Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"An anchor at KTLA-TV received a customized dining-room makeover worth more than $10,000 for her own home, in what a local furniture merchant says was meant to be a swap of free goods and services ... for favorable coverage on the station's 'Morning News'," reports the LA Times. The segment was taped in September 2005 but never aired, leading the merchant to warn, "If it doesn't air," KTLA's Michaela Pereira will "be treated like a paying customer." Pereira agreed to return some items and pay for others. Pereira and two other KTLA anchors were also recently exposed for accepting "free accommodations in exchange for" favorable coverage of "the newly renovated Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena." The KTLA anchors stayed in "deluxe guestrooms, which on a weeknight would cost $300 to $400." The "Morning News" executive producer claimed they "try to acknowledge" when services are provided, but admitted that the KTLA anchors "did not specifically mention that the rooms were provided free."
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