Somerville did not reply to repeated efforts to contact him, nor did representatives from Fox News, who said last month only that the anchor had been suspended “pending further review.” No one at KTVU, including news director Amber Eikel, would speak on the record.īut as community groups voice frustration, questions also remain over Somerville’s suspension. He said it was “deeply concerning” that KTVU wasn’t even willing to have a conversation about media coverage when it serves the Bay Area’s diverse viewers. “I think it’s really indicative of the silencing and invisibility of Black and brown people,” said Galvis, whose group worked with Restoring Justice for Indigenous Peoples to organize the rally. 12 rally, said KTVU’s silence “is a response.” George Galvis, executive director of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, which helped organize the Oct. “I think it’s probably time to (let them know) we’re still listening and waiting,” Holland said. Holland wondered if KTVU or Fox simply hope the controversy will disappear. “We wanted to give KTVU a chance to see if they would independently respond,” said George Holland, the president of the Oakland chapter of the NAACP, which hosted a rally for 40 to 50 people on Oct. Last week, the City of San Leandro also issued an official proclamation honoring the multiple Emmy-winning anchor “for speaking out about missing women of color and setting an example of strength and equity to our community and those worldwide.”īut even with such declarations, community activists say they have yet to hear from the station managers or Fox about their concerns. 12, both sparked by Somerville’s reported desire to address disparities in media coverage of White crime victims like Petito versus women of color. Since Somerville’s suspension, two rallies have been held outside the KTVU studios in Jack London Square on Oct.
The public silence from Channel 2 and Fox, its parent network, has fueled community frustration over the ostensible reason he was suspended - a reported dispute over his push to add a brief commentary on racial inequity to the end of a straight-news story about the disappearance of social media influencer Gabby Petito, whose case had attracted a firestorm of media coverage. I appreciate and admire what they do every day.More than a month after Frank Somerville was suspended from KTVU, the popular anchor remains off the air with no word from either him or the station about if or when he might return. “I wish I could apologize to all of them in person. “All this drama isn’t good,” Somerville said. In November, Somerville insisted he was right to push for the commentary, but he publicly apologized for all “the drama” because of the way it affected people who work at the station.
Sources at the station said Eikel and editors didn’t think Somerville’s proposed “tag,” a brief closing the story, was an appropriate way to cover the issue and would blur the lines between an anchor delivering a straight news story and offering editorial commentary.
#FRANK SOMERVILLE KTVU NEWS UPDATE#
That night he pushed to add a brief commentary on racial inequity to the end of a news update about the disappearance of Gabby Petito, a young White woman and social media influencer whose disappearance and murder in Wyoming had attracted a firestorm of media coverage. Somerville returned to anchoring duties until Sept. Somerville was off air for much of the summer of 2021, following his now-infamous newscast last May, when he repeatedly slurred and stumbled over his words and appeared to have trouble reading off the teleprompter. KTVU news director Amber Eikel praised Mibach in a news release, calling him a “dedicated storyteller who cares deeply about the community and our role as journalists in the Bay Area.” “It’s an absolute honor to be trusted to deliver stories in a way that continues the legacy of journalistic excellence for which KTVU has always been known.” “KTVU has been a part of my life for nearly five decades from growing up in the Bay Area as a viewer, and for the last 17 years as a reporter and anchor,” Mibach said in a statement. Former KTVU anchor Frank Somerville anchors the five o’clock news at the KTVU studio on Tuesday, May 5, 2009, in Oakland, Calif. He was expected to formally let viewers know about his promotion on “Mornings on 2” Thursday, said a spokesperson for Fox Television Stations. newscasts, and that his duties start next week.
The announcement from Fox Television Stations, which owns KTVU, says that Mibach was promoted to co-anchor, alongside Julie Haener, for the 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 10 p.m. After months of filling in for beloved, long-time anchor Frank Somerville on KTVU’s weeknight newscasts, Mike Mibach has officially been named as his replacement.
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