Democrat Senate leader Marc Basnight has been identified as a source of some of the rumors which attempted to paint an unfair and inaccurate portrait of Alcoa (NYSE:AA), pressing UNC-TV to go forward with reports which weren't under usual editorial control.
The issue surrounds Alcoa attempting to renew a federal license to run the Yadkin River hydroelectric dams. Some politicians wanted to turn operations over to the state, and continue to fight that battle.
According to UNC-TV General Manager Tom Howe, Basnight had communicated to him that a supervisor of correspondent Eszter Vajda, who is no longer employed at UNC-TV, had been "challenging her work and is not letting her tell her story as she found it."
Basnight attempted to make it look like the report was trying to be suppressed, while all along it was simply a matter of editorial oversight.
Pressure from Basnight resulted in the station managers caving in and airing the report with very little editorial review.
While Basnight is trying to deny pushing the issue, notes of Howe from the incident said Basnight told him this, "I want you to make sure this story is told in an honest, unjaded, truthful appraisal of the situation without influence from anyone associated with Alcoa."
Incredibly, Basnight admits he "did not know that to be occurring," referring to any type of interference of influence by Alcoa on the matter.
Even so, it seems that didn't deter Basnight from spreading rumors based on other rumors, and creating a fiasco.
Concerning the actual segment aired about Alcoa. three members of the faculty at the journalism school at UNC-Chapel Hill concluded this: "It is our view that UNC-TV management should have not wavered in light of such criticism; should have maintained editorial control and reported the story."
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