Friday, April 19, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Reps. John Ensign and Barbara Vucanovich, both R-Nev., canceled an appearance tonight on a local television show after Ensign failed to have a reporter removed from an interview panel.
The question-answer session was set for 8 p.m. on "Nevada Week in Review," a public affairs program on KLVX Channel 10. The two members of Congress were to be joined by KLVX moderator Mitch Fox and two Las Vegas SUN journalists, investigative reporter Jeff German and political editor Larry Henry.
Ensign attempted to have German removed, but when station executives refused, Ensign backed out.
"I don't have any respect for him," Ensign said.
In recent weeks, German has written stories about Ensign's intervention in a land deal to benefit a casino for which Ensign's father is a top executive.
"It's obvious that German isn't Ensign's cup of tea," SUN Executive Editor Mike O'Callaghan said. "There's no doubt that Jeff asks the tough questions in any exchange. This is why he has been at the SUN for 17 years."
Vucanovich spokeswoman Susan Zimmerman said the show interfered with Vucanovich's "hectic" schedule in Reno. When Vucanovich learned that Ensign had canceled, she decided to do the same and bypass Las Vegas altogether, Zimmerman said.
However, a source at the public broadcasting station said Vucanovich backed out after Ensign pressured her.
KLVX General Manager Tom Axtell said there have been other cancellations on the show, but not because of participation by a specific journalist. Public officials sometimes try to dictate who will question them, but they ultimately accept the choice made by management, he said.
"When you get to debates, you have almost every candidate wanting to strike one or two people from the panel," Axtell said.
O'Callaghan, a former two-term governor, said most public officials understand that news outlets, not politicians, determine who will ask questions.
"Editors select the reporters to be included in the questioning of people coming to express their opinions," O'Callaghan said. "This is just the way it is in the news business."
O'Callaghan said public officials are also not allowed to pick and choose who will questions them at newspaper and television editorial boards.
"We enjoy exchanging ideas with politicians and other active citizens," he said. "It's their choice to engage in or not to engage in this dialogue. They don't, however, have the power to choose the members of the editorial board. Channel 10, as expected, in public affairs programs, has the same philosophy."
Axtell said "Nevada Week in Review" will air at its regular time tonight, but with Fox and four journalists discussing the news. German is scheduled to appear on the panel.
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