Anchor uses own newscast to unveil run for office, stirs criticism

ANCHOR USES OWN NEWSCAST TO UNVEIL RUN FOR OFFICE, STIRS CRITICISM
[SOURCE: Associated Press]
Rick Dancer, a longtime anchorman on an Oregon television station, led off a newscast with news that he would be running to be the Oregon Secretary of State. After ABC's Academy Awards coverage ended Sunday, its Eugene, Oregon, affiliate spent the first three minutes of its newscast on Dancer's candidacy, including a question-and-answer session with an on-air colleague. Quite a bit of high-profile coverage for a second-tier state race. Which brings up a question: What about Dancer's four Democratic rivals? "I was stunned that this man who was in my living room every night announced his candidacy on the evening news," said one of those candidates, state Sen. Vicki Walker. "It just didn't seem like something you could do." The station's CEO, Carolyn Chambers, is a staunch Republican who has given nearly $90,000 to Republican causes and candidates over the last 13 years.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/28/anchor.candidate.ap/index.html