Second Thoughts   

Toledo’s WTVG-TV changes its plans to have the former mayor work as an investigative reporter.

Toledo ABC affiliate WTVG rethinks its appointment of former Mayor Carty Finkbeiner as a part-time investigative reporter, deciding he'll deliver a weekly commentary instead. Finkbeiner will still host a Sunday morning public affairs show as planned. The station announced in March that Finkbeiner was joining the "I-Team" as a weekly contributor. News Director Brian Trauring had told AJR that Finkbeiner, 62, a two-term mayor and longtime city council member, would give the station an edge on story ideas. But Trauring, who is head of the ethics committee of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, also said Finkbeiner would "have a manager working with him every day, going on shoots, going over every single script, going over story ideas" to make sure no conflicts of interest arose. A few days later Trauring called to alert AJR to the switch. "One of the reasons we hired him was for his passion and commitment to the area," he says. Having Finkbeiner do commentaries "plays to his strengths much better, and also relieves us of some of these conflict-of-interest concerns."