[2][3][4], Somerville was born on March 19, 1958, in San Luis Obispo, California, but was raised in Berkeley. George Kelly is a breaking news reporter for the Bay Area News Group's East Bay Times and Mercury News. 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. 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 . Longtime KTVU anchor Frank Somerville shared a Facebook post Saturday reflecting on his arrest and his termination from . But I have no reason to think otherwise.". frank somerville house. 4ba. 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. 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. 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. So, I'm assuming I've done my last newscast," Somerville said. 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. Theyre not re-signing me. 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 Black women in America face, an unnamed source with knowledge of the situation told SFGATE in September. If not, Ill go to other stations outside of the market. He said the couple spend their "together time" at the gym and that the pair "encourage each otherto keep pushing.". 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. Sources said Eikel was willing to assign a reporter to do a separate, more in-depth story. 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. Days later, a spokesperson for Fox the network that owns and operates KTVU announced that Somerville would take an indefinite leave of absence to focus on his health.. 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.". 80346 /80620. The New York-born Petito was slain during a cross-country van trip with her fiance, Brian Laundrie. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Somerville, who has an adopted black daughter, reportedly pushed back after the tagline was refused. Stay up to date! What Somerville did that was so wrong is less clear. Somerville was born on March 19, 1958, in San Luis Obispo, California, but was raised in Berkeley. Ive given my heart and soul to Channel 2, he told the Bay Area News Group. 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. "Well, the answer actually has a name: Missing White Woman Syndrome, the term coined by the late and greatGwen Ifillto describe the media and public fascination with missing white women likeLaci PetersonorNatalee Holloway,while ignoring cases involving of people of color.". 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. Somervilles next hearing will take place May 6. On Tuesday, the district attorneys office charged Somerville with driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08, with an added clause for having a level over .15. Elevation. Joshua Bote is the tech editor at SFGATE. 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. 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Frank Somerville, the anchor for KTVU, has been 'suspended indefinitely' by the network Credit: Facebook/Frank Somerville. Somerville has had a tumultuous year. Its another strange twist in a turbulent year for Somerville. I work out every day.. Somerville, a white male, is being lionized and becoming the topic of the story and not the women who have been ignored, Reynolds said. About Frank; Contact Information; Court Records; Frank Bacci is 50 years old today because Frank's birthday is on 09/10/1972. Longtime KTVU anchor Frank Somerville shared a Facebook post Saturday reflecting on his arrest and his termination from KTVU nearly a year later. 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. This latest incident, coming just six weeks after Somervilles return to the anchor desk, will undoubtedly trigger speculation about his future with the station. As of Thursday afternoon, officials at KTVU and at Fox had not responded to repeated emails asking about Somervilles departure or about whether they had offically signed a replacement. 2 Frank Somerville Credit: Facebook/Frank Somerville Who is Frank Somerville's wife? 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. Jay C. Barmann is a fiction writer and web editor who's lived in San Francisco for 20+ years. 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. But as community groups voice frustration, questions also remain over Somervilles suspension. Somerville, driving a 2014 Porsche 911, rear-ended a silver Audi. ", 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. 2. Seven weeks later, he was off the air again. Frank Somerville is a journalist and news anchor for KTVU. Additionally, he spent his childhood in Berkeley and was raised there. 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Sources at the station said news director Amber Eikel and editors didnt think Somervilles 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. The venerated KTVU anchor spoke to the Bay Area News Group in an interview published . He was also named anchor of Channel 2 News at 5 in April 2005, when it was launched. I would give anything to work there. 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. 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. 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. Twitter just announced the launch of its Twitter Blue product, a new subscription service with extra perks for avid users that is rolling out today in Australia and Canada ahead of a wider launch. NEW - 21 HRS AGO. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! 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. He was named as a person of interest in the case, and his remains were found in Florida last week. Stay up to date! 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. KTVU's "Ten O'Clock News" has long held the top spot for the Bay Area's highest rated news broadcast. I also helped make the noon and 5 p.m. newscasts No. 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. 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. The collision occurred eastbound on West Grand Avenue, Windham wrote. 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 months-long saga surrounding longtime KTVU anchor Frank Somerville may have finally reached its conclusion. But she hadnt and the new tag was removed. The disagreement, said sources, occurred earlier in the week after the body of Petito was discovered in Wyoming. Since then, Fox and station management have refused to publicly speak to the issue. 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.. Following the suspension and subsequent social media attention, two rallies were held in support of Somerville outside KTVU headquarters in Oakland. 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. Write by: . A tag is a brief closing to a story thats typically read by an anchor. 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. Its really, really sad, because Ive given 31 years to the station, he said. 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. A picture of him styling his Black, adopted daughter's hair went viral on the Internet. 69 m or 226 ft) 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km 2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. The California native first started at KTVU as an intern in 1981 while attending San Francisco State University. . She'd now be 8 years old, and her case got little national attention at the time and she remains unaccounted for. He added that the decision was made long before December, when the alleged DUI took place. [1] During his three decades at KTVU in Oakland, California, Somerville received three Emmy Awards, including one for best on-camera news anchor. 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. According to Windham's statement, Somerville showed symptoms of being under the influence of alcohol when officers reached him. On March 19, 1958, Frank Somerville was born in San Luis Obispo, California, US. His first newspaper job was as a Washington Post paperboy. He noted that his contract is up in January, so it seems like the management is just waiting that out. The case of Gabby has sparked a national outcry as her fianc Brian Laundrie continues to evade authorities. For whatever reason, they decided not to re-sign me.. 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. 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.". 1. Somerville has said in the past that he wants to work two or three more years and would like to finish his career at KTVU. In a May broadcast of KTVU's 10 p.m. news program,. 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. But if Petitos story needs to be told, so do the stories of thousands of overlooked women of color, they said. But beyond that, the outlet did not get much more information from Somerville, who has had a rocky 2021. Sources said that Somerville was informed by station management the next day that he was being suspended. "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. Sign up for NBC Bay Areas Housing Deconstructed newsletter. $5,550,000. The FBI has issued an arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie, Petitos 23-year-old fianc. Somerville was booked into Santa Rita Jail in Dublin after his arrest, then released with a citation to appear in court. Frank Celeste, Gibson Sotheby's International Realty. Longtime KTVU anchor Frank Somerville is facing two DUI charges following a car accident on Dec. 30, 2021. Frank Somerville has spoken out for the first time since his Dec. 30 arrest for a suspected DUI. Former SF anchor Frank Somerville publicly opens up about arrest, KTVU exit. AdWeek's TVSpy blog is covering his disappearance from the air as well. I think its probably time to (let them know) were still listening and waiting, Holland said. They had told me long before that.. But the way this story captivated the nation has many wondering why not the same media attention when people of color go missing?" Somerville was not involved in that flub. [14][15], Somerville was married to television producer Donna Wright Somerville for more than 20 years; the couple has two daughters. Now, though, Somerville appears to be putting it out there that he's looking for a job. All this drama isnt good, Somerville said. Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox. 3,096 sqft. Holland and Galvis insist the ultimate focus of their rallies was not Somerville, nor were they saying the media shouldnt cover Petitos killing. Frank Somerville is an American journalist and three-time Emmy Award winner. Ive given my heart and soul to Channel 2. Following a car crash late last December, embattled Bay Areareporter Frank Somerville now faces two DUI charges. Silence irks activists, stirs questions about suspension. At that point, Somerville stopped driving; police arrived a short time later. I helped make Mornings on 2 the No. 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.. Now, the tagline controversy has put Somerville in a position that journalists usually find uncomfortable: instead of reporting on the story, he is the story. By the end of the broadcast, co-anchor Julie Haener had taken over solo, and did the signoff for the show. [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. [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. He's still in mourning over the cancellation of "Freaks and Geeks. 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. So, nothing like this happens again. This past week, Mornings On 2 anchor Mike Mibach has been in Somervilles chair, including on Thursday nights newscasts at 5 and 6 p.m. when he simply introduced himself: Im Mike Mibach., Somerville said his health was great, a point he also made in a photo he shared on Instagram with his 5,100 followers this week. 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. OAKLAND The Alameda County District Attorneys Office has filed two misdemeanor charges against former KTVU news anchor Frank Somerville in connection with his arrest late last year on suspicion of driving under the influence, authorities said.
