The Mayor and Ms. Parker
Our randy L.A. Mayor, it seems, has a thing about foxy anchorwomen. His affair with Telemundo anchor Mirthala Salinas two years ago wrecked her career, ripped up his marriage and blew a hole in his political popularity. And now Hizzoner is back at again, going out rather publicly with a local weekend anchor-lady for the city’s oldest TV station. 
The fetching Lu Parker holds down the evening newscast on KTLA, the station owned by the Tribune Company (aka The Los Angeles Times). As if the Times didn’t have enough trouble on its hands.
And as if the Mayor — who is openly contemplating a run for the State House next year– didn’t get his tootsies burned enough the last time he started fooling around with a TV Twinkie.
Anyway, mostly because I’m teaching a summer fellowship, I’m one of the few journalism profs who’s dumb enough to be in town and have, therefore, gotten about a half-dozen media calls in the last two days. Each time I’m asked to provide the soundbite answer to “is this ethical?” behavior on the part of the Tribune Company (which says it knew about the affair and isn’t worried about it because they’ve asked Ms. Parker to recuse herself from reporting on her new beau).
Not that this is much of a demand, as it seems Ms. Parker — a former Miss South Carolina, a former Miss USA, a former model, actress, “avid golfer” and amateur skeet-shooter has petty much spent all of her adult life recusing herself from reporting seriously on anything. I base this harsh judgment on her official station bio and not from any personal knowledge.
Let’s get real folks. She’s a great-looking, emmy-winning READER of news and I congratulate my friend the Mayor for his fine taste in fine-looking women. But what’s the big ethical issue here? I, for one, am absolutely confident that Ms. Parker has never done any real reporting on the Mayor and never will. She very well migh read or introduce the stories that others do on him, but that’s about it.
More to the point, troubled local news organizations — like the one she works for– ought to be asking themselves why, in a time of disappearing resources, they continue to blow big bucks on beauty queen anchors rather than spending what dough they have left on mote gnarly-looking real-life reporters?
Bottom line: I couldn’t care less if Parker continues to carry on with the Mayor while continuing to read stories about him. It’s not a newscast I have watched in about 20 years and doubt I will ever again during whatever life span it still has left.
Buen ojo, Antonio!
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:30 pm
oh Marc he is a disgrace and you know it. He is behaving like a high powered mogul at CAA who trades up after a few years.
He is also an awful mayor.
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Is Marc angling for a job with E!?
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:59 pm
My daughter works for E. Dont want to take her job
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:05 am
Marc: why…they continue to blow big bucks on beauty queen anchors rather than…mote gnarly-looking real-life reporters?
Based upon ratings, most people would rather watch a FOX News babe than what CNN offers. If you’re going to get the news from someone, she might as well have eye appeal, and pretty people can report the news well, too.
However, the weather girls generally look the best.
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:42 am
He ain’t running for governor.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:20 pm
The Lovely but Vacuous Lu cut her news-reading teeth in San Antonio at the Fox affiliate – and demonstrated such a complete lack of talent that she was hired away by the city’s top-rating station to host their revamped morning show – which promptly sank in the ratings.
Rumors abounded about her dating habits even then, tho I saw no proof.
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Woody, I don’t need a poll to tell me I sometimes watch the Fox News babes specifically to laugh at their vacuousness.
June 4th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Jim, I got in a political discussion with my little sister this past weekend. She criticized me for watching FOX News and recommended that I switch to reasonable commentators like Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann (really).
June 4th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Nice to know that not everyone in Woody’s family is an idiot.
June 4th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Hey, Woody did you know that Obama called the U.S. a Muslim nation? Of course you do, because one of your primary sources of reliable information, Sean Hannity, said so!
http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2009/06/sean-hannity-claims-that-obama-calls-us-a-muslim-nation/
Fox News, fair and balanced AND accurate! Don’t listen to your little sister, the commies have brainwashed her!
June 5th, 2009 at 7:04 am
Jim, here’s your poll: GALLUP: Cheney more popular than Pelosi! - “According to a May 29-31 Gallup Poll, 37% of Americans have a favorable view of Cheney and 34% have a favorable view of Pelosi.”
June 5th, 2009 at 7:34 am
passing through, as recommended to me, I checked out the reasonable commentators Olberman and Maddow and this is what I found: Video
June 5th, 2009 at 8:02 am
That’s just a lame rip-off of Ben Affleck’s great Keith O parody:
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/countdown-with-keith-olbermann/805561/
June 5th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
The funniest Olbermann is the real one.
Did you see about the Washington D.C. couple who were caught spying for Cuba? He donated to Obama’s campaign and she was a congressional aide. Since the liberal media doesn’t mention the name of the person she worked for, it’s obvious that it’s a Democrat. They were just expressing patriotism in their own way.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
“this is what I found”
Moron. Like I said, it’s nice to know that not everyone in your family is an idiot.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Ben Affleck’s great Keith O parody
Affleck has very little talent and that’s just more of the same.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Gone Baby Gone wasn’t the greatest film ever made, but I don’t think anyone could write, direct and produce that film if they had “very little talent.”
Just saying…
June 5th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Another poll I don’t need, Woody…I despise them both
.
June 5th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I’m breathlessly awaiting further information from Woody on the “congressional aide” arrested for spying and the “Democrat” she “obviously” worked for…
And I’m betting I’ll still be waiting next week. And next year…
June 5th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Enjoy this lovely analysis, reg: Liberals Supply the Spies.
From someone who knew Kendall Myers:
More on Kendall Myers:
He sounds like you, reg.
Also:
Now, I read this from The Hill Briefing Room: “It is not clear whether Gwendolyn Myers had once served as a congressional aide, as had previously been reported.”
They’re waiting for Sandy Berger to come in to review and cleanse the files.
Obama will probably apologize to Cuba and the world for the spying, saying the U.S. is to blame and deserved it. Now, however, we’re a “large Muslim nation,” so expect no more problems.
Castro, the next time that you want secrets from us, don’t steal them. Just ask Obama. He’ll hand over whatever you want.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Woody ten days ago:
Your lack of self-awareness is a thing of wonder.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
“He sounds like you, reg.”
Go to hell, you little racist weasel.
June 7th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Randy defends traitors against the U.S. I say that we give spies a fair trial and then hang them.
June 7th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Didn’t defend anyone; just showed another instance of your hypocrisy, something that I could do in my sleep.
June 7th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Wash, rinse, repeat…
# Randy Paul Says:
June 5th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
…
Your lack of self-awareness is a thing of wonder.
June 7th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
oops – that was supposed to be in direct response to Woody’s latest repetition of his uncomprehending cluelessness…
June 7th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Randy, I was well aware of the two seemingly opposing comments of mine before you brought it up, but I didn’t consider the matter worthy of explanation or distinction, as you and reg appear to believe.
But, there are differences.
Marc’s accusation goes back to a death in 1973 — 36 years ago! — and, a death for which someone else was convicted. There can be a lot of doubt after all those years and with the existing conviction that all or any of the people mentioned in the article were guilty.
On the other hand, the traitors that I mentioned have been caught red-handed (as all spies for communists are red-handed) and are guilty of treason — allegedly in your mind or not. Spies and traitors are often shot on the spot. And, spies and traitors often cause more deaths than the one that Marc brought up. They expose CIA plans and operatives behind the lines and end up with a lot of murders on their hands as a result.
But, with you guys, traitors like the Rosenbergs and now the Myers are heros to defend, as they are “patriotic” according to your twisted perspectives.
You guys are really desperate to catch me on something, no matter how meaningless or off the point. Pathetic.
I suppose that you think that John Wilkes Booth didn’t get justice.
June 7th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Spies and traitors are often shot on the spot.
As distasteful as the Castro regime, we are not at war with Cuba.
But, with you guys, traitors like the Rosenbergs and now the Myers are heros to defend, as they are “patriotic” according to your twisted perspectives.
And you know this how? Do you believe you’re omniscient?
Pride is a cardinal sin. Repent or choose an eternity in hell.
Warm regards.
June 7th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Oh, I see, Randy. Castro got the top secreit information and didn’t share it with the Chinese or Russians. Thanks for putting us at ease.
Perhaps, though, as a result of this spying, any efforts over the past thirty years to bring freedom to Cubans have been thwarted.
June 7th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
We haven’t been at war with the Chinese or Russia, either, at least not a declared war.
Plenty of spies have had trials and have been convicted.
In any event, no one I know has declared any of these spies (in the Rosenbergs’case) or alleged spies (in the Myers’s case) to be “heroes .”
Of course erecting strawmen is your metier, Woodrow. You argue like a little boy, not an adult.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:30 am
Woody knows exactly what the story is on these traitors – since only a couple of days ago he was informing us that one of them was a Congressional aide who worked for a Democrat.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:35 am
Troll Boy is just desperate for some attention…obviously even his family thinks he’s nuts.
June 8th, 2009 at 7:28 am
marc. come back. All is forgiven!
June 8th, 2009 at 9:24 am
I’m just reporting the news that the left-wing media won’t report, reg, especially since they consider Obama to be god and refuse to condemn Democrats.
Newsweek editor Evan Thomas – “I mean in a way Obamas standing above the country, above above the world, hes sort of God.” 6/5/09
June 10th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Woody continues to defend Chilean murders and thugs … what a surprise.
June 11th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Name one convicted Chilean murderer and thug that I’ve defended.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:25 am
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