George Knapp, who does commentary for KLAS, the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas, has taken an NBC News producer to task for trying to secure interviews with the family of one of two Las Vegas police officers murdered last weekend.
TVSpy reports that during last night’s 6pm newscast, Knapp called out Shelley Osterloh, (left) a former anchor in Salt Lake City, now a freelance producer for NBC, for gaining entry into the home of Alyn Beck one of two LVMPD officers and another man killed in a rampage on Sunday.
“When we heard Tuesday night that a TV producer had used a phony cover story and maybe outright lies to weasel her way into the home of one of the slain officers, our initial thought was, ‘There must be a mistake. No journalist could possibly be so heartless, so creepy. But we were wrong. It happened.’”
KLAS also reported the story on its 11pm show and three times during this morning’s newscast. The station said police were “beyond furious” and cited Osterloh for parking her car in a red zone. Osterloh got the interviews, which were used in “Today” show story this morning reported by Mike Taibbi.
Still, NBC says KLAS’s account, is not true…
An NBC News spokesperson tells TVNewser, “The report is inaccurate. Our freelance producer, who has done excellent work for NBC News for many years, clearly identified herself as a journalist to the family. She was subsequently invited into their home and they helped facilitate an interview with the siblings and colleague of the fallen officer, which appeared on the Today show this morning. A police officer was present during our interview, and as far as we know, the family has had no objections to our dealings with them. At no time did she misrepresent herself; there was unfortunately some confusion during an earlier conversation she had with a police officer, when she was asked for her name but not her affiliation.”
KLAS spoke to Osterloh who denies lying to gain access to the home. She says she didn’t identify herself as a member of the media because no one asked. “When we asked if she should have volunteered that information,” said KLAS anchor Paula Francis, “Osterloh said, ‘Probably.’”