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  • I'm a writer, journalist, and the editor of The Gambit, the alt-weekly newspaper in New Orleans.

    Journalism: My work has appeared in The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Globe & Mail (Canada), The Times- Picayune (New Orleans), The Oregonian, and Willamette Week, as well as in magazines including Details, Vogue, Publishers Weekly, and Portland Monthly.

    Publishing: Tight Shot, my first novel, was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Its sequel, Hot Shot, was roundly ignored by everyone, but was a far better book. I'm also a member of the National Book Critics Circle.

    Stage: I was a member of the Groundlings and Circle Repertory West in Los Angeles, and am a playwright (see "Stage" in the right-hand rail).

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« The Portland Tribune and KPTV: why no conflict-of-interest disclosure? | Main | I'm in the Gambit this week »

May 05, 2008

Saints owner Tom Benson buys WVUE Fox 8. Hel-lo, sports department!

Dave Walker of The Times-Picayune broke the news this morning that Tom Benson, the very interesting owner of the New Orleans Saints, is buying WVUE-TV, the New Orleans Fox affiliate. (See a photo here.) One commenter/wag on the newspaper website wanted to know:

Will he move the TV Station to San Antonio if the state won't build him a new retractable roof studio?

Beyond the jokes, this means that Fox 8 will be the only locally-owned station in New Orleans, which is, on the face of it, a good thing. But the potential for conflict of interest (and Benson's often-mercurial relationship with the press) made me wonder what, if any, guarantees were being offered to the station's journalists when it came to covering the Black and Gold.

I emailed WVUE sports director Eric Richey and asked him:

- Have you been given any guarantee of editorial independence when it comes to covering the Saints and the Hornets?

- Do you foresee any conflicts of interest?

Eric wrote back:

Thanks for your interest, you're right, quite an interesting day for all of us here at Fox 8. Our News Director Mimi Strawn has told us to direct all questions concerning the sale to our GM Vanessa Oubre.  We should all know more in the coming months. If you watch our website now, the latest news has a one-on-one interview with anchor John Snell and Tom Benson that might help.

I watched the interview, and Benson assured Snell he expected the WVUE news team to do their jobs without consideration for the team...but it's a fascinating potential conflict of interest, and I'd be curious to see what the sports department's take on things would be should the team go -- oh, say -- 2-6 late in the fall. (Not that that would ever happen.)

09:20 PM in Ethics, Journalism, New Orleans, TV news |

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  • Booklist:
    "A worthy successor to Tight Shot, Allman's insider view of the seamier side of Hollywood is not only hip and entertaining but also has something serious to say about our insatiable hunger for tabloid thrills."

    Washington Post:
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    ----------


  • EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE
    BEST FIRST NOVEL
    MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA

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    New Orleans Times-Picayune:
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    Publishers Weekly:
    "Snappy debut... Readers will look for a sequel."

STAGE

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  • BABYDADDY
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  • TWO IN THE BUSH
    An evening of comedies. In The Stud Mule, the world's richest woman arranges to be impregnated by a doltish escort; in Snatching Victory, an earnest college student runs afoul of her lecherous professor and the dour head of a women's-studies department (Le Chat Noir, New Orleans; 2003).

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  • Tom Piazza: <i>Why New Orleans Matters</i>

    Tom Piazza: Why New Orleans Matters
    The best post-Katrina book I've read. In 150 small pages, Piazza explicates the New Orleans experience simply and beautifully. I'll be passing this one on to anyone who wonders "But why would anyone want to live there?".

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