Frank Somerville (born March 19, 1958) is an American television
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
. During his three decades at
KTVU
KTVU (channel 2) is a television station licensed to Oakland, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's Fox network outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside San Jose†...
in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, Somerville received three
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
, including one for best on-camera news anchor.
Early life and education
Somerville was born on March 19, 1958, in
San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...
, but was raised in
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
. He was named after his father's childhood friend, Frank Patty, and his paternal grandfather, William Somerville. He attended Berkeley High School, graduating in 1976. He then attended
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
.
Broadcast career
Somerville was an intern at KTVU in 1981, while attending San Francisco State. After graduation he worked at local stations in
Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...
;
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
; and
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
, before returning to the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
. 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. In 2008, he was named co-anchor of the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts, replacing 40-year veteran
Dennis Richmond
Dennis Richmond (born May 26, 1943) is an American retired news anchor who spent 40 years with Oakland, California-based KTVU.
In 2013, Somerville apologized on behalf of KTVU for an incident in which racist pilot names were read out in a broadcast on
Asiana Airlines Flight 214
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 was a scheduled transpacific passenger flight originating from Incheon International Airport near Seoul, South Korea. On the morning of July 6, 2013, the Boeing 777-200ER operating the flight stalled and crashed on f ...
.
In June 2021, Somerville took a personal leave of absence from KTVU following an on-air incident during which he struggled to read the script for several stories and appeared to slur his words. He returned to the anchor chair on August 4 without addressing the incident that saw his brief departure. In September 2021, he was suspended for disobedience after seeking to keep a "tag" concerning
domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
and " missing white woman syndrome" in a story on the Gabby Petito case. In November 2021, he said in an interview with the Bay Area News Group that KTVU had not contacted him and that "All indications are that I’m never going to anchor at Channel 2 again."
On December 30, 2021, Somerville was arrested on suspicion of
driving under the influence
Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
after an automobile collision.
Somerville's suspension from KTVU would become permanent in January 2022 when his contract expired and KTVU would decide not to re-sign him. He believes that his automotive collision that happened the month before did not play a role, instead, he believes management had already decided to cut him loose months earlier.
In December 2022, Somerville went public about his dismissal from the station on a Facebook post.
Personal life
Somerville was married to television producer Donna Wright Somerville for more than 20 years; the couple has two daughters. A picture of him styling his Black, adopted daughter's hair went viral on the Internet.
Somerville has been a vegetarian since the age of 12. He works out and practices the
Israeli
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ...
List of vegetarians
This is a list of people who have permanently adopted a vegetarian diet at some point during their life. Former vegetarians and those whose status is disputed are ''not'' included on this list.
The following list does not include vegetarians wh ...