Reporter for KNX-AM Fired in Web Site Flap

Ron Fineman, a part-time reporter for KNX-AM (1070), was fired Thursday by the news station. He maintains the action stemmed from negative comments he published about a sister Viacom property, KCBS-TV, on his Web site.

The site, www.ronfineman.com, is widely read within local television news circles. It provides a forum for news, rumors and gossip that is sometimes quoted by local stations. He also analyzes and frequently criticizes the journalism practiced on TV newscasts.

In his most recent online column, Fineman printed a highly negative e-mail about a producer at KCBS and low morale within the newsroom, reportedly sent by a newsroom staffer. According to Fineman, KNX news director Ed Pyle told him the comments were inappropriate and let him go after five years at the station. Both KNX and KCBS are owned by Viacom, which also owns KCAL-TV and Los Angeles’ other news radio station, KFWB-AM (980).

“Ed was very clear about it,” Fineman said. “He felt I shouldn’t have allowed those comments to be published.” Fineman contends that KCBS officials had sought to have him fired before, adding, “My guess is the pressure finally paid off.”

Pyle declined to discuss the situation, referring to it as “a personnel matter.” A KCBS spokesman also declined to comment, but station sources denied that management played a role in the dismissal.

Although he has been running the site for three years, Fineman said it is not a money-making proposition and that KNX had been his primary source of income. Despite its popularity among TV news staffers, some news directors are critical of Fineman, claiming he publishes erroneous information.

“That’s nonsense,” Fineman said. “The problem is, they don’t want anyone on the outside looking in.”