KTLA 5 News Thread

[MD TV 255]

9 minutes ago, Nick said:

Come to think of it, did KNBC ever officially replace Daniella Guzman after all these months?

Nope.

 

And to think KCBS and KABC also has had weekday morning anchor turnover in the past year, and they were resolved a lot quicker.

[Gavin M. 94]

6 hours ago, Nick said:

Come to think of it, did KNBC ever officially replace Daniella Guzman after all these months?

Not really Michelle QANON Valles is strong but I think Adrian and Daniella chemistry was great. Lynette could be great for them. Give Michelle 11am with Brownlee.

[FiveNews 372]

Wow!!! Mark Mester went scorched earth on how Lynette was done wrong earlier this week. They start the 8am hour with segment called “Four on 5” where they check in with all 4 people on the show. Today it was calling out management for how poorly Lynette was treated. Mark praised the GM for letting Lynette go after an opportunity, so it sounds like the abrupt exit may have come from Nexstar suits. If anyone has the first few minutes of the 8am hour, take a look. 

[bogusabc7breakingnews 60]

I also saw Mark’s message at the top of the 8am hour. I was thinking, damn, this guy has balls, but also made me think, what an incredible local management team that allowed him to criticize them on their own air. Mark was right that, after 24 years, Lynette should’ve been allowed to say goodbye, but really, as someone commented earlier, she one leaves for a competitor in any industry, you’re generally shown the door pretty quickly.  In his message, Mark eluded to something terrible that happened to Lynette which caused her to stop anchoring weeknights at 10 with Hal Fishman.  Does anyone know what that was? I was a kid back then and always wondered why she was taken off the desk.  

[FiveNews 372]

 

[abric 178]

17 minutes ago, FiveNews said:

 

That definitely took guts.

[MorningNews 1448]

A tad overlydramatic and tense. I personally don’t think that was a very good look for Mark Mester - he used the time to blast management with cryptic references to behind the scenes drama. Why not use the opportunity to look back on Lynette’s time and say thank you for her 24 years? Following his remarks, he’s not even letting his on-air colleagues speak without interrupting their thoughts. Ugh that was woeful. I understand the frustration but this is not a new phenomenon by any means. I love Lynette but in what industry would you be able to walk over to a direct competitor (KTLA Morning News vs Today in LA) and not be immediately shown the door? Hell most companies unceremoniously escort you out the door the instant you disclose that you’re leaving for a direct competitor.

[SoCalLocal 7]

26 minutes ago, MorningNews said:

A tad overlydramatic and tense. I personally don’t think that was a very good look for Mark Mester - he used the time to blast management with cryptic references to behind the scenes drama. Why not use the opportunity to look back on Lynette’s time and say thank you for her 24 years? Following his remarks, he’s not even letting his on-air colleagues speak without interrupting their thoughts. Ugh that was woeful. I understand the frustration but this is not a new phenomenon by any means. I love Lynette but in what industry would you be able to walk over to a direct competitor (KTLA Morning News vs Today in LA) and not be immediately shown the door? Hell most companies unceremoniously escort you out the door the instant you disclose that you’re leaving for a direct competitor.

Which means not the GM’s and or ND’s fault but blame corporate at the top.

Edited September 17, 2022 by SoCalLocal

[nickp 337]

 Mark Mester stood up for a close friend

[nycnewsjunkie 1439]

1 hour ago, SoCalLocal said:

Which means not the GM’s and or ND’s fault but blame corporate at the top.

Sounds like it, given that Mester was more than complementary toward Janene Drafs.

 

The thing is, like it or not, immediate dismissals after signing with a competitor are the norm, regardless of the station owner. If Lynette wasn’t leaving voluntarily and was fired like Demetria Kalodimos and Lisa LaFlamme were, I’d have a lot more sympathy for Mark Mester doing what he did. That isn’t the case here. I’ll echo what @MorningNews said; one can understand frustrations with corporate, but there are much better ways to handle this.

Edited September 17, 2022 by nycnewsjunkie

[C Block 1566]

An anchor got away with airing the station's dirty laundry not just on air, but also in the first four minutes of the A-block of a newscast?

 

I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. The news should always come first. I get that it's KTLA's style to be a little overly personal, but all this is doing is making the station look bad and making the situation worse. Trust me, nothing good comes out of calling attention to yourself in these situations. That is way over the top for what sounds like a fairly routine situation of an anchor not feeling valued and going to a competitor for a better offer at the end of a contract. Sucks that such a thing happens, but that happens in this business all the time.

Edited September 17, 2022 by C Block

[TVNewsLover 779]

2 hours ago, MorningNews said:

I love Lynette but in what industry would you be able to walk over to a direct competitor (KTLA Morning News vs Today in LA) and not be immediately shown the door? Hell most companies unceremoniously escort you out the door the instant you disclose that you’re leaving for a direct competitor.

WABC took Lori Stokes off the air but let her say goodbye in the last 10 minutes of the morning newscast.

Edited September 17, 2022 by TVNewsLover

[SoCalLocal 7]

Mark Mester is suspended from the station.

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/9/18/la-anchor-suspended

[susquvalleywgal 517]

44 minutes ago, SoCalLocal said:

Mark Mester is suspended from the station.

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/9/18/la-anchor-suspended

 

So far from what I understand, KTLA did this all wrong.  Good for Mark for trying to make it right.  Hal Fischman right now is rolling over in his grave knowing what KTLA did here.

 

No doubt.

 

-- Matt

[abric 178]

1 hour ago, SoCalLocal said:

Mark Mester is suspended from the station.

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/9/18/la-anchor-suspended

I knew this was coming, but in Mark's case an explanation needed to be made and I'm proud for what he did. Lynette should have had the chance to say goodbye after 24 years at one station.

[Briella 234]

TBH it sounds like Mark has been watching too much “The Morning Show” on Apple TV.

[FiveNews 372]

48 minutes ago, susquvalleywgal said:

 

So far from what I understand, KTLA did this all wrong.  Good for Mark for trying to make it right.  Hal Fischman right now is rolling over in his grave knowing what KTLA did here.

 

No doubt.

 

-- Matt

I would't blame local KTLA Management. It sounds like these calls are being made at the Nexstar corporate level. I was afraid that KTLA would lose some of its luster after beloved GM Don Corsini and ND Jason Ball left. Surprisingly, they have remained consistent. It seems that the station likes GM Janeane Drafs and has tried to keep KTLAs legacy alive. Nonetheless, a wild, but not unexpected turn of events based on Mark's explanation yesterday. Hopefully Mark will sit his suspension out and return next weekend.

 

I also find it interesting that Nexstar didn't move to have Mark taken off the air after the 8am a block if they were that upset. Lastly, did anyone see the "We Love You, Lynette" banner that flew over the station yesterday during the announcement? Soooo many questions around this whole situation. With no replacement for Dayna Devon, Lynette now gone and Mark suspended...essentially, the entire weekend morning news has been blown up in about 1 month. I hope KTLA can find a solution to put their crown jewel brand back together.

 

[tjt24 313]

1 hour ago, SoCalLocal said:

Mark Mester is suspended from the station.

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/9/18/la-anchor-suspended

Yep. Figured that was gonna happen. I mean good for him for standing up for his former co-anchor and friend, but obviously, KTLA management has become very thin skinned, and it's a shame really.

Edited September 18, 2022 by tjt24

[nycnewsjunkie 1439]

4 hours ago, SoCalLocal said:

Mark Mester is suspended from the station.

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/9/18/la-anchor-suspended

On the one hand, Nexstar is a big station owning company with a small market mindset. Lynette Romero’s goodbye could’ve been handled much better than it was. In hindsight, not only was Lori Stokes allowed a goodbye in NY; Roz Abrams, Ernie Anastos, and Amy Freeze were able to leave on reasonably good terms when they left stations for other opportunities. Lynette Romero should’ve been given a bit more acknowledgment for her years of service, and KTLA/Nexstar blew it. IIRC, she was working there without a contract, and they owe her for that.

 

On the other hand, is Mester’s suspension really all that surprising? If you badmouth the company you work for, of course there are going to be repercussions. It doesn’t matter if that company is Nexstar or NBC. He’ll be lucky to have a job after all of this. I still maintain that there were better (and smarter) ways to give a proper goodbye to Lynette Romero without A) making both local and national management look bad and B) making it all about you. It was a needlessly foolish gesture on Mester’s part.
 

Also, FTVLive is reporting that “KTLA management” (read: local management) isn’t happy with Mester either. I’ll reiterate that I don’t like Scott Jones’ antics and petty behavior, but he’s usually on the money with these kinds of stories.

Edited September 18, 2022 by nycnewsjunkie

[MorningNews 1448]

Glad to hear this. Take a break and come back to reality at some point Mr. Mester. A totally unprofessional moment for him yesterday and shows just how out of his depth he truly is.

19 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

WABC took Lori Stokes off the air but let her say goodbye in the last 10 minutes of the morning newscast.

Very different situation but even still, that’s an exception to the industry standard. Lori’s departure was equally as abrupt and she wasn’t able to actually anchor shows after her decision.

[TheRob 937]

I wouldn't be surprised if he was fired. Criticizing the company publicly is unprofessional in any industry.

[TVNewsLover 779]

@MorningNews

Long tenured anchor  

Leaving for competing station  

Beloved by viewers  

 

Not sure how it was different, and it obviously made sense to pull her from anchoring, but station management should’ve let her give a goodbye.

Edited September 18, 2022 by TVNewsLover

[MorningNews 1448]

20 minutes ago, TVNewsLover said:

@MorningNews

Long tenured anchor  

Leaving for competing station  

Beloved by viewers  

 

Not sure how it was different, and it obviously made sense to pull her from anchoring, but station management should’ve let her give a goodbye.

WABC and KTLA are not the same stations and don’t have similar identities or management. That management at WABC was willing to let Lori come back and say goodbye is not the standard, it’s the exception. What’s confusing?

[FiveNews 372]

The hits keep coming. KTLA was trending on my Twitter feed earlier. 

[Greggo 354]

10 hours ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

On the one hand, Nexstar is a big station owning company with a small market mindset. Lynette Romero’s goodbye could’ve been handled much better than it was. In hindsight, not only was Lori Stokes allowed a goodbye in NY; Roz Abrams, Ernie Anastos, and Amy Freeze were able to leave on reasonably good terms when they left stations for other opportunities. Lynette Romero should’ve been given a bit more acknowledgment for her years of service, and KTLA/Nexstar blew it. IIRC, she was working there without a contract, and they owe her for that.

 

On the other hand, is Mester’s suspension really all that surprising? If you badmouth the company you work for, of course there are going to be repercussions. It doesn’t matter if that company is Nexstar or NBC. He’ll be lucky to have a job after all of this. I still maintain that there were better (and smarter) ways to give a proper goodbye to Lynette Romero without A) making both local and national management look bad and B) making it all about you. It was a needlessly foolish gesture on Mester’s part.
 

Also, FTVLive is reporting that “KTLA management” (read: local management) isn’t happy with Mester either. I’ll reiterate that I don’t like Scott Jones’ antics and petty behavior, but he’s usually on the money with these kinds of stories.

Considering Mester praised Drafs at least twice that I can recall in that 5-minute rant, it seems pretty clear she was likely going to allow some sort of goodbye and was overruled by corporate. Maybe pre-recorded. Who knows? After yesterday’s stunt, yes, Drafs probably is pissed — and rightfully so — because she got dragged into this on air. He even showed a picture of Drafs with Lynette! It makes her look bad, like she doesn’t have control of her staff. Unfortunate all the way around.
 

I will say it is interesting to see how the others reacted. Telles seemed uncomfortable but supportive. The two fellas were just plain awkward, with one not saying a single thing and the other rambling for a short bit before getting cut off.