By Rick Griffin
After nearly 20 years in the public eye, Michael Turko has left KUSI-TV to become “a private figure.” The animated, investigative consumer reporter with a ponytail, known for his “Turko Files” reports and the phrase “it ain’t right,” is gone from the station where he had worked since 1999.
In his final broadcast on March 22, Turko told viewers, “It’s time to move on. I’m leaving television, I’m leaving the news business for a simpler, quieter and much more private way of life, far from the big cities and the maddening crowds. With your help, we made the Turko Files a San Diego institution and a force to be reckoned with.”
In his resignation letter, posted on Twitter and the KUSI website, Turko wrote, “After a lot of reflection my wife and I have decided it is time for us to move on to a new chapter in our lives. I can’t say enough about the support and encouragement I have received from KUSI management through the years. I don’t seek any special accolades or public recognition for my years of service. I feel my body of work speaks for itself, and have been showered with gratitude many times by the people we have helped. That is truly the best reward I could ask for.”
On Twitter, Turko told fans, “Retirement it is. Gonna be a private figure from now on.”
In a statement, the station lauded Turko for his efforts to stand up for the little guy and uncover government incompetence and overreach and large corporations that wrongly used their power.
Turko’s sudden departure underscores the stomach-churning, high-pressure environment that’s part of the TV news workplace. Another KUSI personality, morning man-on-the-street reporter Brad Perry, walked away last year. Now Perry is developing his own TV magazine show called “Brad’s Big Adventures.”
SOCi Hires Monica Ho as Chief Marketing Officer
SOCi, a San Diego firm that provides social media marketing and reputation management services for multi-location brands, has named Monica Ho as chief marketing officer.
The company said Ho, with more than 20 years of integrated marketing and technology experience, will spearhead initiatives resulting in overall company revenue growth and increased brand presence and awareness. Ho previously spent six years as CMO at GroundTruth, formerly xAd. Business Insider named Ho as one of the “30 most powerful women in mobile advertising” for three years in a row.
“I am excited to join such an innovative and fast-moving company where I can leverage my expertise in marketing and B2B technology to help SOCi grow its business, reach new audiences and outperform the competition in the highly competitive social media and reputation management space,” Ho said.
Less + More Rebrands DocuWare
Less + More, a San Diego branding and design agency, reports it designed the new logo and oversaw the global rebranding of DocuWare, provider of cloud solutions for document management and workflow automation.
“DocuWare’s rebrand was rooted in putting a new, more modern face on a company that delivers cutting-edge products to customers in 70 countries,” said Mike Savacool, founding partner of Less + More. “We worked closely with DocuWare to define the core attributes that set them apart, and brought those to the forefront of our design strategy.”
Savacool said the rebranding includes a new icon that captures concepts of digitalization, forward movement and process simplification.
91X Celebrates 30 Years of ‘Loudspeaker’
XETRA 91.1-FM 91X, operated by Local Media San Diego, recently celebrated the 30-year anniversary of its “Loudspeaker” show that showcases music performed by local bands. The station said its show, which airs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays, is the nation’s longest-running program dedicated to local music. Hosts include Lou Niles, Tim Pyles and Andrew Rowley.
Since it started in 1988, the show has claimed to have played a role in the success of a number of local bands that signed recording contracts after having their first radio airplay on “Loudspeaker,” including Crypt Drive Like Jehu (Interscope Records), Blink-182 (MCA), Lucy’s Fur Coast (Relativity), Three Mile Pilot (Geffen), aMiniature (Restless) and Jewel (Atlantic).
“91X Loudspeaker has always been an important driving force behind the music scene,” said Niles (host from 1988 to 1996 and 2014 to present). “It is wonderful to have been an integral part of it all these years as we continue to help great artists with their start and being the catalyst to them breaking out beyond the San Diego scene.”
“It’s incredible to be a part of the legacy of Loudspeaker,” said Pyles (host from 1998 to 2004 and 2014 to present). “Thirty years of local music on 91X is incredible and we are just hitting our stride.”
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.
