Did CBS ever make the mistake of letting a competitor grab Walter Cronkite? No. You just do not let talent like that fall into someone else's hands.And yet, the local Fox affiliate in Los Angeles is making a comparable mistake right now.
Channel 11 should have made award-winning journalist John Schwada an offer he could not refuse. That way, he would keep delivering world-class coverage of America's second-biggest city to the station's viewers.
Instead, Fox failed to renew Schwada's contract. Huge mistake.The man has won two Emmy Awards, for goodness' sake. And he deserved them.
Schwada, as you will recall, is the man who broke the Ticketgate story that resulted in the imposition of fines against L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for violating state and local ethics laws.
Indeed, Schwada is the only TV reporter -- or at least one of very few -- who does serious investigative reporting on City Hall. Examples? How about the double standard for security fences around your house and mine, versus the Mayor's house? How about tax dollars being squandered on European vacations for artists? Schwada doesn't just deliver interesting stories, he protects the public interest. Remember his coverage on lawbreakers getting pensions in prsion? The list of important stories Schwada has uncovered goes on and on.
Fox 11's loss could be someone else's gain. How about, it, Fox national? Hey, CBS Channel 2, why not try to make a deal with Schwada while you can? Channel 7? This is an opportunity.
I, for one, will continue to look for John Schwada's stories wherever he winds up. I suspect the 72,000 people who voted for me will feel the same way. Those of us who pay attention to local politics know which reporters actually report, and which "reporters" instead merely read press releases.
John Schwada is a real reporter. This City needs him on the air, without interruption.
I will be watching. I know thousands and likely tens of thousands will be watching. We will be trying to figure out what ridiculous scheme started this whole thing too.....hmmmm I have some theories....nothing definitive. I hope John winds up doing more and more of his kind of work.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mr Schwada, for your commitment to our community with your investigative reporting.
ReplyDeleteAnd to you, Mr Chris Tune, you're a real trooper. Glad to meet your acquaintance!
If only the station would really turn John loose to fully cover the subject of corruption in City government. Where but perhaps on the City's diminishing cable system can we even find the meeting agenda for the City Council and then there is no converage that evening of all of the money that your City Council members gave away to the connected - the starving artists, the "cultural" performers, the low-rider shows, the interest-free loans, the lack of cost-benefit analyses, the legally required but multi-year overdue plans, the staff raises, the over-staffed Mayor's Office, the follow-up on income forecasts which failed, actual questions asked for AEG's next money grab, and on and on. Come on John, there are so many targets for investigation that you could do 5 a day for a month and barely make a dent.
ReplyDeleteThe entire City is sitting in front of the TV every night and being exposed to the same drivel, regardless of the station - think about it - the access to news throughout the City is controlled by a handfull of "producers" who determine in their own squeaky little minds just what you and I want to know, not need to know - example "Carmeggedon" while Obama is blackmailling Congress with threats of stopping Social Security (hey, you wanted change - you got it), the EU is sinking in debt, Canada just pulled its troops out of Afghanistan, Obama continues to hide from his promises of transparency, Bernake says that depression is not that far away, Libya continues to erupt in internal war that is drawing international attention (except here in LA), etc...... but Carmeggedon is all we hear about. Hitler and Mussolini and Stalin and Pol Pot and Gaddafi and Kim Jong-Il and all of those got their start by controlling access to the news. Are we here in LA getting the same treatment?
John Schwada is one of the "good guys."
ReplyDeleteHe is also a very professional journalist and is not partisan. I too look forward to hearing from him and hopefully he will be in a position to continue investigating Los Angeles City Hall.
But if he can't do that, I wish him the best in his career - He earned it.
Fox 11 decided they needed to start hiring mindless BIMBOs like Channel 5's new Dept. John got the axe because he violated his contract with Fox, he told the truth about the City Hall Machine and Fox 11's management is sending a strong message to everyone: "Don't do anything to rock AEG's or Villar's Boat, or else..."
ReplyDeleteJohn will leave L.A. as a result, and add 10-20 years on his life in the process. A clear win-win for one great reporter. Now, back to your regular scheduled newscast of mindless bimbos and dumbassess helping cure Villar's image.
We should start our own news broadcast and show about Los Angeles on a cable channel with John Schwada as the main man. I'm serious!
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