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6.2.2001 00:05
Channel 10 as newsmaker leaves competitors reeling
• As a special prosecutor is appointed to investigate who leaked videotapes from Operation Plunder Dome to reporter Jim Taricani, competing stations struggle with how to cover the story.
BY ANDY SMITH
Journal Television Writer
Thursday was an awkward night for local TV news.
On Channel 10, Jim Taricani reported on the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate who leaked a videotape from the Operation Plunder Dome investigation -- to Jim Taricani.
Then Audrey Laganas, also of Channel 10, interviewed Taricani about his response.
Channel 10 news director B.J. Finnell said the station heard there was a new development in the Plunder Dome case, sent Taricani to cover it, and was surprised to find out that it concerned themselves.
"Usually, doing stories in the first person is not my thing," Taricani said. "But I didn't see any way around it."
In the future, Finnell said, Taricani -- who is about to take a scheduled vacation -- will not cover stories concerning the leaked videotape. He will, however, continue to cover other aspects of the Plunder Dome investigation.
"I have 100-percent faith in Jim Taricani's ability to cover any story accurately, fairly and completely," Finnell said. "But even the appearance of a conflict of interest can be a problem."
In a phone interview yesterday, Taricani said he would go to jail before revealing his source for the Plunder Dome videotape.
Channel 10's competitors struggled with the story.
Channel 12 managed to get through its report without ever mentioning either Channel 10 or Taricani, referring to "leaks to the media."
"It's pretty well understood at this point that they have the tape, so we don't feel a need to say Channel 10," said Matt Ellis, Channel 12's news director. "We're not fooling anyone, but we don't need to give them any more publicity than they already have."
Channel 6 did not run the story at all, despite the appointment of a special prosecutor by U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres.
News director Kathy Gazda said the station was not going to mention Channel 10 on its airwaves. On the other hand, she was determined not to use a phrase such as "leaks to the media," which she considered inaccurate.
As the special prosecutor's investigation continues, she said, Channel 6 will consider its coverage on a day-to-day basis.
News directors from both other stations in the market said it was wrong for Channel 10 to have Taricani cover the story.
"How thoroughly inappropriate to have the reporter at the center of the story come out and deliver the story himself," Gazda said. "I've never seen more inappropriate TV news."
Ellis said he would have put someone else on the story. He added that he wished the Plunder Dome video had been leaked to his station, not Channel 10.
Channel 10 has aired the tape, which allegedly depicts Plunder Dome defendant Frank E. Corrente, an aide to fellow defendant Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr., accepting a bribe, many times since its initial broadcast Feb. 1.
"The rest of us are stuck covering the story by showing people going in and out of a courthouse," Ellis said. "They have the compelling pictures."
Taricani, 51, is no stranger to the spotlight. A longtime TV reporter, he spent two years as communications director for Governor Almond before returning to TV news.
When Taricani had a heart transplant in 1996, it was covered extensively by local media.
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