So I am done at Channel 2, Somerville said in a brief phone interview this week with the Bay Area News Group. Jay C. Barmann is a fiction writer and web editor who's lived in San Francisco for 20+ years. Write by: . In an interview with the Bay Area News Group published Friday, the celebrated former KTVU anchor confirmed that his former employer will not re-sign him and allegedly not because of his arrest. George Kelly is a breaking news reporter for the Bay Area News Group's East Bay Times and Mercury News. Update: A spokesperson for Fox tells the Mercury News, "We can confirm Frank is taking time away from the desk to focus on his health and we welcome his return when he is ready.". You can see video of the Sunday 10 o'clock broadcast below, in which Somerville has difficulty reading from his teleprompter. But even with such declarations, community activists say they have yet to hear from the station managers or Fox about their concerns. Frank Somerville has spoken out for the first time since his Dec. 30 arrest for a suspected DUI. But if Petitos story needs to be told, so do the stories of thousands of overlooked women of color, they said. [5], In 2013, Somerville apologized on behalf of KTVU for an incident in which racist pilot names were read out in a broadcast on Asiana Airlines Flight 214. FRANK Somerville has reportedly been pulled off the air at KTVU over his coverage of the Gabby Petito case. So, I'm assuming I've done my last newscast," Somerville said. 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. [6], Somerville was an intern at KTVU in 1981, while attending San Francisco State. I just dont notice the things you see, he added. Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552. The months-long saga surrounding longtime KTVU anchor Frank Somerville may have finally reached its conclusion. Now, though, Somerville appears to be putting it out there that he's looking for a job. 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.. Reid said. The multiple Emmy winner lives in Oakland, grew up in Berkeley and graduated from Berkeley High and San Francisco State University. Silence irks activists, stirs questions about suspension. Somerville reportedly told the producer that Eikel had approved a shortened version, a source said. Franqueville ( French pronunciation: [fkvil]; Picard: Franqville) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France . Somerville is the adoptive father of a Black teen daughter. Silence irks activists, stirs questions about suspension, Oakland NAACP calls for Frank Somervilles reinstatement at KTVU. The City of San Leandro also issued an official proclamation honoring him for speaking out about missing women of color and setting an example of strength and equity to our community and those worldwide.. 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. In a May broadcast of KTVUs 10 p.m. news program, Somerville was recorded slurring his words and abruptly left midbroadcast with no explanation. "I still want to continue working, Somerville tells the Mercury News. In a May broadcast of KTVU's 10 p.m. news program,. Reportedly, Somerville butted heads with KTVU News Director Amber Eikel over the addition of this "tag" that Somerville wanted to say on air, with Eikel saying that the topic deserved separate coverage at a later date. Shortly before the 5 p.m. broadcast, Eikel told Somerville she planned to cut the tag after newsroom editors raised concerns. 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. 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. 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? 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. 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. [5] He then attended San Francisco State University. And I wont stop fighting for equal media representation for all victims.. Mr. 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. Somerville displayed symptoms of driving under the influence of alcohol, with bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person. After a field sobriety test showed signs of impairment, the documents said, two separate breathalyzer tests found that Somerville had blood alcohol levels of 0.239% and 0.219%. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office filed charges against former Bay Area news anchor Frank Somerville following a Dec. 30 car wreck in a busy downtown Oakland intersection. KTVU News Director Amber Eikel has allegedly taken Somerville off the air until further notice, as Liberman reports. The longtime news anchor faced a rocky 2021. His first newspaper job was as a Washington Post paperboy. Somerville, a white male, is being lionized and becoming the topic of the story and not the women who have been ignored, Reynolds said. Staff writers Harry Harris and Rick Hurd contributed to this report. Neither Fox nor KTVU has made any official statement on the matter. Somerville, driving a 2014 Porsche 911, rear-ended a silver Audi. Thats just a guess. ContactGeorge Kelly at 408-859-5180. 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.. He noted that his contract is up in January, so it seems like the management is just waiting that out. [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. The FBI has issued an arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie, Petitos 23-year-old fianc. Sources told the outlet that Somerville was informed by station management the next day that he was being suspended. Somerville's attorney said that he is "attending meetings and working on himself. 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. This property is currently available for sale and was listed by MLS PIN on Mar . These rallies were followed by the City of San Leandro issuing an official proclamation honoring Somerville "for speaking out about missing women of color and setting an example of strength and equity to our community and those worldwide.". ", "My guess is that Im not coming back to Channel 2, Somerville tells the Chronicle. 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. Early Life and Education. 80346 /80620. Seven weeks later, he was off the air again. Somerville has a Black daughter and wanted to add a note at the end of any news story on Petito about the rates of domestic violence for Black women in America. 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. 53-127 m (174-417 ft) (avg. KTVU's news division was infamously responsible for broadcasting the offensive fake names of the pilots of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 following a July 2013 crash at SFO, a mistake they blamed on the National Transportation Safety Board who, in turn, blamed a summer intern. [5] He then attended San Francisco State University. February 27, 2023 equitable estoppel california No Comments . Somerville has kept his relationship with Donna mostly private, however, in an interview with the National Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences, he opened up about his personal life. 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. All rights reserved, with driving under the influence following an arrest in late December in Oakland. $5,550,000. Federal jury finds Bay Area man guilty in string of East Bay bank robberies Chuck Barney is the TV critic and columnist for the Bay Area News Group. But she hadnt and the new tag was removed. Staff writer Harry Harris contributed to this report. 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. Info stolen in Oakland ransomware attack set to be released Speaking about the case ofmissing geologist Daniel Robinson, she added: "I never heard of it until this friend of mine sent it to me. Somerville wanted to add a brief tagline at the end of the report that questioned the extraordinary level of media coverage devoted to the story. 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. The collision occurred eastbound on West Grand Avenue, Windham wrote. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Crime and Public Safety | The veteran anchor was told that the tagline was inappropriate and he apparently pushed back on it. 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 the latest posts delivered right to your inbox. While Somerville was attending San Francisco State University in 1981, he interned at KTVU. [12], Somerville's suspension from KTVU would become permanent in January 2022 when his contract expired and KTVU would decide not to re-sign him. 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. I helped make Mornings on 2 the No. Since his suspension, Somerville has shared videos and posts on Instagram his social media platform of choice since leaving KTVU. What Somerville did that was so wrong is less clear. . Somerville later excused that saying he had mistakenly taken an Ambien before going on the air. The request was denied by KTVU news director Amber Eikel, who called the tag line inappropriate, according to the source. I think its probably time to (let them know) were still listening and waiting, Holland said. His parents raised him in Berkeley, California. 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. Somerville was born on March 19, 1958, in San Luis Obispo, California, but was raised in Berkeley. 4ba. There was no word on how heated the discussion got. He believes that his automotive collision that happened the month before did not play a role, instead, he believes management had already decided to cut him loose months earlier. He took a nine-week leave to focus on his health and had only returned in August. 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. "No one at the station Fox/KTVU has contacted me. A KTVU spokesperson later explained that he left the air to focus on his health.. [citation needed] He attended Berkeley High School, graduating in 1976. Frank Somerville is an American journalist and three-time Emmy Award winner. Somerville spoke this morning to local media hound Rich Lieberman who said Somerville was speaking to him exclusively but very quickly Somerville gave quotes to the Mercury News and the Chronicle saying that he's all but certain he won't ever be at the anchor desk again at KTVU. Crime and Public Safety | However, she agreed with the editors who thought the tag on its own wasnt a sufficient way to cover the story and would blur the lines between an anchor delivering a straight news story and offering editorial commentary, sources said. On Wednesday night's 6 o'clock broadcast, Heather Holmes anchored the show with Andre Senior, saying at the top of the hour, "Frank and Julie are off tonight.". Crime and Public Safety | The request was denied by KTVU news director Amber Eikel, who called the tagline inappropriate, a source told SFGATE in September, leading to criticism from the Oakland chapter of the NAACP. 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. 42 Portfolio, Somerville, MA 02143 is a 9 bedroom, 18 bathroom, 15,789 sqft multi-family built in 1900. 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. His last video was published March 31, voicing his perspective on the Will Smith slap at the Oscars and recounting anincident in which his wifes boss repeatedly harassed her. [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. MSNBC host Joy Reiddiscussed the Gabby Petito case on her showon September 20. Frank Somerville (born March 19, 1958) is an American television journalist. In 2008, he was elevated to one of the stations marquee positions when he was anointed co-anchor of the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts, replacing 40-year veteran Dennis Richmond. Somerville has had a tumultuous year. 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. Frank Somervilles 31-year career at KTVU, where his nightly anchoring duties made him one of the Bay Areas most beloved TV news personalities, officially came to an end Friday, as his contract expired and the station opted to not bring him back. Before moving to Frank's current city of Somerville, MA, Frank lived in Bolton MA.In the past, Frank has also been known as Frank J Bacci. In a statement Thursday afternoon, Somervilles attorney Shannan Dugan acknowledged the charges. 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. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. 2. 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. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! Somerville, 63, won the awards at KTVU, which included an accolade for best on-camera news anchor. I feel great, he said in response. ", Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. I wish I could apologize to all of them in person. ", He adds, "It makes me really sad, because Ive given 31 years to the station. Frank Somerville has spoken out for the first time since his Dec. 30 arrest for a suspected DUI. And the photo has since gone. Joshua Bote is the tech editor at SFGATE. The venerated KTVU anchor spoke to the Bay Area News Group in an interview published . Frank Somerville, the anchor for KTVU, has been 'suspended indefinitely' by the network Credit: Facebook/Frank Somerville. I work out every day.. As per the sources, he was named after his father's friend Frank Patty. Sources said that Somerville was informed by station management the next day that he was being suspended. According to two KTVU newsroom sources, who declined to give their names because they were not authorized to speak on the record, Somerville wanted to add a 46-second tag to an update on the Petito case, which aired Sept. 21. 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His suspension came just six weeks after a previous leave of absence for health issues when he struggled to read his teleprompter and slurred his words during a broadcast in May.