Since then, Fox and station management have refused to publicly speak to the issue. Following Somervilles suspension, two rallies were held outside the KTVU studios in Jack London Square in October, both sparked by his reported desire to address disparities in media coverage of White crime victims like Petito versus women of color. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Frank Somerville, Donna Wright Somerville and their two daughters, Brian Laundrie cops narrow search based on new intelligence as rancher says Gabby Petito's fianc is NOT in reserve, Mystery as mom & son, 2 fall to their deaths before game at San Diego Padres stadium as cops probe suspicious case, Horrifying moment two starving Afghan boys are lashed to a wooden post by the Taliban for stealing bread, ISIS leader Abu Omar Khorasani executed by Taliban at Afghan prison as jihadis wage war after Afghanistans collapse, Inwood shooting: 'Five shot' outside Manhattan restaurant as 'gunman opened fire at crowd', Sickening moment young woman in a black bikini viciously attacks a teenage sunbather, Gabriel Salazar 'car accident': Heartbroken pals pay tribute to TikTok star Gabe amid reports influencer died aged 19. [2][3][4], Somerville was born on March 19, 1958, in San Luis Obispo, California, but was raised in Berkeley. Theyre not re-signing me. His parents raised him in Berkeley, California. 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. The veteran anchor was told that the tagline was inappropriate and he apparently pushed back on it. Neither Fox nor KTVU has made any official statement on the matter. Sources said Eikel was willing to assign a reporter to do a separate, more in-depth story. $5,550,000. Frank Somerville, the anchor for KTVU, has been 'suspended indefinitely' by the network Credit: Facebook/Frank Somerville. 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 said. He took an indefinite leave of absence in June following a broadcast of the TheTenO'ClockNewsonKTVU in which he slurred lines and left mid-broadcast, resulting in speculation over his health and well-being. On September 26, it was reported thatSomerville was pulled off the air over his coverage of Gabby's casejust days after Joy Reid's "missing white women" comments. The longtime KTVU news anchor is married to his wife, Donna Wright, a television producer. He took a nine-week leave to focus on his health and had only returned in August. That's a shivering duck sheltering a puppy with its wings. I would give anything to work there. It should have been much more about stepping into the journalism and giving respect and honor to the issue and people youre purporting to be in service of.. Additionally, he spent his childhood in Berkeley and was raised there. He was also named anchor of Channel 2 News at 5 in April 2005, when it was launched. I also helped make the noon and 5 p.m. newscasts No. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! 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. Officers who spoke with Somerville said he exhibited symptoms of being under the influence of an alcoholic beverage: bloodshot/watery eyes, thick/slurred speech, and odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person.. MSNBC host Joy Reiddiscussed the Gabby Petito case on her showon September 20. Martin Reynolds, co-executive director for the Oakland-based Maynard Institute, which promotes diversity in Americas newsrooms, said Somervilles reported solution, to tack a commentary on at the end of a straight news story, would have been lazy, as opposed to assigning a full story on the topic. A tag is a brief closing to a story thats typically read by an anchor. 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. Reynolds said Somerville may have been well-intentioned, and that he certainly seems passionate about fairness in coverage. 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. Somervilles last newscast for KTVU was on Sept. 21. But she hadnt and the new tag was removed. 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. 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. 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 . 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. The New York-born Petito was slain during a cross-country van trip with her fiance, Brian Laundrie. 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. The couple has two daughters - one of which, Callie, who was adopted in 2005 when she was a baby. Somerville has reportedly been "suspended indefinitely" after a behind-the-scenes disagreement about his coverage of the22-year-old vlogger's disappearance. 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. As first reported by the Mercury News on Thursday, the venerated KTVU broadcaster faces two misdemeanor charges from the Alameda County District Attorneys Office one for driving under the influence of alcohol and a second for driving with a blood alcohol level of over 0.08% with potentially enhanced penalties because his BAC was over 0.15%. I think its probably time to (let them know) were still listening and waiting, Holland said. 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. He became co-anchor of the stations highly rated Mornings on 2 in 1992. I would give anything to work there. Off work, he enjoys playing in bands, busking and karaoke. While Somerville was attending San Francisco State University in 1981, he interned at KTVU. Staff writers Harry Harris and Rick Hurd contributed to this report. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Ive given my heart and soul to Channel 2, he told the Bay Area News Group. A KTVU spokesperson later explained that he left the air to focus on his health.. 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. 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. Somerville later excused that saying he had mistakenly taken an Ambien before going on the air. Before the 6 p.m. broadcast, a producer, not familiar with the earlier discussions between Somerville and Eikel, noticed that a shortened tag had been added to the Petito update. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. 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. 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. Somerville was hospitalized shortly after the incident and was booked at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Longtime KTVU anchor Frank Somerville shared a Facebook post Saturday reflecting on his arrest and his termination from . According to The Mercury News, Somerville wanted to add a tagline to a segment about the case to point out the disparity in the coverage of missing persons cases of white women relative to women of color. The months-long saga surrounding longtime KTVU anchor Frank Somerville may have finally reached its conclusion. 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. Ive given my heart and soul to Channel 2. He is also survived by many uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family and friends. Jay C. Barmann is a fiction writer and web editor who's lived in San Francisco for 20+ years. And the photo has since gone. I work out every day.. 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. There was no word on how heated the discussion got. After a brief return, he was suspended indefinitely by KTVU management following a dispute over coverage of the Gabby Petito missing person and homicide case. 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. Previously: Anchorman Frank Somerville's Future at KTVU In Doubt As Rumors Swirl About High Drama In the Newsroom. The case of Gabby has sparked a national outcry as her fianc Brian Laundrie continues to evade authorities. But I have no reason to think otherwise.". I feel great, he said in response. 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. "I still want to continue working, Somerville tells the Mercury News. Meanwhile, Oakland police are awaiting the results of blood tests before turning the case over to Alameda County prosecutors to decide whether to file charges. 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Following the suspension and subsequent social media attention, two rallies were held in support of Somerville outside KTVU headquarters in Oakland. You can see video of the Sunday 10 o'clock broadcast below, in which Somerville has difficulty reading from his teleprompter. A picture of him styling his Black, adopted daughter's hair went viral on the Internet. Now, though, Somerville appears to be putting it out there that he's looking for a job. 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. "[11], On December 30, 2021, Somerville was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after an automobile collision. When an officer-administered field sobriety test showed signs of impairment, Somerville consented to an alcohol screening test; he blew two tests, registering .239 and .219 blood-alcohol levels, according to the statement. TV Streaming | 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. Longtime KTVU anchor Frank Somerville shared a Facebook post Saturday reflecting on his arrest and his termination from KTVU nearly a year later. 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.. Somerville is the adoptive father of a Black teen daughter. But as community groups voice frustration, questions also remain over Somervilles suspension. And I guess thats the issue, isnt it?. George Kelly is a breaking news reporter for the Bay Area News Group's East Bay Times and Mercury News. George Galvis, executive director of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, which helped organize the Oct. 12 rally, said KTVUs silence is a response.. 2. His first newspaper job was as a Washington Post paperboy. 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. He said the couple spend their "together time" at the gym and that the pair "encourage each otherto keep pushing.". 1. 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. 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. He is due to appear Feb. 28. 2. The venerated KTVU anchor spoke to the Bay Area News Group in an interview published . Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox. The collision took place near the intersection of Grand Avenue and Broadway Street just after 7:45 p.m. Dec. 31, 2021, Oakland police said at the time. Born Frank William Somerville on 19th March 1958 in San Luis Obispo, California, Frank Somerville is a journalist. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. In 1992, he became co-anchor of the station's popular Mornings on 2 show. Frank Somerville said Tuesday that he expects he has anchored his last newscast at KTVU, given that management hasn't contacted him since he was suspended in September for an off-air dispute. Seven weeks later, he was off the air again. Since Somervilles suspension, two rallies have been held outside the KTVU studios in Jack London Square on Oct. 2 and and Oct. 12, both sparked by Somervilles reported desire to address disparities in media coverage of White crime victims like Petito versus women of color. The crash had nothing to do with it, Somerville said, saying managers had decided to cut him loose months earlier. 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. Longtime KTVU anchor Frank Somerville is facing two DUI charges following a car accident on Dec. 30, 2021. The case of Gabby has sparked a national outcry as her fianc Brian Laundrie continues to evade authorities. 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. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. According to a police statement in charging documents obtained Thursday, officers responded to Broadway and West Grand Avenue at about 8:20 p.m. Dec. 30, 2021 for a vehicle collision. ", KTVU again removes Frank Somerville from the air, 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), Los Gatos: Hundreds still without power as Black Road repair project finishes early. Somerville was booked into Santa Rita Jail in Dublin after his arrest, then released with a citation to appear in court. He is a graduate of Bowie State University in Maryland with a BS degree in communications. "Frank Somerville to replace Dennis Richmond", "KTVU's Somerville settling in as Richmond's replacement", "Asiana: Anchor says KTVU never sounded-out racist pilot names", "KTVU anchor Somerville to take time away after slurred newscast", "Frank Somerville returns to KTVU after two months of leave", "Frank Somerville suspension: How the dispute over 'Gabby' Petito coverage unfolded at KTVU", "Frank Somerville says he's done at KTVU, apologizes to newsroom for 'drama', "Frank Somerville arrested for suspected DUI after crash", "Frank Somerville says KTVU wouldn't re-sign him: 'I am done', "Frank Somerville publicly opens up about arrest, KTVU exit", "Former KTVU Anchor Frank Somerville Speaks Publicly About Addiction Issues", "Image of Bay Area news anchor doing his daughter's hair touches people all over country | The Mommy Files | an SFGate.com blog", "Tender photo of TV anchor un-braiding daughter's hair goes viral", "A white dad does his black daughter's hair, and the Internet smiles", "10 Questions for Frank Somerville; Up Close and Personal with KTVU's Top Dog; And Something that may Surprise You", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frank_Somerville&oldid=1133399814, American television reporters and correspondents, Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 16:12.