Frank Somerville seems ready to accept that he’s out at KTVU following an interview with the Bay Area News Group.
Somerville has yet to be on the television airwaves after his suspension in September for an off-air dispute about the coverage of Gabby Petito. KTVU decided to suspend Somerville following a reported disagreement on Sept. 21.
“All indications are that I’m never going to anchor at Channel 2 again,” Somerville said. “All this drama isn’t good. I wish I could apologize to all of them in person. They’re the backbone of Channel 2. I appreciate and admire what they do every day.”
According to a source close to the situation, Somerville wanted to end each story on the Petito coverage with a quick news brief addressing domestic violence and the media’s tendency to neglect reports regarding missing and slain women of color.
However, news director Amber Eikel disclosed to Somerville she intended to cut the tag from the end of the Petito coverage after newsroom editors raised concerns.
The news anchor stated that no one from KTVU or Fox, KTVU’s parent company, had reached out to him since his suspension. With Sommerville’s contract expiring in January, he believes “that means they’re not going to re-sign me.”
“It makes me really sad because I’ve given 31 years to the station,” Somerville said. “I helped make ‘Mornings on 2’ the No. 1 newscast in the market. I also helped make the noon and 5 p.m. newscasts No. 1.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
