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Sunday, March 9, 2008

770-AM Radio Anchor Quits Over Pulled Story

By Rick Nathanson
Journal Staff Writer
    Laura MacCallum, afternoon drive-time news anchor for KKOB (770-AM) radio, abruptly quit last week after station management pulled a story she produced concerning the Republican Party delegate nominating convention in Bernalillo County.
    The story was broadcast three times last Wednesday, prompting complaints from the state Republican Party and one of its campaigns.
    MacCallum said Wednesday that she quit because she had "ethical issues" with station management. "I just couldn't work there if stories I was investigating were going to be canned because the subjects of those stories complained to management."
    KKOB-AM news director Pat Allen confirmed Wednesday that he received the phone calls and said the story was broadcast before he had heard it. Upon reviewing the piece, he decided to yank it from the newscast, he said.
    The story "was not balanced and the information in it was not corroborated to my satisfaction," he said.
    Allen also confirmed that MacCallum, who had been at the station for about 2 1/2 years, quit and was not fired.
    MacCallum continues to work as the New Mexico TV field producer for ABC's "Good Morning America."