Newspaper editor: Univision reverses course, will maintain column

The editor of the Spanish-language newspaper El Tiempo says Univision will allow a news director who used a disputed quote to continue writing a column, a reversal of an earlier decision.

Hernando Amaya, editor of El Tiempo, said Univision general manager Chris Roman notified the newspaper Tuesday he had reconsidered an earlier decision to have Univision news director Adriana Arevalo stop submitting her column to the paper.(Column in Spanish ... English language version)

El Tiempo is published by Stephens Media, which also publishes the Review-Journal.

On Monday Amaya said Univision had decided to terminate the column.

The uncertainty over the column comes after a brouhaha over a disputed quote Arevalo attributed to Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Sandoval in a column that appeared July 23.

In the column on the paper's opinion page Arevalo quoted Sandoval responding to questions about whether he would fear his kids might be subject to racial profiling under an Arizona-style immigration law. She reported Sandoval, who is Hispanic, answered with a prideful tone, stating, "my children are not seen as Hispanics."

The remark was cited in Arevalo's column as evidence Sandoval does not "understand what it means to be one of us in this country."

When asked about the quote by political commentator Jon Ralston, Sandoval denied saying it. He later hedged and said he didn't recall saying it and if he did, it was wrong.

Ralston and other media organizations, including the Review-Journal, sought a copy of the video in which Sandoval allegedly made the comment. Univision declined to release it and, later, reported there was no audio rolling at the time so, while Sandoval could be seen talking, he couldn't be heard.