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. Somerville pushed back, but was overruled, a newsroom source said. I work out every day.. 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She has previously reported or edited for Bay Area news and lifestyle publications, including Walnut Creek Patch, and Diablo, Oakland and Alameda magazines, as well as The Nation in Bangkok, Thailand and The Economist. You can see video of the Sunday 10 o'clock broadcast below, in which Somerville has difficulty reading from his teleprompter. Martha Ross is a Bay Area News Group features writer for The Mercury News and East Bay Times who covers everything and anything related to popular culture, society, health, womens issues and families. Shortly before the 5 p.m. broadcast, Eikel told Somerville she planned to cut the tag after newsroom editors raised concerns. February 27, 2023 equitable estoppel california No Comments . During a now-infamous May 30 newscast, he repeatedly slurred and stumbled over his words and appeared to have trouble reading off the teleprompter. He is due to appear Feb. 28. Somerville was off the air for more than nine weeks before returning in August to Channel 2s The Ten OClock News without addressing his unusual absence. The case of Gabby has sparked a national outcry as her fianc Brian Laundrie continues to evade authorities. Staff writer Harry Harris contributed to this report. After the collision, the Audis driver managed to get out of their car, according to the statement, but Somerville kept driving east on West Grand, pushing the Audi across the intersectionuntil it hit a pole on the southwest corner. She graduated from Northwestern University with a BA degree in German studies and from Mills College with a MFA degree in creative writing and English. Crime and Public Safety | Get all the latest & greatest posts delivered straight to your inbox, Longtime Bay Area Anchor Frank Somerville Off Air Since Slurred-Speech Broadcast On Sunday, AdWeek's TVSpy blog is covering his disappearance, fake names of the pilots of Asiana Airlines Flight 214, Day Around the Bay: San Jose Man Arrested In Connection With PG&E Transformer Explosions, Berkeley Poised to Close Famed Anthropology Library, Angry Students In Full Occupy Mode, The SFPD Brags About Busting Johns Seeking Sex Workers on Capp Street. 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. Longtime KTVU news anchor Frank Somerville was booked into jail early Friday morning for allegedly driving under the influence, after a car crash at a busy intersection in downtown Oakland. He was also named anchor of Channel 2 News at 5 in April 2005, when it was launched. I helped make Mornings on 2 the No. Earlier this year, Somerville disappeared from the air without explanation after a fairly strange Memorial Day Weekend broadcast in which he was slurring words and seemed unable to read the teleprompter. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Sign up for NBC Bay Areas Housing Deconstructed newsletter. "[11], On December 30, 2021, Somerville was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after an automobile collision. Somerville, who has an adopted black daughter, reportedly pushed back after the tagline was refused. 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In related news, CNN is reckoning with its Petito coverage and just took up a local missing-persons case involving Arianna Fitts, a Bay Area girl who is black, and who went missing in 2016 at the age of 2. There was no word on how heated the discussion got. He is a graduate of Bowie State University in Maryland with a BS degree in communications. "I still want to continue working, Somerville tells the Mercury News. For whatever reason, they decided not to re-sign me.. At the time, Somerville said he had not yet lined up offers to work at other stations but wanted to keep working and was disappointed about how his time at KTVU had ended. Thats just a guess. DSW is closing on Powell Street, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen says the metaverse scares her, and SF Mayor London Breed has come out vocally in support of the recall of three school board members. He said it was deeply concerning that KTVU wasnt even willing to have a conversation about media coverage when it serves the Bay Areas diverse viewers. Hes one of the highest paid anchors in the Bay Area, but his contract is up in March. "No one at the station Fox/KTVU has contacted me. Crime and Public Safety | The request was denied by KTVU news director Amber Eikel, who called the tag line inappropriate, according to the source. Frank Somerville is an American journalist and three-time Emmy Award winner. Crime and Public Safety | He's still in mourning over the cancellation of "Freaks and Geeks. He was off air for much of the summer, following his now-infamous May 30 newscast, when he repeatedly slurred and stumbled over his words and appeared to have trouble reading off the teleprompter. He took a nine-week leave to focus on his health and had only returned in August. Reynolds said Somerville may have been well-intentioned, and that he certainly seems passionate about fairness in coverage. I wish I could apologize to all of them in person. That night he pushed to add a brief commentary on racial inequity to the end of a news update about the disappearance of Petito, a young White woman and social media influencer whose case had attracted a firestorm of media coverage. Frank Somerville finally returns to KTVU: Are viewers owed an explanation? Frank Somerville's 31-year career at KTVU, where his nightly anchoring duties made him one of the Bay Area's most beloved TV news personalities, officially came to an end Friday, as his. Last fall, he told this news organization that he anticipated his days anchoring at KTVU were over after he was suspended in September for an off-air dispute about the coverage of the Gabby Petito case. 2. Former KTVU anchor Frank Somerville speaks about addiction struggles that he says spurred DUI wreck Former KTVU anchor Frank Somerville opened up about his struggles with addiction on Dec.. Seven weeks later, he was off the air again. ", Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Frank Somerville, the anchor for KTVU, has been 'suspended indefinitely' by the network Credit: Facebook/Frank Somerville. He became co-anchor of KTVU's morning news program in 1992 and was the first anchor of the 5 p.m. newscast when it launched in 2005. Somerville does not believe that his Dec. 30 arrest in Oakland on suspicion of driving under the influence was a factor in the stations decision. While Somerville was attending San Francisco State University in 1981, he interned at KTVU. But a shortened version of the tag made it into the script for that evening's broadcast, which allegedly prompted Somerville's suspension for insubordination. In November, Somerville told this news organization that management had not contacted him since September, when he was suspended from his anchoring duties for an off-air dispute about coverage of the Gabby Petito case. Former KTVU news anchor Frank Somerville was charged earlier this week with driving under the influence following an arrest in late December in Oakland, Alameda County prosecutors and police. The ABC News report also said that onlyabout one-fifth of missing person cases involving minorities are covered by the news, according to a 2016 analysis published in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. [5] He then attended San Francisco State University. 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. Reid hosted a discussion with representatives from the Black and Missing Foundation andNot Our Native Daughters Foundation when she made the comments. Longtime KTVU anchor Frank Somerville, who's been off the air since being suspended by management in September over a disagreement about the coverage of the Gabby Petito case, is speaking out and . ", "My guess is that Im not coming back to Channel 2, Somerville tells the Chronicle. Somerville was off the air for much of the summer following his now-infamous May 30 newscast, when he repeatedly slurred and stumbled over his words and appeared to have trouble reading off the teleprompter. Info stolen in Oakland ransomware attack set to be released Frank Somerville has spoken out for the first time since his Dec. 30 arrest for a suspected DUI. Now, though, Somerville appears to be putting it out there that he's looking for a job. A station spokesperson could not be reached as of Friday evening, and Eikel declined to comment. Somerville takes these charges very seriously. Theylearned that Somerville had been driving a 2014 Porsche east on West Grand when he rear-ended an Audi stopped at the intersection. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! On March 19, 1958, Frank Somerville was born in San Luis Obispo, California, US. 2. Reynolds, a former editor at the Oakland Tribune and Bay Area News Group, said it would have resulted in the very disparity (in coverage) he was seeking to address.. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, booked into Santa Rita Jail on that charge and later released with a citation to appear. Off work, he enjoys playing in bands, busking and karaoke. Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552. PUBLISHED: June 1, 2021 at 12:54 p.m. | UPDATED: November 9, 2021 at 3:19 p.m. KTVU news anchor Frank Somerville was off the air again Tuesday following his abrupt exit from a Sunday night . Somerville, driving a 2014 Porsche 911, rear-ended a silver Audi. He returned in August, but a month after, was suspended permanently following turmoil over the coverage of Gabby Petito, the missing van-lifer who was killed by her fiance Brian Laundrie in September. Former SF anchor Frank Somerville publicly opens up about arrest, KTVU exit. [14][15], Somerville was married to television producer Donna Wright Somerville for more than 20 years; the couple has two daughters. 4ba. Somerville was not involved in that flub. George Galvis, executive director of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, which helped organize the Oct. 12 rally, said KTVUs silence is a response.. 42 Portfolio is located in Union Square, Somerville. Sources said he wanted to point out that the U.S. media often disproportionately covers tragedies involving young White women, while largely ignoring similar cases involving women of color and Indigenous people. In a May broadcast of KTVUs 10 p.m. news program, Somerville was recorded slurring his words and abruptly left midbroadcast with no explanation. In an interview with the Bay Area News Group published Friday, the celebrated former KTVU anchor. TV Streaming | I think its probably time to (let them know) were still listening and waiting, Holland said. [2][3][4], Somerville was born on March 19, 1958, in San Luis Obispo, California, but was raised in Berkeley. [13], In December 2022, Somerville went public about his dismissal from the station on a Facebook post. Its another strange twist in a turbulent year for Somerville. [7], In June 2021, Somerville took a personal leave of absence from KTVU following an on-air incident during which he struggled to read the script for several stories and appeared to slur his words. Longtime KTVU anchor Frank Somerville shared a Facebook post Saturday reflecting on his arrest and his termination from . Theyre not re-signing me. In further comments to Lieberman over the phone, reported on his 415 Media blog, Somerville allegedly insisted he had not been drinking, and had just mistakenly taken Ambien before going on the air. [5] He then attended San Francisco State University. 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This property is currently available for sale and was listed by MLS PIN on Mar . [9] In September 2021, he was suspended for disobedience after seeking to keep a "tag" concerning domestic violence and "missing white woman syndrome" in a story on the Gabby Petito case. Frank Somerville, a veteran TV newscaster suspended from KTVU following a dispute over coverage of the Gabby Petito homicide case, said Tuesday that he believes he is not returning to the station . An ABC News report,citing statistics from the FBIs National Crime Information Center stated that at the end of 2020, the FBI had more than 89,000 active missing person cases, and 45 percent of those were people of color. The multiple Emmy winner lives in Oakland, grew up in Berkeley and graduated from Berkeley High and San Francisco State University. KTVU anchor Frank Somerville, one of the most recognizable of the Bay Area's news personalities having been on the air at KTVU since 1991, was pulled from a Sunday broadcast and has not returned . KTVU suspended veteran anchor Frank Somerville after the station news director nixed his proposal to add commentary about racial justice to coverage of the Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito homicide . Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. But as community groups voice frustration, questions also remain over Somervilles suspension. Additionally, he spent his childhood in Berkeley and was raised there. Somervilles next hearing will take place May 6. "I feel like a total idiot," Somerville allegedly said. Jay C. Barmann is a fiction writer and web editor who's lived in San Francisco for 20+ years. KTVU's "Ten O'Clock News" has long held the top spot for the Bay Area's highest rated news broadcast. He has been taking many steps to address the circumstances that led to this case, including attending meetings and working on himself so that nothing like this ever happens again, Dugan said. Mr. Woman suspected of making threats toward Christian schools campus in Walnut Creek arrested $5,550,000. So I am done at Channel 2, Somerville said in a brief phone interview this week with the Bay Area News Group. Somerville is expected to appear in court Feb. 28, the Bay Area News Group reports. FRANK Somerville has reportedly been pulled off the air at KTVU over his coverage of the Gabby Petito case. Viral Kids' Star Ms. Rachel Is Taking a Break From Social Media After Backlash Over Co-Star Who Uses They/Them Pronouns, Actor Tom Sizemore, of Saving Private Ryan,' Dies at 61, Alex Murdaugh Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Wife and Son, Los Gatos Mom Accused of Hosting Alcohol-Fueled Teen Parties Attacked in Jail, Hospitalized. [citation needed] He attended Berkeley High School, graduating in 1976. All this drama isnt good, Somerville said. [10] In November 2021, he said in an interview with the Bay Area News Group that KTVU had not contacted him and that "All indications are that Im never going to anchor at Channel 2 again. Somerville, who has a mixed-race daughter, wanted to make a statement at the end of a segment regarding "missing white woman syndrome," a term coined by the late Gwen Ifill about American media's obsession with the disappearance of young, pretty Caucasian women, when very little national attention is given to the thousands of people of color who go missing every year. KTVU News Director Amber Eikel has allegedly taken Somerville off the air until further notice, as Liberman reports. Related Articles But Reynolds also faulted KTVU for fueling the controversy by not meeting with activists to discuss their complaints about coverage, saying that journalism organizations must offer a level of transparency and accountability., While not publicly commenting to reporters about his suspension, Somerville took to Instagram late last month to thank his fans for his support in standing up for what he believes no matter the consequences., We in the media cant be afraid to look in the mirror and ask ourselves tough questions about race and our coverage, Somerville said. This was Somervilles second suspension in a tumultuous year. ), He disputed one comment that said he looked sick on a video he posted talking about an incident in which his daughter was allegedly racially profiled. Frank Somerville was "suspended indefinitely," according to the Mercury News, after a behind-the-scenes disagreement about his coverage of 22-year-old Petito's disappearance. I just dont notice the things you see, he added. What Somerville did that was so wrong is less clear. KTVU anchor Frank Somerville anchors the five o'clock news at the KTVU studio on Tuesday, May 5, 2009, in Oakland, Calif. It's been one year since Somerville replaced longtime anchor Dennis . Mini Bio (1) Frank Somerville co-anchors the weekday editions of "KTVU Channel 2 News at 5," "KTVU Channel 2 News at 6" and "The Ten O'Clock News on KTVU Channel 2." Somerville joined San Francisco's KTVU Channel 2's Mornings on 2 and The Noon News in January 1992. Somerville, 63, took over as anchor of the six o'clock and ten o'clock news broadcasts at KTVU in 2008, following the retirement of Dennis Richmond. Arianna Fitts would now be eight years old, but she hasnt been seen since 2016, and CNN is shining new light on her case in hopes of a breakthrough. Another white person in Pacific Heights has been captured on video being an asshole to a person of color, this time questioning a man who was delivering Narcan to a nearby halfway house. KTVU anchor Frank Somerville, one of the most recognizable of the Bay Area's news personalities having been on the air at KTVU since 1991, was pulled from a Sunday broadcast and has not returned since after slurring his speech on air. Crime and Public Safety | ContactGeorge Kelly at 408-859-5180. 2. Somerville wanted the tag to address domestic violence and the medias tendency to overlook reports about missing and slain women of color, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which obtained a copy of Somervilles original tag. The longtime news anchor faced a rocky 2021. He was named after his father's childhood friend, Frank Patty, and his paternal grandfather, William Somerville. The couple has two daughters - one of which, Callie, who was adopted in 2005 when she was a baby. George Kelly is a breaking news reporter for the Bay Area News Group's East Bay Times and Mercury News. Somerville was pulled off the air over his coverage of Gabby's case, MSNBC host Joy Reiddiscussed the Gabby Petito case. 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), Wheres Frank Somerville? A tag is a brief closing to a story thats typically read by an anchor. Among them, whether the anchor was offering an effective or appropriate way to challenge the medias often lopsided obsession with stories about White women in jeopardy. All rights reserved, with driving under the influence following an arrest in late December in Oakland. 42 Portfolio, Somerville, MA 02143 is a 9 bedroom, 18 bathroom, 15,789 sqft multi-family built in 1900. According to station sources, Somerville, 63, has been suspended indefinitely by Channel 2 management after a disagreement with news director Amber Eikel over coverage of the Gabby Petito homicide case. Visitation will be held on Monday, March 6th 2023 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Cusick Funeral Home (80 Mountain Ave, Somerville, NJ 08876).
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