Channel 8 newsman gets ready to speak his mind in retirement

After more than 40 years in television news — not to mention sweeping floors in the Las Vegas Review-Journal pressroom — newsman Bob Stoldal is preparing to break loose from journalistic restraints and speak his mind publicly.

The shackles come off in two weeks. If he has an opinion, he’ll be free to express it. It’s a freedom columnists enjoy, but straight news folks don’t. They’re paid to be fair and accurate and leave commentary to others.

When he retires June 30 as vice president of news at KLAS-TV, Channel 8, Stoldal is going to be free to share his opinions about growth, health care, transportation, education, water, and the other issues facing Las Vegas.

Stoldal, 66, has been an activist in his own way during his 34 years at Channel 8 and his seven years in Nashville, Tenn., working for the company that owned Channel 8. Ten years ago, he launched Las Vegas ONE. For four decades, he has guided what stories are covered, and what issues are investigated and which are rejected.

His job limited some of his civic activities. He is involved with history (nobody is against accurate history) and First Amendment issues (not everyone is on board with that), and boards involving museums, parks, preservation and cultural affairs. But he avoids controversial or partisan groups.

“I’ve always felt constrained because of my responsibilities as a journalist,” he said.

The unrestrained Stoldal plans to start his own Web site to point out historical mistakes on government Web sites, becoming a one-man historical truth squad. He’s already eyeballing an error of omission on the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Web site.

Yes, he’s been approached to run for office. He won’t say which ones. But he doesn’t want to do that, because he doesn’t want to spend his time running when he’d much rather be doing.

Retirement doesn’t mean he’s leaving Las Vegas, which became his home in 1957 when his family moved from San Francisco. He was a junior in high school, and immediately learned two new words: juice and points.

In Las Vegas, juice had nothing to do with fruit and points had nothing to do with discussions. It referred to ownership points in casinos.

I met him in the 1970s when we were both active with the Society of Professional Journalists. During a meeting, I couldn’t stop myself from counting the six toes on each sandaled-foot.

But it isn’t just his 12 toes that make him distinctive. Without a college degree, without studying journalism, his aggressive instincts about covering hard news in Las Vegas propelled him into management, where he set the tone of the newscasts. He hired talented people to cover government, gaming and the mob and thrived on breaking news as well as issues. He headed the fight to get cameras into Nevada courtrooms.

Columnist Ned Day always told Stoldal he didn’t have any power, because he never used it. Day thought power was about taking a position and arguing for it.

“My version of power was to focus on an issue of importance to the community,” Stoldal said.

So, he made sure Channel 8 used resources to investigate the mob and explain the need for school bonds.

It’s going to be hard for Stoldal to completely abandon his newsman’s stance and become an advocate. The first controversial issue I asked him about was Water Czarina Pat Mulroy’s plan to take water from rural Nevada to provide for Las Vegas. He tiptoed into the answer, discussing first how much he admires Mulroy, noting he’d vote for her if she ran for governor or U.S. senator. Then Stoldal looked slightly abashed as he confessed he’s not on board with her efforts to take water from the rurals.

After a lifetime of training to keep your personal views to yourself, and knowing Mulroy and knowing she’s doing what she absolutely believes is best for Southern Nevada, Stoldal wasn’t keen on seeing his contradictory views in print.

Opining isn’t quite as liberating as it sounds when your work life is devoted to covering the news, especially when you know every real issue is complex and doesn’t have six-word answers.

Nobody can say Bob Stoldal doesn’t know Las Vegas issues or their history.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275.