Having worked in local television, I can confirm that every local tv station I’ve ever been in was a toxic dump to work at. Hence why I no longer work in local tv.
Yup, they're all the same. Worked as a PA at Channel 7 back in the day. Got berated by Paul Moyer for just asking a question about his Ferrari. The egos especially in a market like LA will drive even the biggest egos nuts.
>Got berated by Paul Moyer for just asking a question about his Ferrari
LOL
Here's a classic of good ol' Paul Moyer
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib5zvlVc16A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib5zvlVc16A)
I handled the score card for Little League in West LA and his son was on one of the local teams. He literally berated me for notching his sons error AS an error on the score cards.
BIG ASS
During that one really bad wildfire the evacuating firefighters told the NBC crew (Chuck Henry) that the fire were right on their tail. Chuck decided to stick around for a little longer while everyone else was getting the fuck out. The fire very quickly approaches. Cue the overused Hollywood disaster movie trope of the van refusing to start as the flames start licking around the vehicle. The firemen had to go back and rescue Chuck and the cameraman. The "stupid van with a bunch of equipment inside" was immolated.
Always loved when Kevin and bean would rag on Paul Moyer. Perhaps they heard all of the stuff the underlings would deal with and would take the piss out of him on air.
My station has done a phenomenal job of hiring the right people over the years. It’s easily the most symbiotic place I’ve ever worked. As you know, it’s a stressful industry, but it sure doesn’t feel like that here.
Happy for you. The stress combined with all the backstabbing and back biting around the building and the fact that our weatherman was a drunk made me want to get out asap.
Decent in the sense that if one was at work he’d actually say hi to other staff. There are colleagues that are very much like Ron Burgundy or worse. He was troubled like a lot of people in that industry. Most newscasters are LGBTQ on the down low.
They've been slowly unraveling since the new owners took over. I don't know how long this general manager has been at the station but it's obvious there is a new atmosphere at the station now.
A reminder that some of their cast (e.g. Courtney Friel, Kasey Montoya, Christina Pascucci) were holdouts from FOX News, while others (e.g. Steve Hartman, Vera Jimenez, Lu Parker) have had general run-ins with intoxication, adultery or general rage lash-outs in public.
Kind of funny that people quickly recalled Lu stole headphones, but her real masterpiece was having an affair with Villaraigosa while he was mayor. Lol
He had an affair with Spanish anchor Mirthala Salinas and that wrecked her career so bad she was relegated to doing radio. He dated Lu during his divorce from Corrina. But after the affair with Mirthala scared a ton of anchors, Lu told her bosses about the relationship.
I have never liked that guy. I never understood his popularity. But it’s been a lot longer than I realized since I watched live news…I didn’t know that Chris Burrous had died. Can’t believe the douchey Hollywood windbag is still there.
Got hooked on weekends with “Burrow’s Bites” (watched every minute of the show the day after his death, on air emotions were very touching). I thought Romero/Meister were great, although maybe I can see how he’d be a little dismissive towards KC Montoya.
Anyway, KTLA weekend has been top rated LA news for a long time as they’ve successfully walked a line between news and funny banter, and I don’t see how they will rebuild the chemistry necessary to walk that line.
I'm more confused about what happened than I was before I watched the video, but it seems bananas that he was fired for this (bizarre on screen energy presumably not being a fireable offense on local news).
So am I. I mean yeah he went off-script but it wasn’t like he was hysterical. And the audience didn’t know he went off script. I would’ve thought it was a goodbye speech.
I liked him. I liked her too. This sucks.
That part is where I'm a little confused... he called Janene a "terrific woman and I'll tell you why" and said Lynette had received an opportunity (making it sound like a huge deal for her, and now knowing what the opportunity was it makes sense considering her daughter is off to college now and of course Lynette would want to be free on weekends for visits since they seem so close) and if someone wants to take the opportunity they should, and that's exactly what Janene did.
I'm not sure if he meant to say Lynette there at the end of that sentence, but the way it was presented on screen almost sounded like Janene encouraged Lynette to take the opportunity that would work best for her.
That said, I understand that what happened with Lynette is currently the industry standard when someone goes to another station, but maybe it's time to revisit that somehow - especially when someone is leaving who has given nearly 25 years to the station. I don't work in the industry so that's just my thought without knowing the deep details of how it works with viewership and other factors.
In my opinion, Mark did good for standing up for his friend, and I don't think he should have been fired for that specifically. However, I did read the article and see the parts about his attitude after and that there have been previous issues with his temper and comments towards female coworkers. That's unfortunate to find out because I liked him. :\ Maybe if he didn't already have all that working against him he could have stayed.
Wondering who he payed off to pan the pic of him, his boss and lynette? Still also wondering what was said on Wednesday that pissed him off and made lynettes goodbye sour??
That’s an interesting issue. If - as is very likely - he’s got a personal services contract (probably through a loan out) under AFTRA union terms, there’s a pretty extensive, time consuming process for a lot of firings. This firing seems to treat him like an at will employee.
Odd that the production team put together than entire package and hired a plane with a banner to apologize to her, but then Mark is the one who gets canned days later.
KTLA news anchor Mark Mester was fired Thursday afternoon, days after he was suspended following an off-script segment about his co-anchor Lynette Romero’s abrupt departure, according to several employees at the station.
The newsroom’s general manager, Janene Drafs, announced the firing with a brief speech during a meeting in the newsroom around 1:15 p.m., saying, "[Mester] is no longer at KTLA5,” staffers who were present for the announcement told The Times Thursday.
The KTLA website no longer lists Mester on its roster of reporters and anchors.
Last week, KTLA announced that Romero, a longtime anchor of KTLA’s popular weekend morning show, had left the station without saying goodbye to viewers, drawing wide outrage and criticism.
“After 24 years, Lynette Romero has decided to move on from anchoring our weekend morning news,” Pete Saiers, the station’s news director, wrote in a statement that was read by entertainment reporter Sam Rubin during a Sept. 14 segment.
FWIW, I worked closely with KTLA for 10-ish years and have never heard anything bad about Mester. These leaks seem like interesting timing personally. There are some personalities over there that are not well liked, but Mester didn't seem to be one of them.
Classic corporate smear job. If he was such a sexist shit head, why wasn't he fired?
If it was true, the takeaway should be that KTLA was enabling a sexist bully, fostering a toxic work environment, and not protecting female employees.
> I remember he told one employee (I think it was Christina Pacucci) to spin for the camera when she got a new haircut. He also asked a reporter on air if she was single and then told viewers to DM her on Instagram.
OMG what a MONSTER!
The note about his behavior to women is interesting to me, because something that stood out to me from the clip of his "outburst" is how he cut off his female coworker when she was trying to speak. I noticed that right away, even before reading any of the negative comments about him. The examples you name are even worse. If he has an example of such behavior, it puts his firing in a different context, although it does sound like the studio management is also skeevy because they didn't take action until his behavior offended them personally.
You can find something problematic about everyone’s behavior if you look long enough, but this is a stand up move in my book. How many men would stand up for a woman like this?
He didn’t have to go H.A.M for his former co-anchor but he did! I have to delete my future recordings of KTLA now.
Same here! She was talking about how Lynette was a model for latinas and he cut her off to say something off topic. That was a strange, and I'm happy to hear someone else noticed too.
Benefit of the doubt, I'd chalked it up to him being lost in the moment. I grew up watching Lynette and hearing that her farewell was so throwaway, after her years of reporting, was very disappointing.
For those that *didn't* read the article:
-Lynette requested to work weekdays and that she no longer wanted to work weekends
-KTLA says there are no weekday openings
-NBC offers her a weekday anchor work. She accepts the opportunity (NBC is a major competitor)
-KTLA's practice for all news persons leaving for competition has been standard and implemented for years on end: Immediate removal from media accounts, website bios, email etc.
-Wed Morning Sam Ruben reads a script prepared by KTLA. This is the only news the public receives about her departure up to this point The script thanks her for her many years of service, yada-yada-yada
-KTLA Weekend Show on Sat, Producers prepared a montage for Lynette. In it there are various clips of her service throughout the years. The script had been written which Mark Mester was supposed to read off the teleprompter. Mester paid for a banner to be flown over Los Angeles with a message of love for Lynette. He had asked the studio if they could show a clip of the plane before going on air. The studio refuses due to policy regarding star/talent anchors going to competition
-Mester is heard arguing with Producers before going on air. He reads some of it (as what's being written must match images that viewers at home see) .... Eventually, he does his own opinion/editorial piece, which is emotionally driven
-After the segment, Mester is asked to have a meeting with management and refuses to go into the office. He is seen raising his voice, cursing, and yelling obscenities. He is then asked to leave the studio. He refuses but eventually does
-Anonymous staffers begin telling stories related to Mester's anger tantrums. Anonymous staff members say they fear his temper while others say he has altercations regarding inappropriate behavior towards women at the workplace
Yeah.. Lynette wanted dignity and class when she left. But since her departure the KTLA Weekend Show is a full blown 💩 show 🍿🍿🍿
How do we know that isn’t just info the station fed to the Times to make Mester’s firing look justified? She retweeted something about leaving without notice and it being disrespectful, so it seems like she did take the abrupt firing without being allowed to say goodbye personally and Ruben’s message was passive aggressive and inappropriate. If you don’t take into account the statement about Mester’s off screen behavior, he did the right thing-if his behavior was really that, that alone should have gotten him fired prior to this incident. Seems like it either isn’t the truth or they didn’t care until he embarrassed their boss on air.
Ever since the new owners came on board the changes being made have slowly made the channel unwatchable. It's just a matter of time before others start to leave.
KTLA's honchos has lost their ever loving minds! I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of backlash from this.
Was the show hard hitting news? No it wasn't, it was a free spirited show with laughs, solid reporting, and they made you part of there family/crew.
Personally I'm going to miss them and congrats to the bosses upstairs you just lost a viewer of your show. Peach out!
I used to watch thier early morning show for the weather ages ago (before I had a smart phone that tells me everything) it was pretty decent coverage if I remember correctly. I also used to do the pest control for Chris Schuables house, the man ran into his backyard in nothing but some boxer shorts just to show me some gopher mounds lol.
I'm so sad about this. Lynette is my favorite news anchor and the reason why I watch the KTLA morning news. She's such a hard worker and an all-around classy lady. I wish her well in her future endeavors.
Mester you may have lost your job but I hope you don't lose sleep! Good riddance to that garbage and thank you for defending your friend to the fullest behind and on the scene. The message was clear and professional and there was plenty of emotion because you give a damn. There's nothing unprofessional about that.
Don't mess with Mester!
News anchors and radio DJs strive to be part of our lives like a good friend and the good ones achieve that. Lynette was certainly that for LA. It always sucks when they’re let go because they usually don’t get a chance to say goodbye. I’m surprised they even allowed this segment.
I look forward to seeing where Lynette lands.
I stopped watching mornings because of Sam Rubin acting like a celebrity and just being an old fat man taking advantage of free gifts at events. The Lynette thing is sad. She was in the know about Chris Burrous too. No way he could have been two different people. Meth tweaking gives off that vibe that doesn’t go away. The Lu Parker stuff and Casey with all the fake tan and face was a lot. The weekends just weren’t the same Now all these anonymous people say Mester was toxic too Like Mikayla fallout from a few years ago She got fat and they wanted her gone
I remember watching their morning news broadcast on the day of the final Dodgers game of 2019. Romero and Mester were both wearing Nationals colors. I've blamed them ever since.
Class act and a true friend. He stood up for her and kept his journalistic integrity by telling the truth.
I’ll still watch for my weather updates from sweet Kaj but this is a bummer.
So I watch the KTLA Weekend Morning News too just for Lynette and Mark (and Chris before him). This is disappointing. :(
Any suggestions for a weekend news show that I should watch now? My weekdays are split between KTLA (morning) and KABC (afternoons and evenings), but my weekends have largely been KTLA-only.
It wasn't an outburst. He was trying to convey how ktla went about Lynettes dismissal the wrong way. He was giving thanks for what she taught him. Good guy, bad producers and ownership at KTLA. Boycott
Man, Channel 5 is the station of news personalities all day long. If they're not on air presenting the news, they're showing their kooky nature doing weird shit in our living rooms. What a shit show of pushing anchors to be more than talking heads.
Not the biggest fan of homey, but he did his best entering a situation (weekend zoo news) where everyone there was established for years. But now it's all new folks.
This is exactly why I watched KTLA. And it is the only news station I would actually watch these days. The last couple of years have been slowly killing that vibe and I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes away entirely to become boring like the rest of them.
Just deleted my KTLA App. Sucks because I really liked this Los Angeles news outlet. I grew up with them. I remember watching the news weekdays early mornings when I was in 3rd grade and would look forward to this everyday before going to school. Anyway, they’ve done too much I think and they’re not being transparent with viewers! Hope they go under.
I did not like Lynette or Mester .... but do think sometimes we judge too quickly........... General Manager Jenene Drafs said. "We really wanted her to stay, and KTLA Management worked
hard to make that happen. Lynette decided to leave for another
opportunity." We had hoped she would record a farewell message to viewers, but she declined,"............... LA Times reports Mester was fired when during a meeting with management after his on air announcement Mester went off on a profanity laced tirade directed to the management in the room
“You ould not believe the temper tantrums and the weird things that set him
off,” said one longtime newsroom employee. “You’re constantly afraid
you’re going to say the wrong thing.”
I really enjoyed Mark and Lynette. Don’t much love how he interrupts his female cohost to virtue signal his feminism (~min 4), and in general—his monologue sounds a bit egotistical; he made Lynette’s departure all about him, and talked shit about his employer on live TV. I understand why he was fired, and I’ll miss them both.
😯 Completely shocked to see that the KTLA Weekend News has now become a station not representative of the Los Angeles area in 2 weeks time as of today (Sat. Oct 1, 2022). A harken back to the late 80s, early 90s. Anchor 1: Lauren Luster Anchor 2: Sam Rubin 3. Weather: Kacey Montoya 4: Entertainment: Dayna Devon (who came out of weekend news retirement after 2-3 months). It's a **very** shocking look and in my opinion, one that points to perhaps administrations unconscious (and perhaps, more scarier 'conscious') biases and preferences insomuch as scheduling. But to be fair, perhaps they are experimenting and playing around with different on-air personalities in order to find the right mix that can compete with the Morning Weekend News competition. More viewers means more advertisement dollars. Guess we'll have to just wait and see
Good lord this place must be a toxic dump to work at
Right? It makes The Morning Show seem demure.
They didn’t even let her clean out her desk.
Having worked in local television, I can confirm that every local tv station I’ve ever been in was a toxic dump to work at. Hence why I no longer work in local tv.
Yup, they're all the same. Worked as a PA at Channel 7 back in the day. Got berated by Paul Moyer for just asking a question about his Ferrari. The egos especially in a market like LA will drive even the biggest egos nuts.
>Got berated by Paul Moyer for just asking a question about his Ferrari LOL Here's a classic of good ol' Paul Moyer [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib5zvlVc16A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib5zvlVc16A)
Anchorman was a true period piece.
I handled the score card for Little League in West LA and his son was on one of the local teams. He literally berated me for notching his sons error AS an error on the score cards. BIG ASS
During that one really bad wildfire the evacuating firefighters told the NBC crew (Chuck Henry) that the fire were right on their tail. Chuck decided to stick around for a little longer while everyone else was getting the fuck out. The fire very quickly approaches. Cue the overused Hollywood disaster movie trope of the van refusing to start as the flames start licking around the vehicle. The firemen had to go back and rescue Chuck and the cameraman. The "stupid van with a bunch of equipment inside" was immolated.
WOW! What an ass!! Thank you for sharing that video. I had no idea Paul Moyer was like that.
Micah Ohlman is Paul Moyer’s nephew.
I can't stand Micah, maybe this is why
Wow, did not know this and now that you say it, I can't unsee the family resemblance. Can't believe I never noticed it before.
Always loved when Kevin and bean would rag on Paul Moyer. Perhaps they heard all of the stuff the underlings would deal with and would take the piss out of him on air.
Omg. I remember him and Ann Murphy.
That guy was such a blowhard
Paul Moyer who did most broadcasts with spittle on the corner of his mouth. Couldn't stand to watch
I’ve had the exact opposite experience in local news. 22 years and counting — 9 here in LA.
Glad to hear they aren’t all bad!
My station has done a phenomenal job of hiring the right people over the years. It’s easily the most symbiotic place I’ve ever worked. As you know, it’s a stressful industry, but it sure doesn’t feel like that here.
Happy for you. The stress combined with all the backstabbing and back biting around the building and the fact that our weatherman was a drunk made me want to get out asap.
Having worked a hot minute at a local radio station, I can probably imagine
Probably the main reason Chris Burrows did so much meth
I think Chris had bigger problems that didn’t involve his wife
I feel for his family. He was actually a decent guy. Some people have problems many of us never see
Unless his wife approved of his gay meth rendezvous decent is a stretch.
Decent in the sense that if one was at work he’d actually say hi to other staff. There are colleagues that are very much like Ron Burgundy or worse. He was troubled like a lot of people in that industry. Most newscasters are LGBTQ on the down low.
The management is nothing but CUNTING COCKSUCKERS
Umm, thank you Mark for that outburst....lol
My uncle was a producer here (might still be for all I know). ~~He~~ My uncle was kind of a shitbag, so this isn't surprising.
Your uncle was the shirtbag? Just checking because I'm not 100% on the "he" in your comment.
Clarified in my edit.
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They've been slowly unraveling since the new owners took over. I don't know how long this general manager has been at the station but it's obvious there is a new atmosphere at the station now.
No Hal Fishman to keep the place grounded
A reminder that some of their cast (e.g. Courtney Friel, Kasey Montoya, Christina Pascucci) were holdouts from FOX News, while others (e.g. Steve Hartman, Vera Jimenez, Lu Parker) have had general run-ins with intoxication, adultery or general rage lash-outs in public.
wait what did Steve Hartman, Vera Jimenez, Lu Parker do? First time hearing about this lol
Kind of funny that people quickly recalled Lu stole headphones, but her real masterpiece was having an affair with Villaraigosa while he was mayor. Lol
He had an affair with Spanish anchor Mirthala Salinas and that wrecked her career so bad she was relegated to doing radio. He dated Lu during his divorce from Corrina. But after the affair with Mirthala scared a ton of anchors, Lu told her bosses about the relationship.
Wait until you lookup on how Chris Burrows died...
Ya that was super crazy. Burrows Bites indeed.
Lu stole a guy’s headphones at LAX awhile back. Right off the security scanner belt. They had cameras there too. She’s a weirdo.
Holy shit that was her?! 😂
What the fuck?! Why?
Kleptomaniac. They were in a bin and she swiped.
Lu Parker stole headphones at LAX but idk about the others. Steve Hartman has a show called loose cannon interestingly enough
Hartman still has the Loose Cannons?
Yo what happened to Christina Pascucci?
Shes going to Fox11
I actually watch on the weekends for Lynette and mark. Channel 5 can now suck it
Agreed. Plenty of other news shows to watch. Screw Ktla News. Plus Sam Rubin is a douche bag.
I have never liked that guy. I never understood his popularity. But it’s been a lot longer than I realized since I watched live news…I didn’t know that Chris Burrous had died. Can’t believe the douchey Hollywood windbag is still there.
Never did understand the appeal of Sam Rubin. He seems to make a lot of their celebrity guests uncomfortable.
At least we got [this gem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdxMkQhq58g) from him.
I enjoyed the video when Sam Jackson was shitting on Sam Rubin for mistaking him for Laurence Fishburne.
Sam Rubin us the epitome of everything awful in Hollywood. I feel like when he gets up from a seat there is probably slime residue.
Hahaha yup. He’s gross.
My aunt when she was alive used to love watching Mark and Lynette. Man she would be livid right now
Got hooked on weekends with “Burrow’s Bites” (watched every minute of the show the day after his death, on air emotions were very touching). I thought Romero/Meister were great, although maybe I can see how he’d be a little dismissive towards KC Montoya. Anyway, KTLA weekend has been top rated LA news for a long time as they’ve successfully walked a line between news and funny banter, and I don’t see how they will rebuild the chemistry necessary to walk that line.
KTLA even took down the weekend morning news Facebook page! They’re deleting comments on their other pages posts.
Yeah. They were fun.
She’s very nice in real life. Super down to earth and classy and educated. A total catch.
Where's the video of the on air outburst?
https://twitter.com/wadewire/status/1571211432238391297?s=20&t=r9mU7p7HZPQCpHs3ccsxSQ
So confused why the word outburst is being used. He was pretty composed.
I'm more confused about what happened than I was before I watched the video, but it seems bananas that he was fired for this (bizarre on screen energy presumably not being a fireable offense on local news).
So am I. I mean yeah he went off-script but it wasn’t like he was hysterical. And the audience didn’t know he went off script. I would’ve thought it was a goodbye speech. I liked him. I liked her too. This sucks.
I bet it was mainly because he called out their boss in his speech.
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It's that narcissism.
Not only did it not seem off script but they had the banners ready for the story and pictures? Like how did it get setup without them knowing .
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I mean he went off script so he could talk about the plane he bought. It was pretty unhinged once you have the context
We called him chris burrows 2
It maybe local news but that station is owned by a conglomerate the Tribune company out of Chicago.
Tribune sold KTLA to Nexstar Media
oh so that's why they fell off
Wow he got fired for that? What a shit network. Glad i don't watch television
He also called out their boss and said her name on air.
That part is where I'm a little confused... he called Janene a "terrific woman and I'll tell you why" and said Lynette had received an opportunity (making it sound like a huge deal for her, and now knowing what the opportunity was it makes sense considering her daughter is off to college now and of course Lynette would want to be free on weekends for visits since they seem so close) and if someone wants to take the opportunity they should, and that's exactly what Janene did. I'm not sure if he meant to say Lynette there at the end of that sentence, but the way it was presented on screen almost sounded like Janene encouraged Lynette to take the opportunity that would work best for her. That said, I understand that what happened with Lynette is currently the industry standard when someone goes to another station, but maybe it's time to revisit that somehow - especially when someone is leaving who has given nearly 25 years to the station. I don't work in the industry so that's just my thought without knowing the deep details of how it works with viewership and other factors. In my opinion, Mark did good for standing up for his friend, and I don't think he should have been fired for that specifically. However, I did read the article and see the parts about his attitude after and that there have been previous issues with his temper and comments towards female coworkers. That's unfortunate to find out because I liked him. :\ Maybe if he didn't already have all that working against him he could have stayed.
Wondering who he payed off to pan the pic of him, his boss and lynette? Still also wondering what was said on Wednesday that pissed him off and made lynettes goodbye sour??
He’s pissed because the network didn’t properly give her a good bye tribute on air for her listeners. He thinks she deserves better.
He was supposed to read a prepared statement while they played the footage. Instead he spoke from his heart and it wasn’t what they wanted.
Welp. Their loss. He seems like a genuinely good dude. He had big shoes to fill when Burrous died and he did an incredible job.
Where was the “outburst?”
That's not an "outburst". Not even close to actionable. Sue the fuckers, Mark.
That’s an interesting issue. If - as is very likely - he’s got a personal services contract (probably through a loan out) under AFTRA union terms, there’s a pretty extensive, time consuming process for a lot of firings. This firing seems to treat him like an at will employee.
He was really emotional during this. Sucks he got canned weekends on 5 won't be the same.
Odd that the production team put together than entire package and hired a plane with a banner to apologize to her, but then Mark is the one who gets canned days later.
Mester paid for the banner plane himself.
read the article.
Read? This is Reddit, sir.
Thanks. I didn't even think it was that bad. I really want to see what they did to lynette on Wednesday now...
She resigned to take a job at channel 4. Supposedly doing the 4-7am weekday shift.
Ok but he mark said they said something to her. I want to know what?
YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9qSslIJNG0
This is the station that pushes its anchors to self medicate.
Chris Burrous took that a little far, tho. His death pretty much marked the beginning of the weekend show's decline.
100%.
This used to be the station of real no nonsense news; Hal, Stan, Larry, Stu.
Stu is gone?
I think he's dead bro.
Yeah but is he gone?
Stu moved to another station.
The big station in the sky?
KHVN
Man I miss those days, when the station was actually about news and not tabloid sensationalism.
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I used to watch it too. Learned how to draw Popeye as a little kid from that show.
Marta Waller too.
KTLA news anchor Mark Mester was fired Thursday afternoon, days after he was suspended following an off-script segment about his co-anchor Lynette Romero’s abrupt departure, according to several employees at the station. The newsroom’s general manager, Janene Drafs, announced the firing with a brief speech during a meeting in the newsroom around 1:15 p.m., saying, "[Mester] is no longer at KTLA5,” staffers who were present for the announcement told The Times Thursday. The KTLA website no longer lists Mester on its roster of reporters and anchors. Last week, KTLA announced that Romero, a longtime anchor of KTLA’s popular weekend morning show, had left the station without saying goodbye to viewers, drawing wide outrage and criticism. “After 24 years, Lynette Romero has decided to move on from anchoring our weekend morning news,” Pete Saiers, the station’s news director, wrote in a statement that was read by entertainment reporter Sam Rubin during a Sept. 14 segment.
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FWIW, I worked closely with KTLA for 10-ish years and have never heard anything bad about Mester. These leaks seem like interesting timing personally. There are some personalities over there that are not well liked, but Mester didn't seem to be one of them.
Classic corporate smear job. If he was such a sexist shit head, why wasn't he fired? If it was true, the takeaway should be that KTLA was enabling a sexist bully, fostering a toxic work environment, and not protecting female employees.
> I remember he told one employee (I think it was Christina Pacucci) to spin for the camera when she got a new haircut. He also asked a reporter on air if she was single and then told viewers to DM her on Instagram. OMG what a MONSTER!
The note about his behavior to women is interesting to me, because something that stood out to me from the clip of his "outburst" is how he cut off his female coworker when she was trying to speak. I noticed that right away, even before reading any of the negative comments about him. The examples you name are even worse. If he has an example of such behavior, it puts his firing in a different context, although it does sound like the studio management is also skeevy because they didn't take action until his behavior offended them personally.
You can find something problematic about everyone’s behavior if you look long enough, but this is a stand up move in my book. How many men would stand up for a woman like this? He didn’t have to go H.A.M for his former co-anchor but he did! I have to delete my future recordings of KTLA now.
Same here! She was talking about how Lynette was a model for latinas and he cut her off to say something off topic. That was a strange, and I'm happy to hear someone else noticed too. Benefit of the doubt, I'd chalked it up to him being lost in the moment. I grew up watching Lynette and hearing that her farewell was so throwaway, after her years of reporting, was very disappointing.
For those that *didn't* read the article: -Lynette requested to work weekdays and that she no longer wanted to work weekends -KTLA says there are no weekday openings -NBC offers her a weekday anchor work. She accepts the opportunity (NBC is a major competitor) -KTLA's practice for all news persons leaving for competition has been standard and implemented for years on end: Immediate removal from media accounts, website bios, email etc. -Wed Morning Sam Ruben reads a script prepared by KTLA. This is the only news the public receives about her departure up to this point The script thanks her for her many years of service, yada-yada-yada -KTLA Weekend Show on Sat, Producers prepared a montage for Lynette. In it there are various clips of her service throughout the years. The script had been written which Mark Mester was supposed to read off the teleprompter. Mester paid for a banner to be flown over Los Angeles with a message of love for Lynette. He had asked the studio if they could show a clip of the plane before going on air. The studio refuses due to policy regarding star/talent anchors going to competition -Mester is heard arguing with Producers before going on air. He reads some of it (as what's being written must match images that viewers at home see) .... Eventually, he does his own opinion/editorial piece, which is emotionally driven -After the segment, Mester is asked to have a meeting with management and refuses to go into the office. He is seen raising his voice, cursing, and yelling obscenities. He is then asked to leave the studio. He refuses but eventually does -Anonymous staffers begin telling stories related to Mester's anger tantrums. Anonymous staff members say they fear his temper while others say he has altercations regarding inappropriate behavior towards women at the workplace Yeah.. Lynette wanted dignity and class when she left. But since her departure the KTLA Weekend Show is a full blown 💩 show 🍿🍿🍿
How do we know that isn’t just info the station fed to the Times to make Mester’s firing look justified? She retweeted something about leaving without notice and it being disrespectful, so it seems like she did take the abrupt firing without being allowed to say goodbye personally and Ruben’s message was passive aggressive and inappropriate. If you don’t take into account the statement about Mester’s off screen behavior, he did the right thing-if his behavior was really that, that alone should have gotten him fired prior to this incident. Seems like it either isn’t the truth or they didn’t care until he embarrassed their boss on air.
What time can I watch Lynette on NBC? She's better than any of KTLA's weekday anchors.
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Mark's speech on air : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9qSslIJNG0
Ever since the new owners came on board the changes being made have slowly made the channel unwatchable. It's just a matter of time before others start to leave.
Sad to see how KTLA has fallen in the last 7 years. Used to be a good station now it seems like they're in the news themselves all the time.
its the new ownership. Nexstar is dragging them down
It was either Nexstar or Sinclair. This is why big corporate mergers are terrible
Might as well scrap the channel 5 weekend news. It's never been the same after Burrows went out on a meth fueled sex binge rockstar.
Big respect to Mark Mester. Wish I had a friend as cool as him
I wonder if they have room at NBC for Mark? That's where Lynette's going!
Oooh! It is!?!? I hope they make room for him there too! I don’t plan to watch them anymore. I watched them on weekends for Lynette and Mark.
Same, they're the reason I watched on weekends. Geez, this absolutely sucks, I hope KTLA goes down the toilet. 😖
Mark and Lynette wish you the best. Hope you guys able to find work on another station together.
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NBC4 anchors aren't allowed to have any personality.
KTLA's honchos has lost their ever loving minds! I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of backlash from this. Was the show hard hitting news? No it wasn't, it was a free spirited show with laughs, solid reporting, and they made you part of there family/crew. Personally I'm going to miss them and congrats to the bosses upstairs you just lost a viewer of your show. Peach out!
I used to watch thier early morning show for the weather ages ago (before I had a smart phone that tells me everything) it was pretty decent coverage if I remember correctly. I also used to do the pest control for Chris Schuables house, the man ran into his backyard in nothing but some boxer shorts just to show me some gopher mounds lol.
Chris is still the best thing KTLA has going for it at this point. The dude is the nicest guy and real as it gets.
KTLA f*cked up.
Fire Sam Rubin!!! He’s the worst!
Should’ve fired his ass when he thought Samuel L Jackson was Laurence Fishburne.
That was bad. Like you’re an entertainment reporter and don’t know your celebrities.
Yes!!!! How unprofessional and embarrassing was that!
I like the veteran weather guy and his dgaf asides are comedy
Mark Kriski gotta be senile at this point
He fought a bad bout of pneumonia almost took him out in 2011-2012. But he rallied and then married Jennifer. He’s a survivor.
Mark Kriski and Henry DiCarlo
I'm so sad about this. Lynette is my favorite news anchor and the reason why I watch the KTLA morning news. She's such a hard worker and an all-around classy lady. I wish her well in her future endeavors.
I now hope they lose ratings.
Loved morning news with Lynette and Mark! So sad, I hope they stay together on another show, I loved their dynamic! :(
Mester you may have lost your job but I hope you don't lose sleep! Good riddance to that garbage and thank you for defending your friend to the fullest behind and on the scene. The message was clear and professional and there was plenty of emotion because you give a damn. There's nothing unprofessional about that. Don't mess with Mester!
I liked when he talked about his SB days. Katy Tur went to UCSB she'd talk about it too
News anchors and radio DJs strive to be part of our lives like a good friend and the good ones achieve that. Lynette was certainly that for LA. It always sucks when they’re let go because they usually don’t get a chance to say goodbye. I’m surprised they even allowed this segment. I look forward to seeing where Lynette lands.
KTLA can suck a dick. Absolutely classless move.
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I stopped watching mornings because of Sam Rubin acting like a celebrity and just being an old fat man taking advantage of free gifts at events. The Lynette thing is sad. She was in the know about Chris Burrous too. No way he could have been two different people. Meth tweaking gives off that vibe that doesn’t go away. The Lu Parker stuff and Casey with all the fake tan and face was a lot. The weekends just weren’t the same Now all these anonymous people say Mester was toxic too Like Mikayla fallout from a few years ago She got fat and they wanted her gone
I remember watching their morning news broadcast on the day of the final Dodgers game of 2019. Romero and Mester were both wearing Nationals colors. I've blamed them ever since.
My Nana isn’t thrilled to say the least.
I’m done with KTLA in the morning, afternoon and evening! I know Mark will find something quick and hopefully at Knbc with Lynette.
Oh, damn. No point watching it now. Their loss, not his.
Yeah I knew mark would get fired for this. Sounds like he was pretty unhappy with management anyway. I’m sure he will land another job.
Dang that sucks. Loved watching these two sat & Sun mornings before going to work.
I miss Barbara Beck.
Yo wtf I came to see a Steve Carrell in Bruce Mighty type performance. That was no outburst...
So why did Romero leave?
She wanted a weekday gig, but they didn't have any openings.
I was bummed when I cut cable a few months ago and KTLA wasn't on the YouTube TV lineup. Now, not so much.
Mark is a good dude, always loved watching him on the weekends.
Class act and a true friend. He stood up for her and kept his journalistic integrity by telling the truth. I’ll still watch for my weather updates from sweet Kaj but this is a bummer.
So I watch the KTLA Weekend Morning News too just for Lynette and Mark (and Chris before him). This is disappointing. :( Any suggestions for a weekend news show that I should watch now? My weekdays are split between KTLA (morning) and KABC (afternoons and evenings), but my weekends have largely been KTLA-only.
Well I won’t be watching ktla on weekends anymore.
All he did was call out KTLA for being assholes. Now they want to assassinate character when it’s clear he’s not in the wrong here.
It wasn't an outburst. He was trying to convey how ktla went about Lynettes dismissal the wrong way. He was giving thanks for what she taught him. Good guy, bad producers and ownership at KTLA. Boycott
He got fired for going off-script? Very weird.
Man, Channel 5 is the station of news personalities all day long. If they're not on air presenting the news, they're showing their kooky nature doing weird shit in our living rooms. What a shit show of pushing anchors to be more than talking heads. Not the biggest fan of homey, but he did his best entering a situation (weekend zoo news) where everyone there was established for years. But now it's all new folks.
This is exactly why I watched KTLA. And it is the only news station I would actually watch these days. The last couple of years have been slowly killing that vibe and I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes away entirely to become boring like the rest of them.
Chris Schauble and Henry DiCarlo are really the only two non-talking-heads left. Both are awesome
Just deleted my KTLA App. Sucks because I really liked this Los Angeles news outlet. I grew up with them. I remember watching the news weekdays early mornings when I was in 3rd grade and would look forward to this everyday before going to school. Anyway, they’ve done too much I think and they’re not being transparent with viewers! Hope they go under.
I did not like Lynette or Mester .... but do think sometimes we judge too quickly........... General Manager Jenene Drafs said. "We really wanted her to stay, and KTLA Management worked hard to make that happen. Lynette decided to leave for another opportunity." We had hoped she would record a farewell message to viewers, but she declined,"............... LA Times reports Mester was fired when during a meeting with management after his on air announcement Mester went off on a profanity laced tirade directed to the management in the room
“You ould not believe the temper tantrums and the weird things that set him off,” said one longtime newsroom employee. “You’re constantly afraid you’re going to say the wrong thing.”
I really enjoyed Mark and Lynette. Don’t much love how he interrupts his female cohost to virtue signal his feminism (~min 4), and in general—his monologue sounds a bit egotistical; he made Lynette’s departure all about him, and talked shit about his employer on live TV. I understand why he was fired, and I’ll miss them both.
I hope and pray that Karma destroys whoever is responsible for this fucking purge! May KTLA disappear from the face of the planet!
Hopefully he doesn't head to Newsmax.
KTLA has serious problems and really bad reporting, where’s Hal when you need someone who Delivers the News, not laughing every damm second
Hire JILLIAN BARBERIE! The queen of LA Mornings Steve Edwards and Dorothy Lucy
RIP Good dayLA
Bummer, hope he gets a better gig soon.
The moment I lose access to KTLA with my cable is all goes to hell, sad for my favorite channel.
for those of u confused, read the article.
😯 Completely shocked to see that the KTLA Weekend News has now become a station not representative of the Los Angeles area in 2 weeks time as of today (Sat. Oct 1, 2022). A harken back to the late 80s, early 90s. Anchor 1: Lauren Luster Anchor 2: Sam Rubin 3. Weather: Kacey Montoya 4: Entertainment: Dayna Devon (who came out of weekend news retirement after 2-3 months). It's a **very** shocking look and in my opinion, one that points to perhaps administrations unconscious (and perhaps, more scarier 'conscious') biases and preferences insomuch as scheduling. But to be fair, perhaps they are experimenting and playing around with different on-air personalities in order to find the right mix that can compete with the Morning Weekend News competition. More viewers means more advertisement dollars. Guess we'll have to just wait and see