Last night KARE 11 News broadcast two stories about Katie Henslin, the first Minnesota native to be a contestant on the TV game show Deal or No Deal. The first report ran at five o'clock, the second at 10 o'clock. Henslin told KARE 11 her half-million dollar win will help her and her husband buy a home and support their children.
The problem is this: Deal or No Deal is on NBC. The show is owned by the same people that own the KARE 11 affiliate here in the Twin Cities.
This might be a violation of the RTNDA's code of ethics that states: "journalists should refuse to allow the interests of ownership or management to influence news judgment and content inappropriately."
Of all the other local news organizations, only the Pioneer Press, who ran a squib on their website yesterday, thought Henslin's win was worth reporting. The other local stations didn' mention Henslin at all.
