Taking a Stand Against Nexstar
/
WLNS (Lansing) Anchor Alexandra Ilitch has left the Nexstar station, but not before dropping a dime on the company as she was walking out the door.
litch made reference to a number of ethical concerns in a Twitter post Thursday night.
"Commercial endorsements can compromise integrity and ethics," Ilitch, a reporter and weekend anchor, wrote in her post. "It should be about gathering information that serves the public and not just one or two individuals who paid to have a product or business promoted and associated with a TV station or a familiar name and face."
In a conversation with the Lansing State Journal Friday, Ilitch clarified that the station had not asked her personally to do commercial endorsements. She declined to say whether other WLNS reporters had agreed to endorse products.
Ilitch said she resigned from WLNS on Dec. 7.
"I didn't want to have to resign," Ilitch said Friday. "I think it's important to tell the truth regardless of who or what it affects."
She didn't elaborate further Friday, adding. "I think the post speaks for itself."
WLNS is owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's news director, Jam Sardar, provided an emailed statement Friday afternoon.
"While we do not provide public comment on personnel matters, WLNS-TV has maintained a commitment to public service in Lansing for nearly 70 years," he wrote. "WLNS-TV’s longstanding tradition of high quality news programming is a direct result of our exceptional local teams, who will continue to work passionately every day to deliver the local stories that matter to the people and families throughout mid-Michigan.”
Here is the post that litch made to social media:
