Yesterday the internet got a taste of local news anchor drama when a video went viral starring San Francisco sports anchor Gary Radnich giving news anchor Catherine Heenan grief about reading a sports story before he could get to it.
KRON pulled the video over a copyright claim.
TVSpy wanted to know if Radnich’s reaction was out of place for a local news anchor or if it was just an everyday part of doing business publicly. Tales of anchor spats have circulated for years. A station TVSpy used to work at reportedly sent two morning anchors to couple’s therapy to iron out any differences so the tension between them wouldn’t show up on-air.
“The one thing I think that we can be sure of is that this newsroom is like family,” said Stephanie Tsoflias Siegel founder of Reel Media Group and former reporter in the New York market. “I can say this with confidence because every newsroom is like family. Inherently, there will be those who get along great and those who want to tear each other’s eyes out. But on air, it’s rare that you see talent air grievances. We are generally pretty good actors.”
Tsoflias Siegel also says any drama off air usually comes out on air in what she called a “passive aggressive fashion.” So what’s the teachable moment in this tense exchange?
“Here is where the professionalism comes in. You have to play the part when the cameras are rolling,” says Tsoflias Siegel. “And if in this case, Gary was really upset that Catherine read a sports story before his segment (beyond silly in my opinion, this seems to be all ego at work) – either choose to tell her when the cameras stop, talk to the producer during commercial or just stop yourself from talking!”
Radnich later told Facebook he wasn’t mad. But Tsoflias Siegel also knows the key to comedy is timing.
“You have to know when funny will play and in my opinion if Gary is being honest (see his twitter page) and this was all a joke,” says Tsoflias Siegel. “He needs to work on his delivery!”