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TV reporter Hummel quits ABC6 news(Providence Journal, The (RI) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 31--PROVIDENCE -- Jim Hummel, an ABC6 news reporter for the past 13 years who is known for the "You Paid for It" investigative segments, resigned yesterday morning, saying he was disturbed by the sensational direction the station has been taking. The former Providence Journal reporter's departure comes 10 months after ABC6 was bought by Global Broadcasting of Southern New England. Hummel said there was pressure to sensationalize news and use slang -- such as "lowlife" and "thug" to describe defendants -- in an effort to increase ratings for the third-place local news station. "You know, for 13 years I've been a cheerleader and ambassador for the station despite our struggling in the ratings, because I believed in the product," Hummel said yesterday. "And I can't say that anymore." Hummel, 48, said his contract expired in February and was extended until June, and then as a "gentleman's agreement," as he waited to see how the new ownership affected the station. Yesterday, he decided to part ways. On Tuesday night, he aired his last "You Paid for It" segment, about a historic Newport building that now seems to have problems after being restored with taxpayer dollars. Stephen Doerr, vice president and general manager at ABC6, said the station "will have an investigative reporter." Whether it will be a new hire or one of the current reporters remains to be seen. Doerr called Hummel "a terrific reporter" and tried to persuade him to stay. But Hummel was firm that the station was going in a different direction than he wanted. "Jim is a self-admittedly old-school guy," Doerr said. He disagreed with Hummel's depiction. "I think 'sensational' is an overused word," Doerr said. He said the direction is more "edgy." When asked about the use of the words "thugs" and "lowlifes" on air, Doerr said, "We're a work in progress. We're trying to be more colloquial, use plainspeak." Doerr said the changes were giving the station the fastest growing ratings in New England. When asked what the ratings were, Doerr said he could not produce the data at the moment. "We've got a long way to go," he said. "We're still in last place." While ABC6 needed to stand apart from Channels 10 and 12, Hummel said, it has pushed for sensationalism to get ratings. "They're so focused on day-to-day ratings, they've lost track of the integrity of what we do," he said. Hummel began his career at The Journal in 1982 and moved to ABC6 in 1995, after he pitched an idea to his then-bosses at The Journal for a story on trading places with a broadcast reporter. The experience led to a television job. He'd been a "morale booster" in the newsroom, said Josie Guarino, a former ABC6 reporter who now works at WPRO. Hummel's 25 years of reporting in Rhode Island made him a great resource for the news department and a leader for new reporters, she said. He was a tough competitor, said Channel 12 (WPRI) news director Joe Abouzeid. "What he's done to get noticed is to do some relevant stories that people can relate to." Hummel said he was proudest of his investigation into the North Kingstown school administration spending of restricted federal special-education money on food and drinks for an administrative retreat, and his coverage of former Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. and the federal corruption trial. ABC6's decision to hire Cianci as a chief political analyst was another factor in Hummel's decision to resign. "It's nothing personal with Cianci. I've known him for 25 years. But having covered him in the good, bad and ugly -- to then have to be put in the position as his colleague, that's a difficult position for any journalist to be in," Hummel said. He has no job lined up. His wife is a research coordinator in the radiology department at Rhode Island Hospital and the couple lives in Barrington with their twins. He has a three-month "no compete" clause in his contract; afterward, he hopes to find another job in journalism. "I love Rhode Island. I love reporting here. I love the craziness of the news," Hummel said yesterday, before going on The Dan Yorke Show on WPRO radio (630-AM). "But I think there comes a point where you have to take a stand." With staff reports from Michael McKinney. To see more of the The Providence Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.projo.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Providence Journal, R.I. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |