Judge Bars U.S. Attorney From Banning Non-Union TV Crews

Reacting to strike tactics that have resulted in non-union news crews from KNBC-TV Channel 4 being barred from local press conferences, a federal judge Thursday ordered the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles to give equal access to all news-gathering operations, regardless of their union affiliation.

“I think it’s bad precedent for the government to get involved in labor-management disputes,” U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian said in granting a temporary restraining order sought by NBC, which owns KNBC and which is the target of a strike by the National Assn. of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET).

The union has been on strike since Sunday against NBC and its owned-and-operated stations. About 200 cameramen, sound engineers and news writers at KNBC have joined the walkout. The station has been manning its news crews with management personnel.

Tevrizian acted in response to a decision by U.S. Atty. Richard Bonner to bar a non-union KNBC news crew from a Wednesday press conference. Bonner ejected the KNBC crew when unionized news crews for other Los Angeles television stations refused to film the press conference in the presence of the Channel 4 reporter and camera team.

The same thing has happened at least two other times to KNBC crews since the strike began.

Tevrizian’s order applies only to federal officials, but NBC attorney Rex Heinke said the network “will not hesitate to sue other individuals” and Thursday’s temporary restraining order would be used in support of the network’s suits. Heinke also said NBC would seek unspecified money damages from Bonner in addition to a permanent injunction.

Later Thursday afternoon, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, one of those who had earlier asked a KNBC crew to leave a press conference, said he would make no more such requests.

In what technicians’ union Local 53 President Carrie Biggs-Adams acknowledges is an effective strike tactic, camera crews for other stations have been telling public officials that their press conferences will not get any coverage if KNBC’s non-union crews are allowed in the room.

The most recent incident was Thursday morning at the Los Angeles Zoo press conference, according to KNBC news director Tom Capra. KNBC reporter Matt Stevens and his non-union crew were asked to leave by a city zoo official and did so, Capra said.

On Monday, Reiner refused to allow KNBC reporter Fernell Chatman and his non-union camera crew to cover a press conference on an AIDS patient who is being charged with attempted murder for allegedly selling his blood to a plasma center. Reiner held a second and separate press conference for the KNBC news crew after they were ostracized from the first one.

U.S. Atty. Bonner joined the trend when he had federal marshals eject KNBC reporter Doug Bruckner and the non-union camera operator and sound man who accompanied him from a Wednesday afternoon press conference in the 13th floor press room of the U.S. Courthouse. Bonner called the Wednesday press conference with California Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp to announce indictments of suspects in a cocaine ring.

Special Press Conference

Bruckner was allowed to interview Van de Kamp in a separate room after the press conference.

Arguing for Bonner on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Atty. Stephen Peterson said that Bonner was trying to resolve the situation and get the press conference under way by granting “equal but separate press conferences.”

“It (separate but equal) didn’t work for education, did it?” retorted Tevrizian, adding later on: “There is no such thing as separate but equal.”

Tevrizian rejected all of Peterson’s arguments and set July 10 for further hearing on a preliminary injunction against future press conference bans.

After the ruling, Bonner issued a statement saying: “I have reviewed the pleadings filed by NBC and they contain misstatements and mis-characterizations of fact that will be responded to in the pleadings we will be filing in opposition to NBC’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Since this matter is in litigation, it is inappropriate for me to make any further statement at this time.”

Did Not Apologize

In a letter sent to NBC attorney Donald Zachary late Thursday, Reiner’s chief deputy, Gilbert Garcetti, said that KNBC will not be barred from any future press conferences, but did not apologize for asking Chatman’s news crew to leave the Monday press conference.

Garcetti said that Chatman’s camera and sound men had agreed to remain outside during the press conference, adding: “Had there been any objection on the part of your staff as to the request to leave, we would not have made the request. We fully intended to go forward with the news conference at that point with whomever was present.”

KCBS-TV, Channel 2, went through a similar strike earlier this year when its Writers Guild of America news writers walked off the job for seven weeks. During that time, however, none of its news crews were asked to leave a news conference, according to KCBS spokeswoman Andi Sporkin.

Technicians were not on strike at KCBS, but members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who represent KCBS’ technicians did honor writers’ guild picket lines for the first few weeks of the strike and refused to enter the station.

NBC spokeswoman McClain Ramsey said that none of NBC’s other owned and operated stations in Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco, New York and Washington had reported news conference boycotts as of Thursday afternoon.