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Wed: Update on "The Alcoa Story"
posted at 2010-08-18 22:24 | Last modified 2010-08-18 22:29
Vajda out
UNC-TV Production Director Shannon Vickery confirmed today that Senior Legislative Correspondent Eszter Vajda “is no longer employed” by the station. Vickery couldn’t comment further, citing confidentiality reasons.
Sources at the station say Vajda was the subject of a disciplinary hearing late last week, even before Saturday’s news stories that revealed she’d taken money from former House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan. Morgan is currently working as a strategy consultant for the NC Water Rights Committee, an umbrella group of organizations backing the state’s bid to deny Alcoa’s request to renew its federal license for its Yadkin dams.
Vajda did not respond to a request for comment, and the phone for her researcher/producer/agent Martin Sansone appears to have been disconnected.
Friends in High Places
In a phone interview today, Morgan confirmed that both Vajda and Sansone were actively involved in asking him for money to pay for Sansone’s travel to the US and subsistence while here. The final sum was $3000, up from the $2500 payment originally agreed upon, Morgan said.
Morgan also confirmed what emails released by UNC-TV hint at - that he and Republican strategist Carter Wrenn were working closely with State Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco to convince UNC-TV to air Vajda’s story on Alcoa.
Crisco is a Stanly County native who served on the Water Rights Committee before being named Commerce Secretary in 2009 by Governor Bev Perdue. Crisco was asked by both Morgan and Senate J2 chair Fletcher Hartsell (R-Cabarrus) to contact UNC-TV on the matter. He says he did so willingly, due to concerns about local allegations that Alcoa hasn’t adequately cleaned up its pollution in Stanly County. He also says he felt it was important for lawmakers to have new information he was told would be contained in Vajda’s report.
Crisco had a phone conversation with UNC-TV director Tom Howe on April 5th, and visited the station personally on June 28th . But he insists his communications with UNC-TV weren’t meant to pressure the station to air the “documentary” - only to educate station managers about the timeline of the legislative battle over the FERC license. He says no promises were made regarding any airdate for the story.
UNC-TV’s Shannon Vickery agrees. She met with Crisco June 28th on behalf of UNC-TV director Tom Howe, who was on vacation. Vickery says she was not aware of the political coalition behind Crisco’s visit. “I talk to a lot of people about what they think the station should cover,” she said.
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