GOTCH’S ENDORSEMENT OF KFMB RADIO ASSAILED

It is no big deal for a radio station to endorse a candidate for public office.

But when the candidate is the one doing the endorsing, watch out.

That’s the basis for the controversy that surrounds San Diego City Councilman Mike Gotch’s appearance in two 30-second television commercials for radio station KFMB-AM (760).

Gotch is one of nearly a dozen local celebrities enlisted by KFMB management to help promote the adult-contemporary (A/C) station’s news team in a series of four commercials, which began airing Dec. 10 on three local TV stations.

“I’ve never heard of a comparable situation in this or any other city,” said Jack Merker, program director of news/talk station KSDO-AM (1130), one of KFMB’s top rivals. “It would be the same as President Reagan endorsing CBS News over ABC.”

Both spots in which Gotch appears show the 6th District councilman sitting behind his desk at City Hall. In one, Gotch says: “KFMB radio is the only station with a full-time reporter in City Hall. That is important to me, and ought to be important to the people of my city.”

In the other, he’s even more specific: “KFMB radio is simply the best we have in San Diego.”

His lines are similar to those of his co-stars, who include Rolf Benirschke of the Chargers and the San Diego Zoo’s Joan Embrey.

But what particularly bothers Merker is that Gotch is the only elected official in the group--and that he is expected to run for a third term in September’s municipal election.

“The ethics of those being reported on, endorsing those doing the reporting, is very questionable, to say the least,” Merker said.

Paul Palmer, KFMB’s general manager, doesn’t see it that way--particularly since neither Gotch nor any of the other celebrity spokesmen was paid.

“When we started this TV campaign, we went to various community leaders, businessmen and other highly visible people and simply had them talk about KFMB news,” Palmer said.

“Obviously, their comments were very positive. No one was paid, and no one was told what to say. So what’s the big deal? (Gotch) is just saying what he feels about our radio station.”

KFMB news director Cliff Albert added that Gotch’s kind words about KFMB’s news team would have “no effect” on the station’s objectivity should the councilman be the subject of a controversial news story.

“Our watchword here is to always be credible,” Albert said. “We plan on reporting on Mike Gotch the same way we have always done, and if that means he would have to renege on his statements, I wouldn’t care.

“My responsibility as news director is not to Mike Gotch, but to our listeners. He said some nice things about us, but if somewhere down the road he would feel uncomfortable with us doing a legitimate, fair, news story about him, then that’s his problem, not mine.”

Gotch agrees, adding that the “question of objectivity” should be turned around.

“Instead of asking whether KFMB can continue to be objective,” he said, “you should ask whether KSDO can continue to be objective, since they’re the ones whose ire has been aroused.

“I have a very good relationship with the personnel at KSDO and have no interest in jeopardizing that. Frankly, if they had asked me to endorse KSDO as the only all-news station in the city, I would have have been happy to do so--and I still am.”

Merker, however, insisted he would never do that.

“We would never ask any public official to endorse our station, because we want to avoid even the appearance of impropriety,” Merker said. “We would never jeopardize our reporters’ objectivity in covering city officials.”

Objectivity, however, is not the issue, Gotch countered.

“The issue is civil liberties and the right to freedom of expression,” Gotch said. “And even as a legislator, I still have that right.

“When Roger Hedgecock was mayor, he did a monthly show on KOGO-AM, and then Maureen (O’Connor, after being elected mayor) started doing a monthly show on KFMB. No one questioned either of them, so I miss the significance of what everyone’s concerned about.

“I think this is really much ado about nothing.”

San Diego Police Chief Bill Kolender was also asked to appear in a KFMB commercial, but declined.

“When they first came to me, I originally said OK,” Kolender said. “But when I thought about it, I changed my mind and said no.

“I can’t promote one station over the other. In the position I’m in, I can’t take sides.”