Ok, I wanted to see how KIRO would cover the Ichiro Baseball Hall of Fame induction.
I tuned in at 4 excited to get the first reports. They promised Team Coverage at the outset and had plenty of good sound bites from the player. Applause. But for the first half hour, we got a standard live shot from the bar across from the stadium with one patron and a PHONER from KIRO radio's Charlie Harger who WAS in Cooperstown. What?? You don't have your own reporter live from the HOF. You have to use a radio guy???? Are you saving your people for later when this is your very first show after the event??? Pathetic.
They portrayed the program as an 'Ichiro Special' but it had weather and other news. False advertising. A special means the only content is about the topic
This is what happens when you have no sports department. News anchor Jason Sloss, an outlier to Seattle TV, has to anchor and read what he knows little about. He did ok, but I found it all embarrassing.
I gave up at 430. First impressions are key. Don't care about what else they did. You have one shot to make your coverage special. KIRO failed. Prove me wrong
I missed the news this evening, but it sounds like KIRO could have, and should have, put a little more effort and resources into covering this story. They went all out for the Pier 58 reopening (perhaps a little too much...I still feel like more attention should have been given to the day's other news, but I digress), but fall flat on this one? Not a good look to be so inconsistent. If KIRO wants to regain trust with its audience, they need to cover all of the major stories in this market with the same level of energy and resources as they did for the Pier 58 reopening. Not just some if them. That being said, the photo you provided does appear to show Gary Horcher and someone else (I can't tell who it is) in the lower left-hand corner, so maybe there was better coverage at 4:30.
ReplyDeleteWith the 4 pm on KIRO being your first newscast of the day, you better come ouy guns blazin' on Ichiro. As I said, you get one chance off the top to showcase your coverage. My guess is that Horcher and whomever else were recorded for those boxes before the show even started. An old trick.
ReplyDeleteI watched from 4 to 6 & I had no issues with the coverage. I appreciated the variety of stories, but they kept the focus on Ichiro. Gary & Monique brought some fresh, unique stories that I liked & I thought Jason did a solid job. He’s essentially doing the work of three people: no co-anchor, no live desk, no sports team - he’s carrying a huge load, that can’t be easy. After seeing Jason’s Instagram reel about recently losing both his parents (apparently back in San Diego), I can’t help but think he won’t be at KIRO much longer. With so many others leaving (Niku, Frankie, Gwen, Louie), it’s hard to imagine him staying. Why would he? The station seems severely understaffed, people are overworked & when he does step up, he still faces criticism by some. Honestly, who would want to stay for that? I personally think he does a great job but I don’t see too many people willing to stick around in that kind of environment for long.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate and understand your support of Jason. Sorry to hear of his losses. As I said, as an Ichiro fan, I tuned in at the top of the 4 and expected a lot, but I was disappointed. But as a former news director, it simply wasn't good enough for a first impression. Jason tends to be a little deadpan, no gesturing, smiling or enthusiasm at the wall on a huge, soft, popular story. Not a time to just be solid.
DeleteMy condolences to Jason for the loss of his parents. May they rest in peace.
DeleteI guess in the 90s, when KIRO TV and radio were the same organization, no one would think twice. But know that they are separate entities, with strangely the same calls, it raises eyebrows.
ReplyDeleteI think KIRO 7 went all out at pier 58 because it was only a few blocks from Broadcast House. Little to no travel time to pay
ReplyDeleteRich
Last night I watched FOX 13 - they buried the Ichiro coverage, while KIRO led with it & ran multiple segments throughout the newscast. Franque Thompson was anchoring for FOX - I wouldn’t consider her a super strong anchor. Deadpan? If that label applied to Jason, then honestly, most other anchors in this market would fall under the same category. The other day I was watching Preston Phillips on KOMO. I’ll be honest, I don’t really see his appeal. One advantage he does have, though, is having a co-anchor to play off of. When I’ve seen Jason paired with someone, there’s more expression and a lighter, more engaging dynamic. Solo anchoring doesn’t offer the same opportunity for banter. Who anchors are paired with really makes a difference as well. When Hana Kim anchored with Matthew Smith, their dynamic felt flat. Now that she’s alongside David Rose, she’s really come into her own. I’m curious … whose coverage did you enjoy? We definitely know who you’re not a fan of; that part’s been made pretty clear. One of the common complaints about FTVLive is that it leans heavily into gossip and public shaming … it often feels more like a tabloid. It’s not exactly a positive or constructive space. So with that in mind … which station’s Ichiro coverage did stand out to you in a good way? What about their coverage made them enjoyable?
ReplyDeleteGood to hear KIRO may have caught up, but having no true sports presence like a Chris Francis hurts their overall image. They could have used Eric Thomas as a sub anchor on a 6th day perhaps since he does have a sports connection, at least, from his work i at Sportsnet Canada.
DeleteI did not watch the late Fox 13, so no opinion, but remember they have a 30-minute sports show at 10:30 Sunday nights, so they probably saved all of the Ichiro stuff for there.
1. Not a fanof Frankie, and I think Hana is their best female and with Rose, forms a solid team.
2. Preston is OK and so is Soliz. Molly is their best overall anchor.
3. I would like to see KIRO pull a KOMO and Fox, by putting their new weekend met doing so news casting as well, if indeed one is being hired as was mentioned on a prior post.
KIRO hired Eric Thomas specifically for his sports background - they knew they would be letting Chris Francis go so they brought Eric in to replace both Francis and DeeDee Sun, who had been promoted to mornings. That promotion, by the way, is what led Niku to leave - she had her eye on the morning anchor position (formerly held by Michelle Millman), but it went to DeeDee instead. Jason is filling in for Eric because Eric is covering for DeeDee during her maternity leave. I’m not sure how much longer DeeDee will be out, but once she returns, Eric will likely go back to weekends and Jason will go back to M-F. The new weekend meteorologist is expected to start mid-August after some training. I don’t know much about that person, other than they apparently have a connection to Morgan … maybe they worked together in a previous market.
ReplyDeleteI thought Niku left to follow her military husband to Southern California. Is that not accurate?
DeleteThey couldn't give Thomas a 6th day or comp to work the show, double anchor it, showcase his sports knowledge on a big day??? I know Thomas is filling for Sun, so not new news to me. Thomas is better than Sloss on camera. More energy, the overall look. You must work for KIRO, which is fine. Keep the nuggets coming, and give us a name for this met.
ReplyDeleteThought she went to KABC in LA
ReplyDeleteShe did. I was under the impression that she had done so in order to follow her husband, who serves in the military. I was not aware that it may have had to do with her not getting the KIRO morning anchor gig.
DeleteNo, I don’t work at KIRO - I’d honestly lose my mind if I did! Definitely not for me. But my partner works with the spouse of someone who does work there, and that person used to be at KOMO as well. Not an on-air position, though. As for Niku, she would have stayed at KIRO if she’d been promoted to morning anchor. Instead, she got herself an agent who helped her land a freelance gig in L.A. I’ll see if I can find out the name of the new weather anchor.
ReplyDeleteThank you for offering some clarifying and possibly additional info. It's appreciated as we try to sort things out with the market movement.
ReplyDeleteI've got a weather anchor update for you - but first, after rereading this post, I think a few things need to be clarified. It was mentioned that Mr. Sloss had to "read what he knows little about" because he's a "news" guy, not officially a sports guy. However, a quick look at this LinkedIn shows he actually was a sports anchor for several years across different markets before making the switch to news. His Instagram also shows that he covered the 2017 World Series with the LA Dodgers, traveling with the team, interviewing players and celebs on the field after every game. So while he may not *currently* hold a sports anchor title, he clearly has a solid sports background and knows what he's talking about. If it were Madeleine Ottilie or Brandon Thomspson doing sports, then yeah, that might raise eyebrows. But plenty of journalists move between news and sports. Remember Chris Miller? He was KOMO's weekend sports anchor, I want to say about 15 years ago or so - only lasted two years there but landed a morning news anchor job in Nashville. Or Mo Haider, a former KOMO news reporter turned sports guy in Houston. Anyway, onto the weather anchor update: I was given the name of someone who used to work with Morgan - a more seasoned gentleman from the Fort Myers, Florida area. I'm a bit hesitant to drop the name because the direction KIRO is going surprised me. I expected them to go younger, closer to Frankie's age, especially since he'll be stepping into her role. I'm also curious whether he'll be reporting like Frankie did. That said, the name I was given was Robert Van Winkle.
ReplyDeleteI guess we will have to agree to disagree on Jason. Despite having a sports reporting background, he didn't see all that enthused about the Ichiro HOF. Totally undersold it. Ibelieve Eric Thomas would have been more engaged. I mean nobody was in Cooperstown from KIRO based on a post I saw, so perhaps there was simply no heat for it. Meanwhile, thanks for the weather update, I will do some research. And having said that, Parella Lewis should be on at KING any day now, unless I missed her. Hey, thanks for reading and offering counter opinions. It is welcome and I appreciate it a lot.
ReplyDeleteDid some research on the name so I will post in the morning as "HEARING THAT....NO OFFICIAL WORD YET. If its in comments, it will get out, so that's my plan.
ReplyDelete