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. 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? 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. 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. As per his date of birth, his birth sign is Pisces. AdWeek's TVSpy blog is covering his disappearance from the air as well. But beyond that, the outlet did not get much more information from Somerville, who has had a rocky 2021. He took a nine-week leave to focus on his health and had only returned in August. "I still want to continue working, Somerville tells the Mercury News. Silence irks activists, stirs questions about suspension, Oakland NAACP calls for Frank Somervilles reinstatement at KTVU. He noted that his contract is up in January, so it seems like the management is just waiting that out. 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. Former SF anchor Frank Somerville publicly opens up about arrest, KTVU exit. The Alameda County District Attorneys Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from SFGATE. 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. I helped make Mornings on 2 the No. 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.. 3bd. 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 . 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. On March 19, 1958, Frank Somerville was born in San Luis Obispo, California, US. He was named after his father's childhood friend, Frank Patty, and his paternal grandfather, William Somerville. I work out every day.. Franqueville ( French pronunciation: [fkvil]; Picard: Franqville) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France . He was named as a person of interest in the case, and his remains were found in Florida last week. 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. 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.. He is a graduate of Bowie State University in Maryland with a BS degree in communications. $5,550,000. 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). Mr. MSNBC host Joy Reid criticized her own industry on her prime-time program, calling the Petito coverage an example of missing White woman syndrome, a term coined by the late PBS anchor Gwen Ifill to describe the medias often lopsided focus on white women and girls when they go missing. 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.. The longtime news anchor faced a rocky 2021. Chuck Barney is the TV critic and columnist for the Bay Area News Group. Silence irks activists, stirs questions about suspension. Theylearned that Somerville had been driving a 2014 Porsche east on West Grand when he rear-ended an Audi stopped at the intersection. By the end of the broadcast, co-anchor Julie Haener had taken over solo, and did the signoff for the show. 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. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Sources told the outlet that Somerville was informed by station management the next day that he was being suspended. [2][3][4], Somerville was born on March 19, 1958, in San Luis Obispo, California, but was raised in Berkeley. Somerville has reportedly been "suspended indefinitely" after a behind-the-scenes disagreement about his coverage of the22-year-old vlogger's disappearance. Shortly before the 5 p.m. broadcast, Eikel told Somerville she planned to cut the tag after newsroom editors raised concerns. 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, a white male, is being lionized and becoming the topic of the story and not the women who have been ignored, Reynolds said. A tag is a brief closing to a story thats typically read by an anchor. 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 . 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. Now, though, Somerville appears to be putting it out there that he's looking for a job. 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. He is also survived by many uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family and friends. KTVU news anchor Frank Somerville again has been removed from the air, but this time a newsroom spat not an on-air meltdown appears to be the reason. Sign up for NBC Bay Areas Housing Deconstructed newsletter. A KTVU spokesperson later explained that he left the air to focus on his health.. Hes one of the highest paid anchors in the Bay Area, but his contract is up in March. Somerville reportedly told the producer that Eikel had approved a shortened version, a source said. But she hadnt and the new tag was removed. 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 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. 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. Since his departure from KTVU, he has steadily posted videos on Instagram featuring an assortment of commentary. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! They had told me long before that.. 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. 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. Theyre not re-signing me. [14][15], Somerville was married to television producer Donna Wright Somerville for more than 20 years; the couple has two daughters. 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 grew up in the Los Angeles area, went to UC Berkeley and has previously worked as a news reporter at USA Today and SFGATE and as a music writer at NPR. After the initial collision, the driver of the Audi got out of their vehicle and Somerville, in his Porsche, allegedly pushed the Audi across the intersection of Broadway and West Grand Avenue until the Audi hit a pole on the southwest corner of the intersection, Windham's statement said. [8] He returned to the anchor chair on August 4 without addressing the incident that saw his brief departure. You can see video of the Sunday 10 o'clock broadcast below, in which Somerville has difficulty reading from his teleprompter. But if Petitos story needs to be told, so do the stories of thousands of overlooked women of color, they said. For whatever reason, they decided not to re-sign me.. Meanwhile, the media coverage issue Somerville had hoped to raise has garnered plenty of attention in recent days as debate rages over how much is too much. 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. Torture porn: Lily-Rose Depp filmed scenes of extreme sexual violence for new HBO show, report says, California chef Amar Santana returns as contestant on Bravos Top Chef World All-Stars, This Oscar season, Asian representation is Everywhere as upstart indie is Academy front-runner, Tom Cruises ditching of Suri showcased by Judd Apatows co-parenting joke, ex-Scientology exec says, Filipino bakerys addictive sweet bread now available in Brentwood, Wife of popular Wild 94.9 radio host JV says new information suggests he will not be coming back, Super sandwiches: 16 of the Bay Areas best sandos to try right now, After 40 years, Caspers Hot Dogs is closing in Walnut Creek, Brawl forces end of NorCal high school basketball playoff game, Alameda County DAs new policy will reduce prison sentences through widespread elimination of sentencing enhancements, Walnut Creeks Shake Shack is finally opening this weekend, Drought is now over in more than half of California, including the Bay Area, feds say, California extends Bay Area tax deadlines to match IRS, Riordan-Inderkum playoff brawl: CIF hands down punishment after player taken to hospital, As Adderall shortage continues, DEA plans to limit some telemedicine prescriptions, House where JonBenet Ramsey was found dead listed for sale for almost $7M, Columbia University permanently drops SAT, ACT admissions requirement, The Waterbed Doctor: California retailer lays claim to retro bed with nearly 40 years of service, sales, Felonious Florida podcast: Missing teenage girl leads to several cases of child sex trafficking, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information.