Sun editorial:

A TV anchor’s failing

Radetich violated journalism ethics, viewers’ trust with behind-the-scenes actions

Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009 | 2:04 a.m.

KTNV Channel 13 aired a series of undercover reports in March on Tire Works, a local tire dealer accused of defrauding customers.

Before the series aired, anchor Nina Radetich told Tire Works owner Roshie Weightman that her boyfriend could help mitigate the negative reports that were going to come from her station. In a recorded phone call, she pitched the services of boyfriend Jack Finn, a former spokesman for Sen. John Ensign and then-Gov. Kenny Guinn, calling him a “master” of handling negative stories.

Weightman claims that, in another call, Radetich told her Tire Works would have to pay for Finn’s services and suggested she “spin” the story by pointing to the company’s charitable donations, including those to Nina’s Night Out, a benefit created and hosted by Radetich.

When the Tire Works series ran, Radetich introduced some of the segments but never disclosed her relationship with Weightman. Nor did she tell her colleagues. In the recorded call, Radetich told Weightman she had “not told a soul at my station that we’ve talked” and asked her to keep the conversation “between us.”

By asking for secrecy, Radetich showed she knew she was violating ethical standards, which call for journalists to avoid conflicts of interest that would create even the appearance of impropriety.

Jim Prather, KTNV’s vice president and general manager, tried to dismiss his star anchor’s actions as a lapse of judgment. It was nothing of the kind. It was a clear and deliberate violation of standards, and Prather is only compounding the problem by glossing over it.

Radetich’s actions will tarnish not only her reputation but also Channel 13’s credibility, which will make it difficult for viewers to trust the station’s news reports and for sources to trust the station’s reporters.

Radetich and Prather should know better. Among the stated values of KTNV’s parent company, Journal Broadcast Group, is this line: “We will act ethically.”

Discussion: 14 comments so far…

By Birdiedreamin

9/17/09 at 3:11 a.m.

Suggest removal

why does radetich still have a job???
are her actions criminal???
why does prather still have a job???
is he a clown???
who the hell would watch ktnv 13 abc after this crap???
By POWERPLAY

9/17/09 at 4:44 a.m.

Suggest removal

With such low standers as Nina Radetich has she could easily get a media job in the casino industry. LOL
By ucsb1990

9/17/09 at 5:40 a.m.

Suggest removal

In response to Birdie's comment: Keep in mind that it was a major coup for Channel 13 to take Radetich away from Channel 3. Radetich was one of the most prominent local anchors; after all, how many others could have pulled off something like "Nina's Night Out"? When Channel 13 got her and Darcy Spears, that indicated to me that KTNV was serious about becoming a real contender in local news. Admittedly, I've been a little unimpressed by the results; I think Channel 8 is still on top, followed by Channel 3. But Radetich has been a big feather in KTNV's cap, and I understand why they're reluctant to cut her loose.

And really, should she lose her livelihood over this? I'm not sure that a TV anchor's credibility is as vital as that of a print journalist. It could be argued that the most important duties of a TV anchor are to project a pleasant personality and to read the teleprompter without making mistakes. Do some anchors do much more? Sure. But Radetich performs the basic duties very well.

Call me naive, but I think Radetich was probably sincerely trying to help Weightman out. After all, she'd known Weightman for years, and benefited from Tire Works's sponsorship of her charity events. I'm just not convinced by the shake-down allegations. Finn has held some high-profile posts; he probably is good at this kind of thing. And you can't really expect the guy to offer his services for free. To me, the issue is not that Radetich was trying to solicit business from Tire Works for her boyfriend; the issue is why she would want to.

Personally, I found KTNV's segments on Tire Works to be very persuasive. I'm surprised that Radetich wanted to help Tire Works rebuild their image, even if they had contributed to her events and even though extra money in Jack Finn's pocket could, I suppose, benefit Nina. (An extra carat on the next diamond bracelet, maybe? Or an extra night in Cancun?) For that matter, I'm surprised that Finn was willing to represent them, though it might have actually been a step up after working for Gibbons and Ensign.

I doubt I'll watch a newscast hosted by Radetich again. Still, I'm not sure we need to hold our local TV anchors to the same standard as Walter Cronkite.
By fosimmons

9/17/09 at 5:55 a.m.

Suggest removal

Trust is gone. An investigative reporter, anchor, has the most important thing to bring to the editor and the public and that is trust. Nina committed fraud and her boss is supporting the fraud. Probably in the name of ratings that helps keep jobs and raises and bonuses. This is the worst kind of betrayal. This is betrayal of the very pubic this TV stations supposes to protect. They uncovered a crooked automobile shop and then became part of covering up the crookedness or at the very least marginalizing the sins of the mechanics. How in the world can these people continue to be employeed in the news business? That's the question. The public, now being informed by The Las Vegas Sun on this matter, will not have any trust in these two, Nina and her editor, anymore. The Sun won't back off, in my opinion. Everytime they (the TV station) present something the competing media will offer up a dandy plate of appetizers questioning their credibility. Nina must be willing to do anything for Jack Finn or either there's a nice financial reward awaiting her in all this fraud. Do you want to leave your car there for a repair? I don't think so. They seem to defraud customers and now the TV station is defrauding customers by supporting Nina's attempts to get her lover boy a money paying job to help them smooth things over as a spokesman of public relations and that he's very good at it since he did the same for the cheating man Ensign. Ensign is good at covering up, paying hush money, cheating and lying and Ninia boasted about that. Except he got outed by a victimized husband whose wife was the fodder of Ensign's sexual objectivities. That victimized husband's life is probably in shambles as Ensign's life goes on as a big man in DC, a US Senator with status and power and respect and a record of voting for a terribly stupid war. What does that say? Are they busy praying at this time? Perhaps they should be. There are people so hungry for celebrity status, money and power and being big shots that they will do a lot of things including jeopardizing their futures for it by going to prison. It's amazing, really, what the most seemingly ethical people will end up doing in the name of cash and celebrity. When is 150K a year not enough? Pity the poor working souls who pull their cars into this place for a new water pump or compressor, leave it there for the day only to return to learn they needed six additional things. Out comes the credit card and the car is probably not even paid for yet. The poor soul beats herself/himself off to work for her/his average pay check, scurries off at 5PM to grab up the kids from daycare, stop off at Smith's to grab something for dinner and then home. This entire thing is a sham and the corporate heads probably will do the right thing and step in and evaluate this properly and take action that will keep the station in good standing with the public they serve so that the competition and The Sun don't bury it story by story.
By POWERPLAY

9/17/09 at 6:02 a.m.

Suggest removal

ucsb1990 said: I doubt I'll watch a newscast hosted by Radetich again. Still , I'm not sure we need to hold our local TV anchors to the same standard as Walter Cronkite. >>>>> Are you kidding me local tv anchors are the bullpen for the big jobs at the networks. Thats like saying that we do not hold (LVPD' Metro Police) at the same high standard as the FBI! What kind of comment was that.
By stevem

9/17/09 at 7:10 a.m.

Suggest removal

hey, nina...with your low moral standards you do AWESOME selling advertising for the review-journal.
By VegasVegas

9/17/09 at 9:59 a.m.

Suggest removal

If she's considered one of the "best" this town has to offer, we really need to start pulling more talent into this town. She's drab and boring, talks out of the side of her mouth, and really seems to have no personality on the air.

Even when she was teamed up with that guy at her old station (Jim, the guy who nods nonstop when he's talking to the camera) she was equally uninteresting. Why this town continues to tolerate mediocre news anchors is a mystery. Granted, we don't have a ton of exciting news to report, but we usually love to jump on a "Vegas connection" to a story just so we have something to talk about here.

And then there's Fox, which is basically 30 minutes of idiots repeating "Local. Las Vegas." over, and over, and over again. That's their catchphrase. "Local. Las Vegas." What third grader won the contest with that submission?

Fire her and about 20 others and let's make the local news worth watching again.

Boring local news + Boring local anchors = Change station to CNN
By hooloogoo

9/17/09 at 11:23 a.m.

Suggest removal

.
..
...Seems Philadelphia TV axed two journalists a few years ago for off camera shenanigans in the third largest media market, something called ethics East of the Mississippi, off with her head.
..
.
By mred

9/17/09 at 12:41 p.m.

Suggest removal

Radishtop and her sneer-smile should go. I stopped listening to ch 13 when they did skype interviews with a local hate-talk radio station and their on the air no nothings including a guy that (used to) sprays bugs for a day job.

That God the award winning Sun newspaper stands guard over our town, an ever vigilant beacon of light shinning on the dark and dirty recesses of our society, to purge the filth and evil of the dittohead inspired serpents that infest all that it right in the world.
By foreveryoung

9/17/09 at 2:21 p.m.

Suggest removal

Jim Prather has Eyes Wide Shut at Ch 13.

Nice job firing Ron Futrell (after 25 years) over nothing and then keeping Nina when she violates major journalistic ethics. Next up we will see Prather on NBC's "Biggest Loser" (not for his weight problem).
By dt0702

9/17/09 at 11:30 p.m.

Suggest removal

This is embarrassing even for the citizens of Las Vegas. I am trying to organize a boycott of Channel 13, so far there has been no volunteers, this is sad because the only way to prevent this from happening again is to TAKE ACTION.
By ucsb1990

9/18/09 at 5:01 a.m.

Suggest removal

You're right, foreveryoung, it was pretty rotten to ditch Ron Futrell that way after 25 years.

Many of the comments about this episode essentially boil down to, "How can KTNV retain any credibility if they keep Radetich on the payroll?" I think that's a little overblown. Nina Radetich is just one person, and I suspect her colleagues will be keeping an eye on her from now on. (For that matter, I've read some pretty wild editorials in the Review-Journal, but that doesn't invalidate the entire newspaper.)

I don't share the intense anger that some people have over this incident. To me, the whole thing is just a shame. I'm reminded of the line from "A Bronx Tale": "The saddest thing in this world is wasted talent." I used to think it was just a matter of time before Nina Radetich got snatched up by one of the big three national networks. Not anymore.
By spock

9/18/09 at 11:04 a.m.

Suggest removal

What ever happen to the weather dude with the orange pointer? Much more respect!
By united777

9/20/09 at 9:32 a.m.

Suggest removal

This is just further proof that the journalistic ehtics in Nevada date back to the early 1960's, before anyone came up with guidelines or regulations. But in Nevada as a whole, ethics and integrity are a joke anyway. This entire state is a good old boy network, and it effects every aspect of business and journalism. Ever wonder why the big guns of the news industry, Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace, and Bob Scheiffer, have never ever set foot out here? Because it is mostly a sewer of lies and deception and scandal that none were ever interested in getting involved with. Old Nina will get a hand slap, be told 'No no no', and within weeks this will be forgotten. Thank god for satellite, where I can get the real news out of New York or Chicago, and not Nevada's poof news. Lots of us care not how the casinos are fairing, nor about local murders or crime sprees, we actually want to know what is going on in the nation as a whole and the world as well..............