Manteris suit hits station long under siege

Soaps on the skids?

Haven't you watched "One Life at Embattled NBC Las Vegas Affiliate To Live"? No cancellation notice in sight.

Today's episode? Veteran (22-plus years) 6 p.m. anchor Sue Manteris sues her station, KSNV-TV, Channel 3, over, more or less, everything -- racial, age and gender bias, hostile work conditions, retaliation -- as her contract is left to lapse June 10. (Manteris did not respond to a request seeking comment on her lawsuit.)

Prominently targeted is news chief Bob Stoldal, whom the federal suit claims made offensive racial remarks, axed stories portraying minorities positively and preferred jobs and promotions went to whiter, younger, male candidates. (He is on medical leave.) One staffer told me she was "stunned, I have not seen any of this," but then recalled Stoldal once allegedly upsetting ex-anchor Sophia Choi by calling her "Hetty," as in reporter Hetty Chang. "The guy has senior moments," she says. "Maybe (Manteris) misconstrued that as him thinking that all Asians look alike."

Another employee, while calling Stoldal "racially sensitive," admitted other reporters "think he shades stories based on minority issues." And one ex-staffer told me he "got second- and third-hand accounts of stories that would support those kinds of claims, unfortunately."

Upbeat profile of the "Wake Up" Wagners on today's Neon cover notwithstanding, this is the latest in a series of painful boils to inflame News-3's caboose dating back to 2009. Let us review the tumult:

■ While their three competitors maintained their news directors over that time, News-3 drafted Stoldal to replace Deborah Clayton, whom many staffers felt was ill-prepared for the gig, subsequently losing the confidence of the newsroom.

■ Now Stoldal has had to temporarily relinquish everyday control of the newsroom to battle serious health problems.

■ Journalism standards seemed suspended for ex-entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs, who was a distracting presence in her own stories, was (embarrassingly) allowed to interview her then-lover/ex-con Vince Neil and became a tabloid blight in their acrimonious breakup.

■ Appearing very petty, News-3 filed a ridiculous complaint with the Federal Communications Commission charging its three rivals with selling news time to advertisers, without any direct proof.

■ Signature personalities Kendall Tenney, Choi and Mitch Truswell were let go or allowed to walk, replaced by less experienced (and likely less expensive) talent such as Jessica Moore, Michelle Velez and Krystal Allan, and anchor promotions such as Dan Ball's came as Manteris was removed from newscasts, undercutting viewers' sense of continuity and bond with established anchors.

■ Rumors now suggest there are further tensions in the News-3 halls caused, several sources claim, by management wildly overreacting to on-air grammatical errors by reporters and anchors who often must speak off the cuff, the harsh tongue whippings leaving some in tears.

Raw and roiled from within, News-3 looks less and less like the News-3 viewers know. Subtracting Manteris from the on-air equation pretty much leaves just Jim Snyder and the Wagners as anchors with long-term tenure on weekdays, and stalwart Gerard Ramalho on weekend newscasts.

Death by degrees. Call it "As the Embattled NBC Las Vegas Affiliate Turns."

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.