Veteran KOLO Reporter Says He Was Fired After Traffic Accident

By Merrill Knox 

KOLO reporter John Tyson, a 25-year station veteran who shoots and reports his own stories, claims he was fired Wednesday after the Reno ABC affiliate found out he was involved in a traffic accident.

The Reno-Gazette Journal reports that Tyson was driving in Reno on Wednesday when he hit a bicyclist with his car. Tyson was talking on his cell phone at the time. Nevada has passed legislation banning talking on a cell phone while driving, but the state will not enforce it until October 1.

“When I did report it, Channel 8 dinged me for being on my cell phone,” Tyson told The Gazette-Journal. “My feeling is we’re always on our cell phone. The newsroom calls us or someone else calls us.”

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KOLO refused to comment on the claims made by Tyson, who would have completed 25 years working at the station this fall. Tyson, who said he was planning to contact an attorney, has driven more than two million miles while reporting in Nevada. His bio on the station website, which is still up, says, “John Tyson covers rural Nevada like no one else can.”

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