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WJLA-7 investigative reporter Andrea McCarren puts her hands up after police surrounded her car while she was working on a story. (Courtesy WJLA via U.S. Newswire)

While tailing a Maryland official who a tipster accused of misusing a county car, WJLA-7 reporter Andrea McCarren suddenly found her own vehicle surrounded by police who ordered her out of her car at gunpoint and hurt her shoulder, the station alleged yesterday. Ch. 7 said it has filed a complaint with Prince George's County Police for excessive use of force after McCarren was stopped April 25 while working on a story for the station's "I-Team." McCarren was apparently trying to catch the official being driven to work by a cop, and was with her cameraman in an SUV when Ch. 7 says nine cop cars pulled up and about a dozen officers got out with their weapons drawn. The station also claims McCarren's right shoulder was pulled out of its socket by an officer who twisted McCarren's arm behind her back. According to Ch. 7, the police also refused open records requests for information about the incident after it happened. The Washington Post reports the police chief is siding with the officers but vows an investigation. Photographer Pete Hakel caught some of the incident on video which was aired last night on Ch. 7's newscast. "He's got a gun pulled on me," McCarren, previously with ABC NewsOne and WUSA-9, says on the tape, according to the post.

Former WBTW-13 reporter Shea Ann DeJarnette has been freed until her wiretapping trial. (Courtesy WBTW)

Former WBTW-13 reporter Shea Ann DeJarnette has been arrested by federal agents and charged with wiretapping a phone at a station news bureau in Lumberton, N.C. And now, The Robesonian reports she may have been listening in on phone calls made by fellow bureau reporter Tasha Oxendine. DeJarnette, who left the station in 2002, could face significant prison time and fines for allegedly using the wiretap that authorities say may have been in place for over a year. WRAL-5 reported that DeJarnet According to The Robesonian newspaper in Lumberton, Shea Ann DeJarnette was allegedly wiretapping co-worker Tasha Oxendine. (Courtesy WBTW)

According to The Robesonian newspaper in Lumberton, Shea Ann DeJarnette was allegedly wiretapping co-worker Tasha Oxendine. (Courtesy WBTW)

te was fired when a manager discovered the bug. The maximum penalties are reportedly 25 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. Under North Carolina statutes, a crime is committed when a device is used to overhear or record conversations without consent from at least one of the parties who is speaking. Before joining Ch. 13 in the mid-1990's, DeJarnette was a graduate journalism student at the University of Missouri and a reporter for KSPR-33 in Springfield, Mo. She has been working as a coordinator for a "4-H" youth program in Lumberton since leaving the CBS affiliate. Oxendine remains at the Florence/Myrtle Beach station as the sole reporter in Lumberton.

Michele Ruiz is parting ways with KNBC-4. (Courtesy KNBC)

here is a mysterious development out of California anchordom today, where Michele Ruiz's departure from KNBC-4 is capping a particularly busy week of high-profile talent moves. Broadcasting & Cable magazine reports Ruiz, who has been out for surgery, will not return to the station, where she is the 6 p.m. co-anchor. "As I look ahead, I need to make a change to accomplish my goals," said Ruiz in a statement to B&C. She had been at Ch. 4 for seven years after time on KTLA-5's morning news. Meanwhile, Fox News Channel Rita Cosby reportedly could not agree on a new contract with Fox News. (Courtesy Fox News Channel)

Rita Cosby reportedly could not agree on a new contract with Fox News. (Courtesy Fox News Channel)

anchor/reporter Rita Cosby is leaving the 24-hour cable news station after contract talks broke down, according to Variety. Cosby is also out immediately, leaving the network to shuffle its weekend schedule, where she fronted two hours of programming. Earlier in the week, NBC shuffled its White House reporters, moving correspondent Kelly O'Donnell to the White House beat with David Gregory and bumping Norah O'Donnell to MSNBC and "Today" duties. ABC promoted news reader Robin Roberts to co-host on "Good Morning America." And in Philadelphia, KYW-3 weekend anchor Tom Negovan announced he is leaving for a job in Chicago. His move to WGN-9's noon newscast will put him closer to his young daughter in Canada, from whence Ch. 3 hired him as a promising recruit for its morning news.

This was the scene on KABC-7 as a man ran from his car after a chase before being fatally wounded by police gunfire on live TV. (Courtesy KABC-TV)

Car chases are regular fodder for TV newscasts in Los Angeles, where acres of asphalt combine with buzzing news helicopters to create live drama on the afternoon news. But, there is always the fear that someone could be killed in front of those live cameras, fears that this week came true — again. On Wednesday, for at least the third time in the past decade, according to the Los Angeles Times, stations provided live pictures of a shooting death. KCBS-2 and KABC-7 were taking live chopper footage when Long Beach police shot a man after a car chase that began when officers spotted him in a stolen car. At the time he was shot, the man was running from his car, apparently reaching for a second gun in his shorts after dropping another one. KNBC-4, which has been opting out of chases to its own ratings detriment, did not carry the chase. The other stations zoomed out quickly when the shots rang out. "Live breaking news is always unpredictable," Ch. 7 spokesman William Burton told the Times, saying the station "responded appropriately" to the situation.

Staffers at more than a dozen local news operations are anticipating the possibility of new ownership after a sizable station owner said it may get out of the TV business. Emmis Communications announced this week it is considering selling some or all of its 16 TV stations to focus on its radio business. "In order to reach their full potential, our television stations need to be al Emmis Communications is looking for buyers for its television stations. (Courtesy Emmis)

Emmis Communications is looking for buyers for its television stations. (Courtesy Emmis)

igned with a company that is larger and more singularly focused on the challenges of American television," CEO Jeffrey Smulyan said in a statement, according to the Indianapolis Star. The company stock jumped on the news of the possible TV sale and a stock buyback, but Emmis's debt ratings may be cut because of the loss in TV revenue. The Emmis portfolio includes WVUE-8 (Fox) in New Orleans, WSAZ-3 (NBC) in Huntington, W.Va., and WALA-10 (Fox) in Mobile, Ala., and the company is also a partner in the syndicated morning program "Daily Buzz," which origniates from its WKCF-18 (WB) in Orlando. At a website called "Emmis Sucks," a sounding board for former Ch. 8 employees after Emmis took over and made cuts at the station, the news of the possible sale was greeted with praise. "This could spell the end of our site," the page says, "our job will be done."

"There was a gasp, there was a shudder, but that was it," said WVIT-30 anchor Gerry Brooks of the high-profile execution of Michael Ross in Connecticut this morning. WTIC-61 reporter Shelly Sindland was another media witness.

Memphis TV columnist Tom Walter is retiring from the Commercial Appeal after two decades. In his farewell column, Walter, 55, wrote he is being treated for lung cancer and wants time to work on a book and read instead of watching TV.

Ex-sportscaster Robert Goldman has been convicted of soliciting someone who claimed to be an underage girl online. Goldman, who worked for CLTV in Chicago, was actually talking to a state investigator and could go to priso KTKA-49 is being sold for over $6 million. (Courtesy KTKA)

KTKA-49 is being sold for over $6 million. (Courtesy KTKA)

n for five years.

A Kansas station that dropped its newscasts three years ago is set to be acquired by a newspaper subsidiary. KTKA-49, the ABC affiliate in Topeka, still airs the weather and is going to staffers of the Lawrence Journal-World for $6.2 million.

Virginia powerhouse WDBJ-7 is seeing its ratings slowly erode. Where it once outdrew WSLS-10 and WSET-13 combined, the Roanoke Times reports new household numbers as follows: 92,000 (Ch. 7); 67,000 (Ch. 10); 60,000 (Ch. 13).

WCBS-2 anchor Roz Abrams has changed her hairdo, and the Daily News is all over it. In an ever-chattier "Tube Talk" column, Richard Huff reports she went from a short 'do to some longer coifs this week. (Heads up, Pulitzer board.)

.: Home .: Extra .: Sound .: Markets	Welcome to East Coast TV News MAY 13, 2005 (<\|>) — The latest news is here. Navbar links being updated through the day. — Top News: Investigative reporter alleges intimidation, Michele Ruiz out
.: Sitemap .: Links .: Archive	— Today's ECTVN Quotable: "It...is a threat not just to our station but to all in our profession." -- WJLA-7 news director Bill Lord goes public alleging police wrongly intimidated Andrea McCarren
.: E-Mail	— Slugs: BRUTALITY COMPLAINT - WIRETAPPING - RUIZ/MOVES - LIVE SHOOTING - EMMIS SELLING? - BRIEFS
Mover Lisa Cabrera Fm: WFOR-4 Miami REPORTER To: WNYW-5 New York REPORTER Tipline Have a story idea for ECTVN? Drop us the dirt in an e-mail. Today's Link Pam McKelvy On maternity leave, WREG-3 Memphis anchor blogs about pregnancy.	"He's got a gun pulled on me" Detained on assignment, WJLA reporter says cops went too far While tailing a Maryland official who a tipster accused of misusing a county car, WJLA-7 reporter Andrea McCarren suddenly found her own vehicle surrounded by police who ordered her out of her car at gunpoint and hurt her shoulder, the station alleged yesterday. Ch. 7 said it has filed a complaint with Prince George's County Police for excessive use of force after McCarren was stopped April 25 while working on a story for the station's "I-Team." McCarren was apparently trying to catch the official being driven to work by a cop, and was with her cameraman in an SUV when Ch. 7 says nine cop cars pulled up and about a dozen officers got out with their weapons drawn. The station also claims McCarren's right shoulder was pulled out of its socket by an officer who twisted McCarren's arm behind her back. According to Ch. 7, the police also refused open records requests for information about the incident after it happened. The Washington Post reports the police chief is siding with the officers but vows an investigation. Photographer Pete Hakel caught some of the incident on video which was aired last night on Ch. 7's newscast. "He's got a gun pulled on me," McCarren, previously with ABC NewsOne and WUSA-9, says on the tape, according to the post. BACK TO TOP Ex-WBTW reporter accused in colleague wiretap Former WBTW-13 reporter Shea Ann DeJarnette has been arrested by federal agents and charged with wiretapping a phone at a station news bureau in Lumberton, N.C. And now, The Robesonian reports she may have been listening in on phone calls made by fellow bureau reporter Tasha Oxendine. DeJarnette, who left the station in 2002, could face significant prison time and fines for allegedly using the wiretap that authorities say may have been in place for over a year. WRAL-5 reported that DeJarnette was fired when a manager discovered the bug. The maximum penalties are reportedly 25 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. Under North Carolina statutes, a crime is committed when a device is used to overhear or record conversations without consent from at least one of the parties who is speaking. Before joining Ch. 13 in the mid-1990's, DeJarnette was a graduate journalism student at the University of Missouri and a reporter for KSPR-33 in Springfield, Mo. She has been working as a coordinator for a "4-H" youth program in Lumberton since leaving the CBS affiliate. Oxendine remains at the Florence/Myrtle Beach station as the sole reporter in Lumberton. BACK TO TOP Ruiz leaving KNBC; Cosby bolts Fox News There is a mysterious development out of California anchordom today, where Michele Ruiz's departure from KNBC-4 is capping a particularly busy week of high-profile talent moves. Broadcasting & Cable magazine reports Ruiz, who has been out for surgery, will not return to the station, where she is the 6 p.m. co-anchor. "As I look ahead, I need to make a change to accomplish my goals," said Ruiz in a statement to B&C. She had been at Ch. 4 for seven years after time on KTLA-5's morning news. Meanwhile, Fox News Channel anchor/reporter Rita Cosby is leaving the 24-hour cable news station after contract talks broke down, according to Variety. Cosby is also out immediately, leaving the network to shuffle its weekend schedule, where she fronted two hours of programming. Earlier in the week, NBC shuffled its White House reporters, moving correspondent Kelly O'Donnell to the White House beat with David Gregory and bumping Norah O'Donnell to MSNBC and "Today" duties. ABC promoted news reader Robin Roberts to co-host on "Good Morning America." And in Philadelphia, KYW-3 weekend anchor Tom Negovan announced he is leaving for a job in Chicago. His move to WGN-9's noon newscast will put him closer to his young daughter in Canada, from whence Ch. 3 hired him as a promising recruit for its morning news. BACK TO TOP Man shot dead on live TV after freeway chase Car chases are regular fodder for TV newscasts in Los Angeles, where acres of asphalt combine with buzzing news helicopters to create live drama on the afternoon news. But, there is always the fear that someone could be killed in front of those live cameras, fears that this week came true — again. On Wednesday, for at least the third time in the past decade, according to the Los Angeles Times, stations provided live pictures of a shooting death. KCBS-2 and KABC-7 were taking live chopper footage when Long Beach police shot a man after a car chase that began when officers spotted him in a stolen car. At the time he was shot, the man was running from his car, apparently reaching for a second gun in his shorts after dropping another one. KNBC-4, which has been opting out of chases to its own ratings detriment, did not carry the chase. The other stations zoomed out quickly when the shots rang out. "Live breaking news is always unpredictable," Ch. 7 spokesman William Burton told the Times, saying the station "responded appropriately" to the situation. BACK TO TOP Emmis working on sale of its 16 TV stations Staffers at more than a dozen local news operations are anticipating the possibility of new ownership after a sizable station owner said it may get out of the TV business. Emmis Communications announced this week it is considering selling some or all of its 16 TV stations to focus on its radio business. "In order to reach their full potential, our television stations need to be aligned with a company that is larger and more singularly focused on the challenges of American television," CEO Jeffrey Smulyan said in a statement, according to the Indianapolis Star. The company stock jumped on the news of the possible TV sale and a stock buyback, but Emmis's debt ratings may be cut because of the loss in TV revenue. The Emmis portfolio includes WVUE-8 (Fox) in New Orleans, WSAZ-3 (NBC) in Huntington, W.Va., and WALA-10 (Fox) in Mobile, Ala., and the company is also a partner in the syndicated morning program "Daily Buzz," which origniates from its WKCF-18 (WB) in Orlando. At a website called "Emmis Sucks," a sounding board for former Ch. 8 employees after Emmis took over and made cuts at the station, the news of the possible sale was greeted with praise. "This could spell the end of our site," the page says, "our job will be done." BACK TO TOP News Flashes: Witness to an execution, Roz's hair "There was a gasp, there was a shudder, but that was it," said WVIT-30 anchor Gerry Brooks of the high-profile execution of Michael Ross in Connecticut this morning. WTIC-61 reporter Shelly Sindland was another media witness. Memphis TV columnist Tom Walter is retiring from the Commercial Appeal after two decades. In his farewell column, Walter, 55, wrote he is being treated for lung cancer and wants time to work on a book and read instead of watching TV. Ex-sportscaster Robert Goldman has been convicted of soliciting someone who claimed to be an underage girl online. Goldman, who worked for CLTV in Chicago, was actually talking to a state investigator and could go to prison for five years. A Kansas station that dropped its newscasts three years ago is set to be acquired by a newspaper subsidiary. KTKA-49, the ABC affiliate in Topeka, still airs the weather and is going to staffers of the Lawrence Journal-World for $6.2 million. Virginia powerhouse WDBJ-7 is seeing its ratings slowly erode. Where it once outdrew WSLS-10 and WSET-13 combined, the Roanoke Times reports new household numbers as follows: 92,000 (Ch. 7); 67,000 (Ch. 10); 60,000 (Ch. 13). WCBS-2 anchor Roz Abrams has changed her hairdo, and the Daily News is all over it. In an ever-chattier "Tube Talk" column, Richard Huff reports she went from a short 'do to some longer coifs this week. (Heads up, Pulitzer board.) BACK TO TOP