When Bay area anchors bid goodnight to viewers on Wednesday, the Occupy Oakland protests were largely peaceful. But by the time the 4:30 a.m. newscasts rolled around this morning, there was a very different story to be told.

All six local stations in San Francisco — ABC O&O KGO, CBS O&O KPIX, NBC O&O KNTV, Fox-affiliate KTVU, independent station KOFY and My-TV affiliate KRON — started their morning newscasts with news, and pictures, of overnight riots in Oakland that led to more than 100 arrests. Read more

“We are having an earthquake right now,” KTVU anchor Pam Cook declared this morning, the sound of rumbling punctuating her announcement.

“We are having an earthquake at this very moment,” Cook’s co-anchor Dave Clark quickly added, as a magnitude 3.6 quake rolled through the Bay Area around 5:36 a.m.

KTVU is based in Oakland–across the San Francisco Bay from its market rivals–meaning that it was well-positioned to report on this morning’s earthquake, which was centered in Berkeley. Read more

Shortly after 4:30 p.m.PT yesterday, Apple confirmed the death of its visionary co-founder, Steve Jobs. He was 56.

KGO was the first Bay Area station to report the news, at 4:37 p.m. Anchors Carolyn Johnson and Larry Beil were in the middle of their regularly scheduled 4 p.m. newscast. KNTV‘s Jessica Aguirre was next, at 4:38 p.m., followed by KTVU‘s Gasia Mikaelian at 4:40 p.m.

KPIX was the only San Francisco station to take the special report from their nationally affiliated network, airing the CBS special report anchored by Scott Pelley at 4:46 p.m.

Longtime KTVU reporter Bob MacKenzie, who endeared himself to Bay Area viewers with his deft touch for storytelling, died on Thursday following a long battle with cancer.  He was 75.

MacKenzie joined KTVU in 1978 and spent more than three decades working as a feature reporter for the station, where he won 13 local Emmys and dozens of other awards.

“For more than 30 years, Bob’s stories graced KTVU’s newscasts and stood out like gems,” said KTVU news director Ed Chapuis. “His writing was witty and masterful. His expert use of words, paired with natural sound and moving images, evoked a sense of great artistry as much as great journalism.” Read more

Tom Raponi has been named vice president and general manager of Cox Media Group’s KTVU-KICU in San Francisco.

Raponi has been the vice president and general manager of KICU, an independent station, since 2001. In addition to his executive duties at KICU, Raponi served as director of sales for KTVU.

“Tom has been instrumental in the success we have enjoyed and I can’t think of anyone more deserving and qualified,” said outgoing KTVU VP-GM Tim McVay, who was tapped to lead Cox’s WSB in Atlanta.

Before joining KICU and KTVU, Raponi served as general sales manager for KMOV in St. Louis.

“I’m excited and honored to be given the responsibility of leading KTVU,” said Raponi. “The station has a long tradition of being a leader in news, programming and the community.  I look forward to helping the station continue with this tradition.”

Cox Media Group, which owns 15 stations in 11 markets, announced this week that Bill Hoffman will be the company’s next executive vice president. Hoffman previously served as president and general manager of CMG’s WSB.

“Bill is a broadcast industry veteran, whose proven leadership abilities will help CMG continue to perform at the top of its game,” said CMG president Doug Franklin in announcing the move.  “He is well respected in many industry circles, and I’m delighted that we can tap into his talents to drive our future success.”

With Hoffman joining the corporate office, CMG has appointed Tim McVay as his successor at WSB. McVay previously served as vice president and general manager of CMG’s KTVU in Oakland. CMG has yet to name McVay’s replacement at KTVU.

“Tim has a great track record of leadership, and he understands, as much as anyone, how we do things at Cox,” said CMG executive vice president Alex Taylor, who McVay will report to. “This is a good day for WSB.”

Longtime Bay Area reporter Jim Vargas is set to retire after a 41-year career in the news industry.

Vargas will bid farewell to Oakland’s KTVU on April 29th after 10 years with the Fox-affiliate, according to Bay Area blogger Rich Lieberman.

Vargas began his career with Fresno’s KJEO before moving north to San Francisco’s KGO, where he was a fixture for two decades. He joined KTVU in the early 90s and worked there for five years before moving to KRON. After a stint with KRON, Vargas returned to KTVU, where he’s been for the past decade.

“Jim had a long, successful career and deserves an enjoyable and peaceful retirement,” writes one online commenter, reacting to the news. “It’s too bad the kids over at [KTVU] don’t fully realize what an irreplaceable resource he is. You can’t Google what Jim knows.”