In response to complaints of slate bias, representatives of
“Bruin News 29″ said the show will not endorse any
candidate for external vice president in the ongoing undergraduate
student government election.
The rest of the endorsements were scheduled to begin airing
Tuesday night, and will continue airing until run-off elections end
May 18.
Current Facilities Commissioner Joe Vardner complained on behalf
of Bruins United in a May 6 e-mail to the Communications Board that
Lauren Macheski, executive director of “Bruin News 29,”
the campus television station, wore a Students First! campaign
T-shirt in the office, calling into question the impartiality of
the show and its endorsements.
“Bruin News 29″ operates under ASUCLA Student Media,
an umbrella organization that includes the Daily Bruin.
Macheski admitted to wearing a Students First! shirt in the
office and said she was affiliated with the slate.
Macheski and Executive News Producer Nisreen Habbal met
yesterday with Vardner and Arvli Ward, the Student Media adviser,
to try to resolve the issue.
Habbal said “Bruin News 29″ agreed to retape its
endorsement interview with Katie Tokushige, the Bruins United
candidate for external vice president.
That interview was especially contentious because it was the
only one Macheski personally conducted, Vardner said.
However, Habbal said “Bruin News 29″ will not air
its endorsement interviews with any of the candidates for external
vice president, and will not endorse a candidate for that
position.
“If we can’t endorse them, it doesn’t make
sense to air them since it’s an endorsement special,”
she said, adding that re-editing the footage to include the new
interview could have delayed the special further.
Habbal also said the show would not air interviews with any
commission candidates except facilities because of time
constraints. She said this decision was unrelated to
Vardner’s complaint.
Vardner said he thought the compromise was a good one.
“I think it’s a fair, just resolution,” he
said. “(Tokushige’s interview) was the contentious
footage, and the rest of the footage is valuable to the student
body.”
Habbal said she was just glad the resolution permitted
“Bruin News 29″ to show the endorsement interviews at
all.
“I guess it makes the most sense,” she said.
“It’s a good compromise, as long as we get to air the
show.”