11 Nov 88 19:34 Friday Anchor-Fired, Biased TV Anchor Fired SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) _ An an

11 Nov 88 19:34    Friday
Anchor-Fired, Biased TV Anchor Fired

   SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) _ An anchorwoman was fired after she wrote in a
Christian magazine that religious considerations figured into her news
judgments.
   "Naturally, I have to lead with the hard news stories that affect our
neighborhood and world ... but it's such a thrill to also have the power to
`sneak' Jesus into the news as often as possible," KDLT-TV weekend anchor
Marilee Joyce wrote.
   On numerous occasions she used her position to prevent broadcast of network
stories that she said were of "questionable nature," she wrote in Good News,
a magazine published by TEAM Television, a Christian cable television station.
   These included series on the New Age movement and on the Hare Krishna
religion. "I decided it would not be good to fill our viewers' minds with such
information, so I didn't permit the stories to air," Joyce wrote.
   Steven Herman, KDLT president and general manager, said Joyce was fired
Tuesday for "an error in journalistic judgment," reflected in the article
headlined "A Different Type of TV Evangelism."
   "I don't want to make it a public issue," Herman said Thursday. "I don't
think it's in her best interest to battle out in the press what's really a
personal, private decision between Marilee Joyce and myself."
   Joyce, 25, worked as an anchor, reporter and producer at the NBC affiliate
since April, and on weekends she was responsible for deciding which stories
were broadcast. She said she was devastated at being fired.
   "I am a news professional and I conducted myself in that manner," she
said. "I have been precautioned by my advisers not to say anything further."
   In the article, Joyce criticized television producers for their reluctance
to broadcast "good news" stories, and she criticized viewers for their
appetite for "bad news."
   Joyce also described how she assigned several stories with religious angles,
including an interview with a local Christian author and a story on a
anti-abortion agency.