Veteran Detroit reporter Kevin Dietz back on TV following WDIV controversy
Veteran Detroit reporter Kevin Dietz — who announced he was ousted from WDIV-TV (Channel 4) in July because of remarks that violated the station’s zero-tolerance policy on racially insensitive comments — will be back on Detroit television starting Tuesday.
Dietz joins WADL-TV (Channel 38), hosting “News Now with Kevin Dietz” at 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, the Clinton Township-based station announced Friday.
WADL CEO Kevin Adell said the new half-hour show is not competing with other metro news stations such as WJBK-TV (Channel 2), WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) and WDIV.
"We are approaching news differently than the local stations. If you want real in-depth local reporting and to use your brain, rather than two-minute news segments, come over here," said Adell, who founded WADL when he was 21, in the 1980s.
"News Now with Kevin Dietz" will have a similar format to MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" or "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon," where only a few stories are highlighted nightly, Adell said. There will be no more than two guests on air at once.
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More:Ex-Detroit TV reporter Kevin Dietz returns to airwaves as WJR fill-in host
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The show will feature hard news and analysis with no fluff, partisan slant or people talking over each other, Dietz said.
"I was born and raised in this town and I've been an investigative reporter for 25 years. I know the community and will be talking about topics important to the people that live here," Dietz said.
The studio news show will mostly focus on Michigan and Detroit politics and dive into the "big money and big crimes" in metro Detroit, said Adell. The show will remain politically moderate, he added.
"We will present both sides — it's important for Michiganders to hear both sides," Adell said. "I'm not trying to influence anyone, we're just presenting the information."
Dietz told the Free Press he is "excited" about being able to produce longer segments with in-depth coverage and conversation.
"I enjoy it and it's something I think the market needs," Dietz said. "There's no place where you can go every day and get deep analysis of what’s going on locally."
With the 2020 election nearing, WADL-TV is trying to strike while the iron is hot, localizing national stories such as impeachment and the race for the presidency.
"This is going to be the hottest political arena ever. This is the best time to launch a new news program," Adell said. "This is a great TV market in a city that loves news."
Dietz began working as a fill-in host for WJR-AM (760) in August and will continue doing so, bringing similar program formatting — strong guests, segments eight minutes and longer with analysis of hard local news — to WADL, he said.
Dietz added that he plans on bringing local print journalists to his WADL show to discuss stories they broke.
Private control allows for more flexibility, Adell said.
"We're not stuck on one thing — we're keeping an open mind about whatever works," he said. "You have to be creative and see things differently."
Adell said WADL hired Dietz because he "has a great sense" of what the community wants and "will get the facts."
Dietz’s long career with WDIV-TV came to an end following comments he made at a journalism conference in Houston, he said in a Facebook post.
“While attending a social event during the conference, we took a WDIV team photo and I jokingly said to the group, ‘We are probably going to have to crop the black reporter out of the photo,’ ” Dietz said in the July Facebook post. “The intent of my comment was to openly acknowledge, amongst team members, the challenge it’s been for our company, and many companies, to achieve diversity goals. This is a serious subject that I approached through humor.”
He said the reporter he made the joke to was not offended and there were no complaints or controversy at the time, but “the comment made it back to the water cooler conversation at WDIV the following week and quickly took on a life of its own,” Dietz said.
“The African American reporter went to human resources to defend me,” Dietz wrote. “He expressed that we are friends, conveyed to them all the help I have given him throughout his career, and the long list of stories I have done on television fighting against racism in Michigan.
“Nevertheless, the station has a zero-tolerance policy on racially insensitive comments and they determined, despite the intent and context of my statement, that it violated the policy. I understand and support the need for such policies.”
In December, WXYZ reported Dietz received payment for a seemingly staged interview with Taylor Mayor Rick Sollars, who at the time was being investigated by the FBI on charges of bribery and fraud and was indicted shortly after the video was published on the mayor's Facebook page.
Adell said he is not worried about Dietz's reputation following the incident at WDIV.
"It was an unfortunate incident, and he apologized. We never even talked about it," Adell said. "We're all human beings and we all make mistakes — it doesn't mean he can never work again.
"Kevin is a fighter for the underdog and I'm honored to have him on my airwaves."
Contact Omar Abdel-Baqui: 313-222-2514 or oabdel-baqui@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarabdelb
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