Following Colorado Media Matters item, Grand Junction's KKCO brings aboard Democratic co-host for weekly legislative segment

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

After a Colorado Media Matters item raised questions about balance when KKCO NBC 11 in Grand Junction announced Republican Janet Rowland will host a news segment on the state legislature, the station said it has expanded the hosting duties to include a Democrat.

Following a January 5 Colorado Media Matters item that asked whether Grand Junction's KKCO NBC 11 would “provide a progressive point of view to balance” Janet Rowland, a Republican Mesa County commissioner and 2006 lieutenant governor candidate who will host a legislative news segment for the station, KKCO announced that Democratic Grand Junction City Council member and 2004 state House* candidate Teresa Coons will co-host the weekly segment with Rowland.

KKCO's decision to feature the conservative Rowland -- who once linked gay marriage to bestiality -- as host of its weekly “Capitol Watch” segment raised ethical concerns, as reported by The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction. According to the Daily Sentinel, KKCO broke with “widely held journalistic ethics” and committed a possible breach of "[t]he Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics ... [which] charges news organizations to ensure their correspondents are 'free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to
know.' " The article noted that “Rowland, who could run for re-election in 2008 or could challenge Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, that year, is not free of outside interests.” It further reported that “Rowland, who has served as a campaign chairwoman for Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, will be covering Penry's legislation.”

After the ethical concerns reported by the Daily Sentinel and the question of balance raised by Colorado Media Matters, KKCO posted this announcement on its website, last updated January 8:

After receiving a gratifying amount of input from our viewers concerning KKCO's upcoming Capitol Watch segment, we have listened to our audience and decided to expand the hosting duties to welcome Grand Junction City Council member Teresa Coons with Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland.

This will bring our viewers the opportunity to receive a perspective on state legislation from those both involved with Western Colorado's largest city and county.

Ms. Coons, who was a Democratic candidate for state representative vying against now State Senator Josh Penry, can also bring her unique experiences to the discussion.

KKCO's “Capitol Watch” segment will air every Sunday during the 5:30 and 10 p.m newscasts, according to the station's website.

The original version of this item stated that Teresa Coons was a 2006 state Senate candidate. She faced Josh Penry in the 2004 race in House District 54. Colorado Media Matters regrets the error.