The Tragic Fall of a Star Local TV Reporter

The Tragic Fall of a Star Local TV Reporter

Frank Somerville was once a star local television reporter and anchor in the Providence market.

He was one of a number of emerging talents whose tenure at WJAR-10 helped launch their careers to national fame.

Somerville was in the same proverbial bucket as Matt Laurer, Meredith Vieira, Christiane Amanpour, Dylan Dreyer, and Kathryn Tappen, whose stints in Providence led them to big markets and big salaries in the news media.

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At the time, it was the golden era of local news. For Somerville, he was a talent bound for a big stage. He was in Providence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And, at the time, WJAR was one of the top-performing local affiliates in the country.

He springboarded from Providence to the top station in San Francisco — KTVU. It was a jump from a top 50 station to a top 10 market.

For 31 years, Somerville was the star at KTVU. He won Emmys and dominated the market.

Then it unraveled.

 

Downward Decline

Somerville has faced a series of personal and legal challenges since 2021, including a suspension from KTVU, rehabilitation for alcoholism, legal issues related to DUI and domestic disputes, and eventual departure from KTVU when his contract was not renewed in 2022.

The specifics were disturbing.  Somerville's leave from KTVU in 2021 stemmed from two major incidents. First, in May 2021, he appeared on-air slurring his words and mispronouncing names, which sparked concern among viewers and management. Although Somerville insisted he had mistakenly taken prescription sleep medication (Ambien) and was not intoxicated, the incident raised questions about his performance and well-being.

Within a few months, Somerville was suspended indefinitely by KTVU management in September 2021—not only over on-air concerns but also for alleged insubordination after he attempted to insert commentary about the inequity of media coverage in missing persons cases involving women of color, specifically during the highly publicized Gabby Petito case.

He added a “tag” or note to the news script after his news director had explicitly nixed the idea, violating newsroom protocol.

Following this suspension, his contract was allowed to expire in January 2022, effectively ending his long tenure at KTVU. These events were compounded in December 2021 when Somerville was arrested and charged with DUI after a car crash, further adding to his public and professional difficulties.

The 67-year-old  was arrested Monday on suspicion of battery with serious bodily injury.

In a since-deleted Facebook post shared by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times, Somerville allegedly wrote that his daughter, Callie, came to his home upset about her overdrawn bank account, demanded money, grabbed his phone and “wouldn’t leave.”

“I love my daughter more than anything in the world," the post read. "I would never deliberately try to hurt her. But bad things happen in battle.” He also claimed he acted only to restrain her. Callie told authorities he was the aggressor, according to the outlets.

Rich Lieberman, who runs 413 Media and podcasts about the San Francisco media, said this week’s events functionally ended Somerville’s career and chance at a comeback.

“It's a shame that Frank could not get himself together and preserve his stay away from trouble to come back into the arena, the public arena, and to begin anchoring it again,” said Lieberman on his podcast on Wednesday, who has interviewed Somerville numerous times.

GoLocal reached out to Somerville — he did not respond to questions.