July 1, the San Leandro Times came out, with the usual uncredited grunt work that Zehnder always contributed. Click this link to see pics of George on his 60th birthday. KTVU anchor calls out racist who disapproves of his family - SFGATE In 2008, he received a highly publicized promotion when he was named the co-anchor of the station's 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts, replacing Bay Area icon Dennis Richmond. It was not a splashy story, said Knowles, the managing editor. KTVU's George Watson's 60th Read More. "Sad news," KTVU reporter Sal Castaneda wrote on Twitter. She stood up for me on occasion too. George was an excellent anchor. She joined KTVU in 1986 as a weekend reporter and anchor, and with her alto voice and steadfast reporting, she worked her way up to become an influential force in Bay Area journalism, the East Bay Times reported. Bay Area Transit (1984) - Oakland - LocalWiki Watson worked with KTVU news boss, Fred Zehnder, who was killed by a suspected DUI driver in Alameda last week. I'm delighted and happy that Watson has turned his life around. CPRA Executive Director John Alden said that discipline was also ordered in these cases, which range from failure to supervise, excessive use of force, failure to accept complaints and Miranda violations, to name a few. Once promoted, he showed a brilliance not only in personnel decisions but also in conceiving and launching the popular standing features Segment Two and My 20th Century.. It's time KTVU makes a permanent change on their main anchor desk. Always in our thoughts George! Zehnder started his own paper, the Scotts Valley News, in his hometown of Lakeport (Lake County), using a childs printing press set when he was age 10. I'm not sure how I missed all the drama or where all the years have gone but I remember George very well on KTVU and had no idea this was his story. He hired Randy Shilts as a reporter covering gay issues before Shilts went to The Chronicle. The Press-Enterprise. And let us know who else besides Griffith might have ended up on the wrong side of Zehnder's life. He started as a feature writer in the People section, which was anchored by Herb Caen's column, and has written about people ever since. 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I wish Somerville well in his personal life. I miss George Watson on the nightly news. They were big shoes to fill! Long investigative pieces that only air occasionally? He's The Peter Principle in action. I am hoping he stays sober and maybe if a local news station takes a chance on him they can use his considerable talents. Was it throwing the shoe at Ibaez (urban mythnever happened, and I am ex-KTVU and in the know) or trashing his car and smashing in all the windows (did really happen, not an urban myth).Why they hell did they keep her? Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. In the two-plus months since, Somerville has not publicly addressed the situation and KTVU management has barely acknowledged it. John Sasaki worked with Griffith for 10 years, starting in 1986, when she was the weekend anchor he was the weekend nightside reporter. at KTVU (Mann was one of the station's first hires), O'Brien and Zehnder brought in newcomer Leslie Griffith to join veteran KTVU reporter George Watson on the weekend anchor desk. The old, lame sleeping pill excuse. I used to watch him on KTVU (when it had a great news department)and really appreciated his special features reports. I miss a lot of these past greats. Fred just liked to do the real work of putting out a newspaper, the nuts and bolts of it, said Jim Knowles, managing editor of the San Leandro Times. Jasmine Gaffett suffered these bruises at a May 29, 2020 George Floyd protest in Oakland. Andre Senior is a relative newcomer to KTVU, having arrived in 2018 after anchoring and reporting in Hampton, Virginia and Tampa Bay, Florida. He had his last drink on Oct. 6, 1996, after a phone call to his former rehab center. A native of Jamaica, he grew up in Miami. Armstrong, who was deputy chief at the time, also said that the June 1, 2020, protest got out of hand. His story on the Pan Am Clippers, planes that flew from San Francisco to China from 1935 to 1946, airs this Sunday. GEORGE WATSON OBITUARY. Chuck Barney is the TV critic and columnist for the Bay Area News Group. Can't help but notice that the name 'Elaine' didn't appear in the list of reunion participants. George Watson, former KTVU (Channel 2) weekend news anchor whose struggle with alcoholism cost him his job six years ago, was rehired as a reporter and writer last month.. Watson will write and . I survived unspeakable abuse from my parents. By the time he hit Clearlake Union High School, he was working as a copy boy for the Lake County Bee. Hopeless. The film blends the status of the (then) current-day BART system with looks at the amazing transit systems that existed . ", UPDATE 10: 28 AM PT: I just received a text from Somerville: "I took the wrong meds last night. I watched the show, he was having a hard time delivering the words, slurring a few words. He was already 12 years into his career when he was drafted into the Army, upon his graduation from Humboldt State, at age 22. Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. This began a string of jobs in TV broadcasting as a news director in Eureka, a cameraman at KPIX, and an assistant director on Van Amburgs news show on KGO-TV. He arrived at KTVU in 2005 as a general assignment reporter. Fred Zehnder, the news director at KTVU for decades, died after being hit by a truck while walking in Alameda. I was at their wedding and his other ones. He was great. Over the years, Savidge has contributed to KTVUs coverage of several major stories, including the Napa earthquake and the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa area. ", Liggins added: "She was professional, engaging, and adored by her audience. George Watson does not know this. Were it not for alcoholism, George Watson might have ended up with a Hall-of-Fame broadcasting career. It is up to you to calm them down. We knew what our job was and we did it, primarily because of Fred.. It seems odd. With Somerville away, who will KTVU turn to? - The Mercury News And that's fine with him now. 2023 FOX Television Stations, High Stakes: Sports Betting in California. To me, at that stage in my life, it was kind of a blur." Is she still working there? Don. He was known 'bout town drunk in public. While there, he was introduced to broadcasting through a part-time job at a Eureka radio station. Maybe she's oldsteam? When there's a bit of hope, all of a sudden, darkness emerges. A job that former KTVU boss/GM, Kevin O'Brien got him. I don't know if that's true or just folklore.I wish the best for this man. 0. Dozens of protesters have alleged in at least two federal lawsuits that they suffered bruising and even temporary blindness as a result of getting hit with toxic chemical agents and the equivalent of rubber bullets during at least two protests last summer, on May 29 and June 1, 2020. Political chaos has erupted in this Peninsula city over one issue: Housing, Flower Moon, a lunar eclipse and a meteor shower unfold this week, Oakland teachers set to strike starting Thursday. Original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano . The years rolled on and the alcohol continued to flow. I don't think anyone knows where those two are these days. Great to report he's living in Scottsdale and enjoying retired life, sober and tranquil many years and sounding very much the same as he did when he was an anchor at KTVU. "You have to quit because if you don't, it will kill you. Get well soon, Frank. His voice and presence was so incredibly comforting to me. Fred was one of the few people in broadcasting who had the courage to hire the cosmetically challenged, including me, said Randy Shandobil, another Zehnder hire and longtime political editor, who retired 10 years ago. He was intoxicated. ", Former Reporter George Watson Returns to KTVU, Why every Californian needs an air quality monitor, SZAs extended tour lineup includes new SF show, Sustainable Hawaii travel tips for your next island getaway, Saks Off 5th in downtown San Francisco slated to permanently close, Fox Sports pundit made cowardly 'bet' on Warriors losing Game 7, Landslide results in closure of near-century-old California institution, Horoscope for Monday, 5/01/23 by Christopher Renstrom, Another Ross Dress for Less could be opening in San Francisco, Geoffrey Hinton, 'Godfather of AI,' quits Google to speak out on AI concerns, Missing 12-year-old Petaluma girl found safe, police say, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Published by at 07/06/2022. But the Berkeley native, USC alum and lifelong Warriors fan will likely see a lot more camera time at the desk in the coming days and weeks. I love this man and I don't even know him. "What an idiot I am!.". Suzanne was George's wife. "During my first stint at @KTVU in the 90s, my first chance to sit on the anchor desk was to fill-in for Leslie, who then solo-anchored weekends. KTVU fired him too !! The family emigrated from Switzerland in the 1880s and homesteaded 160 acres. I really appreciated and enjoyed George's on-air work and presence. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Watson also didn't realize how much the segment would have on his life later, even the more than twenty years later. She has been at the station since 1997 and was on the desk the night Bay Area news icon (and Somervilles predecessor) Dennis Richmond tearfully signed off in 2008. When someone you really admire, like Fred, says something like that, you tell yourself, Well, I guess Im doing OK, Watson said. At the start of the 11 PM news, Julie Haener said "Frank is off tonight". He was speaking more slowly than normal, and he was mispronouncing and slurring some words. "I feel good, awesome actually. Fred would not have wanted that.. Brian Hackney!}. A consummate pro, she long has co-anchored KTVUs 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts with Somerville and figures to do a lot of the heavy lifting in the coming days. Zehnder walked there from home and refused a ride back to his place, preferring to walk, as always. Dear Abby: I have a great life, so why have I fallen into this shameful behavior? George Watson is safe and sane. OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland police officers have been disciplined following the deployment of tear gas and other less-than-lethal projectiles at last summer's George Floyd protests, KTVU has learned. RICH LIEBERMAN 415 MEDIA: Mystery at KTVU: Frank Somerville - Blogger Producing that show was a dream job. He sold subscriptions and took in news items dead cows and broken-down milk trucks on the family phone line. "He (Somerville) looked drunk. Police were on edge that night, because a few days earlier, during a May 29, 2020, protest, protesters set fires, threw Molotov cocktails and separately, a federal agent was killed by a member of the Boogaloo movement in an undisputably chaotic night. Aaron Rodgers Mural Removed in Green Bay: WATCH KTVU (FOX) : TV NEWS : Search Captions. Borrow Broadcasts : TV Archive He arrived at KTVU in 2005 as a general assignment reporter. But he had a profound impact on me as a child. Reply Delete And the department's own policyplaces special restrictions on the use of dangerous weapons such as flashbangs and tear gas precisely because those breaking the law might be mixed with peaceful passersby, along with legal observers and journalists. Produced in-depth "think pieces" from throughout San Bernardino County. "I'm OK.", UPDATE 10: 44 AM: I asked Somerville if he was going to be back tonight (Monday) on air at KTVU: He texted back: "Yeah, I'm totally fine. It shows a sympathetic person, Watson, in his most darkest days. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! You did what he told you because you loved him and didnt want to let him down, Shandobil said. Edited by Anita Badejo and Marc Georges. Another source who watched the program was more blunt. Police, by law and court order, must use de-escalation techniques first, before deploying such harmful, although less-lethal, agents and tools. I have thought about you often and held positive thoughts for you. He knows what his vulnerabilites are, and attempts to deal with this truth. "It was not a lightbulb, burning-bush experience," he says. He refused to let it end in Game 7, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Sad for Frank. Many honored Griffith in social media and expressed anguish over herpassing. Kevin O'Brien was the station manager, Zehnder's boss. Griffith, probably not. It was created in 1984 by KTVU reporter George Watson, and produced by Don McCuaig. She later took over the 10 p.m. news spot co-anchoring with Dennis Richmond. I thought it was a big deal when I started working with her and Dennis. In March, Somerville missed over two weeks from KTVU and told me that he was battling an alcohol-abuse issue and that he spent some time at a North Bay recovery center.

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