"I'll believe it when I see it, Antonio."
"Eet's true, Mirthala. Uno dosado Viagra and zoom.....
a burrito thees beeg. And wait til chu taste da salsa. Aiyiyi."
Posted on 07/06/2007 8:13:12 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES – On June 8, TV stations around the city reported that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was separating from his wife of 20 years.
“The rumors were true,” is how one newscaster, 35-year-old Mirthala Salinas, broke the news to her Spanish-speaking audience on Telemundo's local affiliate, KVEA, Channel 52.
What Salinas didn't tell viewers was that she had been in an extramarital affair with Villaraigosa for many months.
That apparent ethical slip puzzles many observers, who say Telemundo's credibility has been damaged, even more so because the station didn't remove Salinas from the air until this week, after the mayor publicly acknowledged their affair.
“That's completely inexplicable,” said Laura Castaneda, an associate professor at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Journalism. “Not only is it ethically questionable, but it's also tacky. Did she not think this wasn't going to come back and bite her as far as her career goes? She certainly should have known better.”
Villaraigosa defended Salinas, saying their relationship never gave her an advantage covering his administration.
“I can tell you that at the point where Ms. Salinas, a consummate journalistic professional ... decided that our friendship had grown to a point where it was necessary to inform her management that she shouldn't cover me, she did that and they agreed,” he said during a press conference Tuesday.
Telemundo acknowledged moving Salinas off the political beat in August 2006 to cover general assignment stories and serve as a backup anchor – the role she was filling the day of the June 8 newscast.
But the network's response raised even more questions. Instead of confirming that the move was prompted by her revelation of a potential conflict, spokesman Victor Franco said the new assignment was intended as an expansion of Salinas' responsibilities at the station.
After being roundly criticized, the network, which is owned by NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co., placed Salinas on leave and said it would investigate.
“Given the seriousness of the allegations that have been made, we have decided to conduct an internal review of the decisions and events that led us to where we are today,” the station's general manager, Manuel Abud, said in a statement Thursday. “We will conduct this investigation with the utmost respect to personal privacy and journalistic standards.”
It's those standards that have come into question, specifically, how long the station knew that Salinas and Villaraigosa were romantically linked and what steps it took to prevent a conflict of interest.
Telemundo employees operate under the same ethics guidelines as NBC News, according to NBC spokeswoman Allison Gollust.
What those guidelines say about a reporter's personal relationships with sources is unknown, however. Telemundo declined to makes its guidelines available, saying it was against policy to do so.
Telemundo spokesman Alfredo Richard said the guidelines would be considered in the Salinas review.
Salinas has defended her actions and said Thursday she expects to be vindicated.
“I am confident that when all the facts are analyzed it will be clear that I conducted myself in an appropriate way,” Salinas said in a statement.
The investigation must answer the key questions of what Salinas's managers knew about her affair with Villaraigosa and when, ethics experts said.
Already questions have been raised by discrepancies in the timeline. KVEA said it removed Salinas from political reporting 11 months ago. But the Los Angeles Times has traced her romantic relationship with Villaraigosa back at least 18 months.
Then there is the most obvious and troubling question – why did the station allow Salinas to report the news of Villaraigosa's separation?
The key there might be any documentation showing that Salinas asked not to be involved in the June 8 newscast.
Absent such proof, Salinas may have a tough time keeping her job.
“If you have a conflict of interest, you should not be reading the news in which you have that conflict,” said Kelly McBride, ethics group leader at the Poynter Institute, a journalism foundation in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“That one's easy.”
being a democrat means rules don’t apply
“What ethics? We don’t need no stinking ethics! We’re America’s democrats.”
"I'll believe it when I see it, Antonio."
"Eet's true, Mirthala. Uno dosado Viagra and zoom.....
a burrito thees beeg. And wait til chu taste da salsa. Aiyiyi."
I’m sure his numbers will go up in the polls dems approve of this behavior.
"Psst! Antonio. Could you give me Mirthala's phone number?"
"Her cha chas belongs to me, Beeley. But if'n you tell Heelary to put
me on da ticket, I supply you wit hot Latina babes up the kazoo."
I don’t see a thread for this live presser for David Beckham’s announcement into the LA Galaxy. Are you guys watching? Tony Villar interjected himself into the mix and the crowd has been booing him! It’s so funny. BOOOOOOOOOO!! BOO! GET OFF THE STAGE! BOO!
LOL
(aren’t they in Carson? That’s not even part of L.A.) wth! lol
Tony Villar interjected himself into the mix and the crowd has been booing him! It’s so funny. BOOOOOOOOOO!! BOO! GET OFF THE STAGE! BOO!
—
Thanks for the heads-up, have to watch for some video of that.
Too bad his family isn’t there to stand up for him..
Oh wait, that’s right.
bwa ha
The biggest boos come during his introduction by Alexi Lalas.
Yes, I was watching live...I cracked up. So much for the LA Times saying the Mayor thing will all blow over. He needed to be there because the Galaxy are playing a home game at the LA Coliseum in two weeks.
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