Vegas news briefs

SCAM FEATURED -- A Las Vegas man accused of being the ringleader of a $60 million infomercial scam will be featured on Saturday night's episode of America's Most Wanted. Eric Stein, 37, had a 12-count complaint filed against him by the Bureau of Consumer Protection within the attorney general's office. The report charges that the defendant committed securities fraud and racketeering by misrepresenting to prospective investors a return of 25 percent to 53 percent within a period of 60 to 90 days. "Stein was involved in what is perhaps the largest investment scam in modern Nevada history," Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said. "Close to 2,000 investors nationwide have lost up to $60 million as a result of this scam." The Stein segment will air during the 9 p.m. show on the Fox Network.

MINORITY COVERAGE -- The Las Vegas chapters of the National Association of Black Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists will present a panel discussion on how the media covers minority politicians at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Las Vegas Library, 833 Las Vegas Blvd. North. Moderator will be Leonard Goodall, professor of public administration at UNLV. Panel members will be: Thomas Mitchell, editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal; Emily Neilson, news director of KLAS Channel 8; Juana Hart, co-anchor of Channel 8; Sandra Thompson, vice president/ associate editor of the Las Vegas Sun; Stacy Escalante, reporter for KVBC Channel 3; Susan Greene, a former Review-Journal reporter who now reports for the Denver Post; Jon Ralston, publisher of the Ralston Report; and Barbara Robinson, Review-Journal columnist. Some of the issues to be discussed are whether Las Vegas media outlets have been one-sided in their coverage of minority politicians, whether concerns about race explain different coverage of the same story by news organizations and if follow-up stories on ethics allegations against minority politicians have been overplayed to keep pressure on them.

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