Albuquerque anchor Tom Joles is expected to be back on-air for NBC affiliate KOB tonight one week after being given a “cool down” period because of a newsroom kerfuffle.
Depending on who you believe, Joles was either in a newsroom fistfight or a “heated discussion.” While KOB GM Mike Burgess denied there was any physical confrontation, FTVLive, who first reported the news, told TVSpy he “stands 100% behind our story that punches were thrown.”
Regardless, Burgess told the Albuquerque Journal, “It’s over, it’s done, the book is closed.”
There were “some passionate words exchanged, but those two guys have been working together for 25 years and occasionally there are ‘discussions,’ ” Burgess said in a telephone interview last week.
“Most of our ‘discussions’ in the newsroom start out because people are passionate about what we do as journalists and about making stories better.”
Disagreements regarding the best way to treat a story can sometimes get those involved a bit riled up, he said.
Burgess acknowledged that a number of KOB viewers sent emails or called in to voice an opinion. Likewise, this story about the altercation that was posted to ABQjournal.com generated more than 130 comments.
The entire scenario, Burgess said, was “much ado about nothing.”