Univision's media relationship with L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is under scrutiny, after a report on ERS News revealed the Spanish-language network was sending him questions ahead of time for his weekly segment, "Villaraigosa a su lado." However, the questions were represented to the public as impromptu-unscripted questions.
ERS obtained copies of emails sent from KMEX-34's executive producer and the station's VP of news, to Villaraigosa's deputy press secretary, Diana Rubio, in which they include advance questions for upcoming segments. The report points out other news staff was very aware of the practice of sending advance questions to the mayor and that "according to sources familiar with the situation, the mayor’s office exerted extensive influence and sway in insuring the Mayor was not put in any light other than a favorable one, something Univision accommodated routinely."
Providing questions in advance to an interview subject is considered to be inappropriate and goes against the practice of ethical journalism.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Paula Zahn leaves CNN
With low ratings in tow, Paula Zahn is leaving CNN effective August 2.
The news comes a day after CNN announced they hired NBC's Campbell Brown, presumably, to take over her spot on the air.
“Paula Zahn Now” made its debut at 8 p.m. in 2003, but four years later, her show is only pulling a nightly estimated 558,000 viewers on average, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's a lot less than the nearly 2.3 million who watch Fox's “The O’Reilly Factor” with Bill O’Reilly and about 100,000 fewer viewers a night than “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” on MSNBC.
A New York Times article points to a likely change in format for CNN's 8 pm time slot, to talk-show based programming.
The news comes a day after CNN announced they hired NBC's Campbell Brown, presumably, to take over her spot on the air.
“Paula Zahn Now” made its debut at 8 p.m. in 2003, but four years later, her show is only pulling a nightly estimated 558,000 viewers on average, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's a lot less than the nearly 2.3 million who watch Fox's “The O’Reilly Factor” with Bill O’Reilly and about 100,000 fewer viewers a night than “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” on MSNBC.
A New York Times article points to a likely change in format for CNN's 8 pm time slot, to talk-show based programming.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Reader participation or a cheaper way to fill space?
This should be interesting... The Sacramento Bee is going to start accepting video letters to the editor. So they won't just write it... they'll say it! Readers will have to have to do their own video commentaries and email them to the paper. They'll then be posted on www.sacbee.com.
This is all brand new for the paper - probably a first for the newspaper industry. And there are still many questions. For example, what type of content will be admitted, will it be edited, what are the ground rules? No answers yet.
According to a story published on their Web site, just a year ago, the editorial department had 14 people, including five editorial writers. The department has currently shrunk to 11 people with only three editorial writers.
That means more work for less people... and fewer editorials, "with the leftover space filled by more letters to the editor."
Could getting readers/viewers to produce content pave the way to less professional work published in newspapers and their online properties?
This is all brand new for the paper - probably a first for the newspaper industry. And there are still many questions. For example, what type of content will be admitted, will it be edited, what are the ground rules? No answers yet.
According to a story published on their Web site, just a year ago, the editorial department had 14 people, including five editorial writers. The department has currently shrunk to 11 people with only three editorial writers.
That means more work for less people... and fewer editorials, "with the leftover space filled by more letters to the editor."
Could getting readers/viewers to produce content pave the way to less professional work published in newspapers and their online properties?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
mediabistro.com sold for $23 million
Laurel Touby has just sold her popular Web site for job-hunting media and creative professionals to Jupitermedia Corporation. The price tag: $23 million dollars. Not bad, for someone who started the project as a "humble little directory on someone else's web site."
In an early-morning entry on her website, Laurel calls it a "marriage of minds and media resources," takes a trip down memory lane about how she got started and thanks all the people who've helped mediabistro.com become the success it is today.
According to the site's founder, after 10 years of life, mediabistro.com gets more than 1 million visitors a month, and more than 6 million page views per month.
In an early-morning entry on her website, Laurel calls it a "marriage of minds and media resources," takes a trip down memory lane about how she got started and thanks all the people who've helped mediabistro.com become the success it is today.
According to the site's founder, after 10 years of life, mediabistro.com gets more than 1 million visitors a month, and more than 6 million page views per month.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Should ethnicity be highlighted in scandal coverage?
In an L.A. Times column, Gregory Rodriguez addresses the issue, after a t.v. producer called him to ask if he thought Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's extramarital affair revealed anything about the nature of Latino political leadership.
"I told her I'd agree to be interviewed on air only if we could explore what Bill Clinton's dalliances said about white people or Jesse Jackson's fling with an aide told us about black activists. Dumbfounded, she asked if I could refer her to someone else," wrote Rodriguez.
Good point. Can the personal indiscretions of one person be lumped into the alleged stereotypical behavior of an ethnic group? Why do some media outlets feel the need to stick on a label? How many times have we, as reporters, been put on the spot by a producer, who has a certain "vision" of what the angle in the story should be... even if it isn't? Looks like that's what just happened to Rodriguez, who got dumped as an interviewee when he questioned the line of questioning...
The media should be focusing more on telling the story - what were the inappropriate actions of a political figure and the consequences, or shed light on his/her professional performance rather than trying to link their ethnicity as a factor in whatever wrongdoing might be associated with the person.
"I told her I'd agree to be interviewed on air only if we could explore what Bill Clinton's dalliances said about white people or Jesse Jackson's fling with an aide told us about black activists. Dumbfounded, she asked if I could refer her to someone else," wrote Rodriguez.
Good point. Can the personal indiscretions of one person be lumped into the alleged stereotypical behavior of an ethnic group? Why do some media outlets feel the need to stick on a label? How many times have we, as reporters, been put on the spot by a producer, who has a certain "vision" of what the angle in the story should be... even if it isn't? Looks like that's what just happened to Rodriguez, who got dumped as an interviewee when he questioned the line of questioning...
The media should be focusing more on telling the story - what were the inappropriate actions of a political figure and the consequences, or shed light on his/her professional performance rather than trying to link their ethnicity as a factor in whatever wrongdoing might be associated with the person.
Friday, July 13, 2007
San Francisco crew detained while on the job
Napa County Sheriff's deputies detained Multi-Emmy award-winning ABC 7 reporter Wayne Freedman and his photographer Craig Southern while covering a grass fire.
When the crew questioned officer's orders to stop taking pictures of the fire from a checkpoint, deputies confiscated their camera. News director Kevin Keeshan said deputies broke one of the men’s cell phones in half after one used it to film the other being detained. Wayne and Southern were then handcuffed. A San Francisco Chronicle photographer shot the incident. KGO captured some of the scuffle prior to the confiscation of the equipment.
A sheriff's department captain later apologized. Both were released without being charged.
California state law allows the media to report and take pictures from within police lines and entitles the media to proceed through fire & police lines at their own risk in absence of a crime scene.
ABC7 station management says it plans to file a complaint against the two deputies and to pursue all legal options.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Chicago reporter fired
Management took very quick action after word spread about television reporter Amy Jacobson's visit to a pool party at the home of a man whose estranged wife has been missing since April. A video shot by a competing station, showed her in a swimming suit inside Craig Stebic's home.
Just hours after she was fired, she told Robert Feder of the Chicago Sun-Times that she was devastated: "I thought they would suspend me and then support me. I can't believe they did this after all I'd done for them. They know why I was there. There was never any challenge as to my motivation or intent," she said.
Channel 5's president and general manager said it was "a complicated issue" and "a close, tough call" to sever ties with the reporter, who had been at the station more than 10 years.
Just hours after she was fired, she told Robert Feder of the Chicago Sun-Times that she was devastated: "I thought they would suspend me and then support me. I can't believe they did this after all I'd done for them. They know why I was there. There was never any challenge as to my motivation or intent," she said.
Channel 5's president and general manager said it was "a complicated issue" and "a close, tough call" to sever ties with the reporter, who had been at the station more than 10 years.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Another reporter crosses the line?
What's going on? Is there a need for reporters to take a refresher course in journalism ethics?
Chicago reporter Amy Jacobson is in hot water, after she attended a pool party with her two kids. What's wrong with that? It was in the home of a man who's wife has been missing since April - a story she had been covering.
According to Robert Feder, of the Chicago Sun-Times, Jacobson was immediately pulled off the Stebic story and told to hire a lawyer.
Chicago reporter Amy Jacobson is in hot water, after she attended a pool party with her two kids. What's wrong with that? It was in the home of a man who's wife has been missing since April - a story she had been covering.
According to Robert Feder, of the Chicago Sun-Times, Jacobson was immediately pulled off the Stebic story and told to hire a lawyer.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Seattle gets Spanish newscast
Starting today, Jaime Méndez and Roxy de la Torre will be anchoring Seattle's first locally produced all-Spanish television newscast.
"Noticias Noroeste" debuts on KUNS-TV, Seattle's local Univision channel.
Univision went on the air in January through a partnership with Fisher Communications, which owns KOMO. The newscast will be taped at noon Monday through Friday, but will be updated prior to making air at 6 and 11 p.m.
With a rapidly growing Hispanic population in the area, the market became ripe for the recent creation of over half a dozen Spanish-language publications and several Spanish only radio stations. It was only a matter of time for TV to get in the action.
In an article published in the Seattle Times, KOMO and KUNS general manager Jim Clayton says the newscast was important "to make a real connection to the local Hispanic community."
"Noticias Noroeste" debuts on KUNS-TV, Seattle's local Univision channel.
Univision went on the air in January through a partnership with Fisher Communications, which owns KOMO. The newscast will be taped at noon Monday through Friday, but will be updated prior to making air at 6 and 11 p.m.
With a rapidly growing Hispanic population in the area, the market became ripe for the recent creation of over half a dozen Spanish-language publications and several Spanish only radio stations. It was only a matter of time for TV to get in the action.
In an article published in the Seattle Times, KOMO and KUNS general manager Jim Clayton says the newscast was important "to make a real connection to the local Hispanic community."
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Telemundo reporter placed on unpaid leave
Telemundo management is doing an about face. Just yesterday, they were defending Mirthala Salinas, the reporter embroiled in a scandal with the city's mayor in an L.A. Times article:
"Mirthala Salinas is one of our most respected reporters and a great professional," said Manuel Abud, Telemundo's general manager in Los Angeles. "Telemundo is fully committed to journalistic excellence. Every day we strive for the highest standards of journalistic ethics and make every effort to protect our objectivity and avoid possible conflicts of interest."
Today, Telemundo spokesman Alfredo Richards told Journal-isms Mirthala is being placed on unpaid leave while her employer conducts "an internal review of the decision and events."
No word on the length of the leave.
"Mirthala Salinas is one of our most respected reporters and a great professional," said Manuel Abud, Telemundo's general manager in Los Angeles. "Telemundo is fully committed to journalistic excellence. Every day we strive for the highest standards of journalistic ethics and make every effort to protect our objectivity and avoid possible conflicts of interest."
Today, Telemundo spokesman Alfredo Richards told Journal-isms Mirthala is being placed on unpaid leave while her employer conducts "an internal review of the decision and events."
No word on the length of the leave.
An upward move
Elizabeth Zavala has accepted the position of Deputy City Editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She leaves rival Dallas Morning News, where she was the Assistant Metro Editor and where she's worked for the past seven years. Her last day on the job is July 13.
She'll be taking a week's vacation, before she tackles her second tour of duty at the Star-Telegram. She worked there for 10 years, before going to the Dallas Morning News in 2000.
Good luck!
She'll be taking a week's vacation, before she tackles her second tour of duty at the Star-Telegram. She worked there for 10 years, before going to the Dallas Morning News in 2000.
Although she's ecstatic and excited at the new challenge, she says she's sad to leave the many friends she's made at The Dallas Morning News.
Elizabeth is on the board of directors of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
Elizabeth is on the board of directors of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
Good luck!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Ethics and integrity in question
A lot more details on mayor Villaraigosa's romance with reporter Mirthala Salinas have been surfacing, since he confirmed their relationship yesterday. The most complete timeline is offered in today's L.A. Times, which links the mayor to the reporter as far back as 18 months ago.
The blogs are on fire, with some very scathing comments about the couple. Some examples: Anorak addresses rumors of pregancy, the editorial page editor of the Daily News chastizes "The Cheat and The Homewrecker" in his Friendly Fire blog and L.A. Observed has multiple entries, including references to her past relationships with former L.A. council President Alex Padilla and Fabián Nuñez, Speaker of the California Assembly.
When Villaraigosa announced he was divorcing Corina on June 8, it was Mirthala Salinas who opened Telemundo 52's 6 pm newscast with: "The rumors are true ... Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa confirmed today that he is separating from his wife, Corina, after more than 20 years of marriage." She's been anchoring the newscast while main anchor Lucia Navarro is on maternity leave, but should she have recused herself and let someone else anchor that evening to read the story, when she was "the other woman"?
Mirthala's actions, on a professional level, have raised a flurry of questions. Did she compromise journalistic ethics and integrity? Experts say yes, but also fault Telemundo management for lack of judgment.
Quoted in the L.A. Times article, Laura Castañeda, an associate professor at USC Annenberg School of Journalism, criticized Telemundo, saying it was "completely inappropriate" that they allowed Salinas to announce the mayor's breakup with his wife: "It doesn't reflect well. Telemundo has no excuse."
A Telemundo spokesman said Mirthala was taken off the political beat, at her request, 11 months ago. But it's not exactly clear when her relationship with the mayor evolved into a romantic connection. However, she did previously have a romantic relationship with Fabián Nuñez, Speaker of the California Assembly and yet, she was covering politics. Was there no conflict of interest back then?
"There really is no question that this is unacceptable," Kelly McBride, ethics group leader at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., told the L.A. Times. "You can't sleep with your sources."
Bob Steele, also an ethics expert from Poynter, the well-respected journalism think tank, points out in his online column: "there are serious concerns to be raised about her ethics and those of her station’s news managers if they were aware of the intersection of professional and personal connections.
And, even if Salinas left her political beat role and direct coverage of the mayor before she started the romantic relationship with him, what the heck was she doing reading stories as a newscast anchor that focused on his personal life?"
The blogs are on fire, with some very scathing comments about the couple. Some examples: Anorak addresses rumors of pregancy, the editorial page editor of the Daily News chastizes "The Cheat and The Homewrecker" in his Friendly Fire blog and L.A. Observed has multiple entries, including references to her past relationships with former L.A. council President Alex Padilla and Fabián Nuñez, Speaker of the California Assembly.
When Villaraigosa announced he was divorcing Corina on June 8, it was Mirthala Salinas who opened Telemundo 52's 6 pm newscast with: "The rumors are true ... Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa confirmed today that he is separating from his wife, Corina, after more than 20 years of marriage." She's been anchoring the newscast while main anchor Lucia Navarro is on maternity leave, but should she have recused herself and let someone else anchor that evening to read the story, when she was "the other woman"?
Mirthala's actions, on a professional level, have raised a flurry of questions. Did she compromise journalistic ethics and integrity? Experts say yes, but also fault Telemundo management for lack of judgment.
Quoted in the L.A. Times article, Laura Castañeda, an associate professor at USC Annenberg School of Journalism, criticized Telemundo, saying it was "completely inappropriate" that they allowed Salinas to announce the mayor's breakup with his wife: "It doesn't reflect well. Telemundo has no excuse."
A Telemundo spokesman said Mirthala was taken off the political beat, at her request, 11 months ago. But it's not exactly clear when her relationship with the mayor evolved into a romantic connection. However, she did previously have a romantic relationship with Fabián Nuñez, Speaker of the California Assembly and yet, she was covering politics. Was there no conflict of interest back then?
"There really is no question that this is unacceptable," Kelly McBride, ethics group leader at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., told the L.A. Times. "You can't sleep with your sources."
Bob Steele, also an ethics expert from Poynter, the well-respected journalism think tank, points out in his online column: "there are serious concerns to be raised about her ethics and those of her station’s news managers if they were aware of the intersection of professional and personal connections.
And, even if Salinas left her political beat role and direct coverage of the mayor before she started the romantic relationship with him, what the heck was she doing reading stories as a newscast anchor that focused on his personal life?"
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
The mayor and the reporter
L.A. is abuzz with confirmation from the mayor himself that he does indeed have a relationship with a Telemundo station reporter and back-up anchor.
Antonio Villaraigosa admitted his relationship with Mirthala Salinas to the Daily News:
"It is true that I have a relationship with Ms. Mirthala Salinas. As I've said I take full responsibility for my actions, and I once again ask that people respect my family's privacy. For my part, I intend to stay focused on my job, and to work as hard as I can every day to be the best mayor I can be."
Mirthala is saying nothing. The report points out that the both have been seen in public events and that he cleared his calendar to attend her mother's funeral in Phoenix in January.
Rumors of a romance between the mayor and the reporter had been swirling for months.
Antonio Villaraigosa admitted his relationship with Mirthala Salinas to the Daily News:
"It is true that I have a relationship with Ms. Mirthala Salinas. As I've said I take full responsibility for my actions, and I once again ask that people respect my family's privacy. For my part, I intend to stay focused on my job, and to work as hard as I can every day to be the best mayor I can be."
Mirthala is saying nothing. The report points out that the both have been seen in public events and that he cleared his calendar to attend her mother's funeral in Phoenix in January.
Rumors of a romance between the mayor and the reporter had been swirling for months.
Monday, July 2, 2007
More layoffs announced at Mercury News
A Mercury News layoff survivor called it "the slaughter" - 31 people laid-off and 15 others voluntarily leaving.
It was expected, yet the names of those told not to come to work today surprised many.
Some of the names on the list are shocking! With this latest round of layoffs, how does the paper plan to keep up with production and quality?
There's lots of skepticism... with suggestions that the parent company of the Mercury News will be using content from the other Bay Area papers it owns.
Today marks the second round of layoffs at this once highly respected daily. On December 5, 2006 a group of 35 were given walking papers. Initially, the company had announced 101 layoffs, but a last minute guild negotiation managed to save 35 jobs until the end of June of 2007.
It was expected, yet the names of those told not to come to work today surprised many.
Some of the names on the list are shocking! With this latest round of layoffs, how does the paper plan to keep up with production and quality?
There's lots of skepticism... with suggestions that the parent company of the Mercury News will be using content from the other Bay Area papers it owns.
Today marks the second round of layoffs at this once highly respected daily. On December 5, 2006 a group of 35 were given walking papers. Initially, the company had announced 101 layoffs, but a last minute guild negotiation managed to save 35 jobs until the end of June of 2007.
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