Norfolk Station Throws Credibility Out the Window

When WTKR Anchor Juliet Bickford was busted by federal agents for her role in an international fraud scheme, her station WTKR totally ignored the story.

Yesterday in court Bickford plead guilty to the charges against her and was sentenced to one year probation, 200 hours of community service and must pay $10,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

Finally WTKR got around to covering the story that they all but ignored up until this point.

Why? 

Because Bickford spoke exclusively to her old station.

Anchor Barbara Ciara sat down with Bickford and lobbed a bunch of softball questions at her. Of course, it was more than expected, since Ciara wrote a letter to the judge before her sentencing in support of Bickford. Station sources tell FTVLive that Ciara was also in Bickford's wedding.

In the WTKR lead-in to the story and in the story itself Brickford was referred as a "friend" of the station and Ciara also called her "my friend."

She was also referred to as a  "family member" of WTKR, despite the fact that was was fired.....errrrrrr....resigned from the station.

WTKR ignored the story and never reported on her arrest, but now that they can milk the story as part of a cheap sweeps stunt, they have turned Ciara's softball interview into a multi part series that makes any real journalist watching want to throw up.

WTKR reached a new low in journalism with the way they handled this story. If you ask us, Bickford shouldn't be the only person at the station that lost her job. 

Here is just one of WTKR's fluff pieces on their former anchor that was just convicted in court.