Roll Call's "Heard on the Hill" blog talks to everyone, from McKeon's office staff to Lee Rogers to Carol Rock and Mark Archuleta. If you've been interested in this story over the last several weeks, don't miss the article as it's very good and fair:
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Breaking news: Roll Call goes deep on KHTS layoffs, alleged McKeon media interference
The mudslinging intensified in California’s 25th district during the weekend, as an embattled news organization accused Democrat Lee Rogers of politicizing controversial personnel changes while the displaced journalists continued holding incumbent Republican Rep. Buck McKeon responsible for costing them their jobs.Carol Rock is featured prominently throughout the story and she explains what actually happened during that October 5th meeting when Rock, Goldman & Archuleta met with Morris Thomas and Alyssa McCurley at McKeon's office. Rock says the first thing Goldman did was to apologize to McKeon's staff over the station's coverage:
The employment scrap got under way Oct. 16. That’s when KHTS owner Carl Goldman told news director Carol Rock and reporter Mark Archuleta they were being laid off because of budget cuts. Both Archuleta and Rock maintain they were terminated because McKeon was tired of their unflattering reports and had threatened Goldman’s financial interests if the coverage did not stop — charges the McKeon camp flatly denies.
Still, Rock said she totally believed the introductory meeting they all had scheduled with McKeon district director Morris Thomas and McCurley at the end of the week might provide everyone with a fresh start.
At least, she did until Goldman opened his mouth.
“Carl’s opening statement was an apology. We were blindsided by that,” she said of the jarring exchange.
Archuleta was equally taken aback but somewhat less surprised.
“It was like there had already been a conversation going on,” Archuleta said of the pre-emptive mea culpa. “Why would he apologize if they hadn’t complained? They must have before the meeting took place,” he surmised.
And the appeasement didn’t stop there.
“Carl then told them we would be taken off covering McKeon stories until after the election and that he would personally endorse Buck through the station to make amends,” Archuleta recalled. “All of this before we even had a chance to speak.”
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