Telemundo Backs Reporter as “Professional”
Telemundo gave anchor Mirthala Salinas a vote of confidence Tuesday after Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa acknowledged having a “relationship” with her “after months of dodging questions about the breakup of his marriage,” in the words of a story by Beth Barrett of the Los Angeles Daily News, which disclosed the relationship in Tuesday’s editions.
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“Telemundo spokesman Alfredo Richard said the station wouldn’t comment on employees’ personal lives, but described her duties at the station,” according to a story on the Web site of KNBC, which like Telemundo, is owned by NBC Universal.
“He said Salinas moved off the political beat, which includes coverage of the mayor, about 11 months ago. He said her move to backup anchor and general correspondent was intended as an expansion of Salinas’ responsibilities at the station.
“‘We think she is a great reporter and professional,’ Richard said.”
Barrett wrote:
“Since January, the mayor has repeatedly faced questioning that began when reporters noticed he and his wife, Corina, had stopped making public appearances together and his gold wedding band was missing from his ring finger.
“The mayor glibly rebuffed all probes when the questions reached a peak in January, and aides said he had been working out a lot and lost weight so the ring was at the jeweler’s getting resized.
“But with the Daily News set to publish a story about his relationship with Salinas, an anchorwoman and reporter for NBC-Telemundo (Channel 52), and his mother-in-law’s account of the climactic moment in his marriage, Villaraigosa issued the following statement:
“‘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.'”
“Salinas, an attractive woman in her mid-30s, is a 6 p.m. news anchor and on-camera reporter for the Spanish language station.”
On Tuesday, the mayor defended the relationship with Salinas, Barrett and Naush Boghossian reported in the Daily News on Wednesday. Villaraigosa said it was a “friendship that evolved over time” and has had no effect on his performance as mayor.
“Amid a media frenzy after swearing-in ceremonies for new Los Angeles Unified school board members, Villaraigosa reiterated that his relationship with Mirthala Salinas is a personal matter and he appealed for privacy.
“‘I believe that the vast majority of people base their sense of trust on what you do in your public life, whether or not you keep your promises,’ the mayor said. ‘I’ll leave the speculation to others. I’m not going to get into every detail of my relationship, nor should I.’
“But while Villaraigosa sought to quell further speculation, some questioned the ethical implications for Salinas and Villaraigosa.
“‘It’s not being a prude to think it’s dishonorable (for a politician in the public eye) to carry on an illicit affair with anyone, let alone a journalist who covers you,’ said Michael Josephson, president of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Josephson Institute of Ethics in Los Angeles.
“The mayor defended Salinas as a ‘consummate journalistic professional’ and said she’d asked about a year ago ‘to be removed’ from her role in the station’s political coverage.
“Manuel Abud, vice president and general manager of Telemundo Los Angeles (Channel 52), issued a statement Tuesday saying Salinas covered the political beat until about last August and since then has been a general correspondent and backup anchor.
“Working as the news anchor on June 8, Salinas read the story of the mayor’s announcement that he and his wife were separating.”
In the Los Angeles Times, Duke Helfand and Steve Hymon quoted Kelly McBride, ethics group leader at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla.: “There really is no question that this is unacceptable. You can’t sleep with your sources. This one sort of transcends the boundaries in any ethical newsroom.”
“Laura Castañeda, an associate professor of professional practice for the USC Annenberg School of Journalism, criticized Telemundo for allowing Salinas to report on the mayor in any respect, saying it was ‘completely inappropriate’ for the station to let Salinas announce the mayor’s breakup with his wife,” the Times story continued.
“I think Telemundo is going to have to really take a hard look at this,” Castañeda, who has conducted research about Spanish-language media, said in the Times story. ” It doesn’t reflect well. Telemundo has no excuse.”
- Letters to the Editor (Los Angeles Daily News)
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CNN’s Darius Walker Named N.Y. Bureau Chief
Darius Walker, who oversees Washington news coverage for CNN as senior director, news coverage, has been named New York bureau chief.
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Walker, the highest ranking African American on the editorial side at CNN, “has long wanted to return to New York,” Jonathan Klein, president of CNN/US, said in a memo on Tuesday.
“Darius’s success at just about every level in the news business (including local radio and television, ABC News, WNBC, CNNfn and CNN/US) as a reporter, assignment editor, show producer, and senior manager makes him the ideal person to take the helm of the eclectic and wide-ranging New York operation. In restructuring the DC desk, assignment editors, futures, and beats into a much stronger, more responsive, and aggressive newsgathering team, Darius showed himself to be a decisive, passionate and strong leader. He will undoubtedly bring those qualities and more to this major new position.
“I look forward to working closely with Darius as he helps our New York team rise to even higher levels in attacking breaking news and developing unique sources and stories. In addition to the editorial mission in New York, Darius will be working with Ken Jautz,” executive vice president of CNN Worldwide, “on the significant challenge of integrating HD newsgathering and production into our day to day workflow and seizing the opportunities afforded by state-of-the-art production capabilities.”
Walker, 46, came to the Washington Bureau from CNNfn, where he was the only executive of color. He was vice president of CNN business news in New York.
“Edith Chapin is assuming a new role within the DC Bureau as Vice President, Deputy Bureau Chief overseeing newsgathering— including the beats, the America Bureau, and the assignment desk,” Klein’s memo said.
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Jackson Publisher Charles Tisdale on Life Support
Charles Tisdale, the controversial Jackson, Miss., newspaper publisher and talk-radio host, is on life support at a local hospital, according to family friend Stephanie Parker-Weaver, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reported on Tuesday, citing staff and wire reports.
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“Parker-Weaver said Tisdale has been in the G.V. Sonny Montgomery Veterans Administration Medical Center since Saturday. Tisdale, 80, had come to the facility for routine dialysis, and he was found unresponsive in his room, said Parker-Weaver.
“The publisher of The Jackson Advocate and host of ‘Views From the Black Side’ has been fighting a lengthy illness related to his diabetes.
“Tisdale has served as the publisher of the Advocate since the 1970s.”
Tisdale was a recent University of Chicago graduate, working as a reporter for the Tri-State Defender in Memphis, when he arrived in Sumner, Miss., to cover the 1955 trial of those accused of killing Emmett Till.
In 2003, the Mississippi Link newspaper published a letter from L. Socrates Garrett that said, “The weekly radio show called ‘Views from the Black Side’ hosted by Jackson Advocate Publisher Charles Tisdale and his cohort George Foster continue to pound the airways attempting to get the son of a local politician moved away from the county penal detention center to the much harsher environment of the state penitentiary. The only reason they are doing this is because the publisher of The Jackson Advocate is angry at the councilperson who did not vote in his favor on a recent bid for the city legals contract.”
