“When I was fired, I was victim of an injustice perpetrated by a series of inept individuals,” Jorge Mettey tells me. “Those same inept individuals proceeded to discredit and defame me.”
Jorge says there is no evidence that he has ever acted unethically and is out to clear his name. That’s why on Monday he filed suit against Univision. “I’ve embarked on this process with the only objective to clear my name, as it has always been. And for those who have made mistakes, to pay for them.”
Jorge worked for Univision 12 years – at KMEX-34 and KTVW-33 in Phoenix. He was ousted in April of 2007. The L.A. Times reports that at the time, the company had determined he had “breached ethics policies in directing news coverage.” Univision’s general counsel told the Times: “The suit has absolutely no merit.”
This is probably the first time in your blog where content of Spanish language news has been discussed. A healthy item, I think.
While many newscasts, both in Univision and Telemundo strive to truly serve their communities, they also struggle with income-generating ventures created by their Local and National Sales Managers. Several news directors are hired without previous managerial experience, thus they are easy to steer in any direction. Mettey, of course, is no beginner.
You can tune in into Univision or Telemundo local newscasts, coast to coast, O&O or affiliates and you could find clear "sales driven content". The rules are bent often but no one says anything. Why not? I guess because FCC regulators and media outlets, including committees for excellence in journalism, do not often take Spanish language media seriously. Or maybe they do not have enough Spanish speakers that care about these unethical breaches.
Many newscasts boast "sponsored segments" where the client requests that such and such reporter (or on-air personality with a liasion to a newscast) goes to interview them. There have been reporters endorsing products, water parks, movie openings, and even organizations/companies inside newscasts. And in case you doubt this was a sponsored segment: a commercial often follows as the first element in the following break. (always keep the contract).
More examples include: Logos keyed over weather maps or any other backgrounds, including segment openings or bump-ins. Car dealerships sponsoring weather segments inside newscasts. Reporters undergoing lasek sponsored by a client. Traveling to a Latin American/Caribbean Country sponsored by the Tourism Department of said nation. Content driven interviews and video news releases sponsored by clients. I even heard of a "friday party segment" sponsored by a beer sponsor. The list is long and shows a lot of ingenuity. The sponsor is never openly mentioned as a disclaimer.
Most news directors take these impositions, some of them actually create new opportunities. They either dive in or opt out. I guess Mettey opted out! Although it remains to be seen: why did he wait so long? Why did he put up with sponsored news content both in Phoenix and LA?
Sponsored news content was evident before he arrived, it still happened under his tenure, and it continues to occur under the current manager.
Es hora de que nos juzguemos un poco mas.