So should that Mike Huether airtime be considered a political donation, then?

Pat Powers

In the last week or so, the KELOland website posted this odd story noting that they’re ‘not paying’ former Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether to do his show:

It’s a half hour program hosted by former Sioux Falls mayor Mike Huether who travels the countryside meeting people with interesting stories that don’t usually make the headlines.

It’s early morning, just outside the KELOLAND studios and Mike Huether pulls up in his sponsored vehicle to load up, television gear that he’s suddenly now becoming familiar with, as he and his cameraman get ready to hit the road.

and…

Huether is not employed by KELO, but he and KELO reached an agreement for him to host KELOLAND ‘On The Road.’

and..

While Huether is the man in front of the camera, KELOLAND photographer Taylor Yocum is the man behind the camera.

Read it here.

So, KELOland isn’t paying him, but co-brands the show, gives him a primetime spot, and supplies a cameraman? And he’s driving a sponsored vehicle? If he was running for something, you’d expect those things to appear on a campaign finance report.

Pardon the cynic in me, but this activity seems to be a nakedly political move to keep Huether in the public’s eye, as opposed to becoming stale white bread that’s been sitting on the shelf far past the expiration date.

8 thoughts on “So should that Mike Huether airtime be considered a political donation, then?”

  1. Curious, does anyone really watch this? Haven’t we had more than enough of him?

  2. At least it isn’t doom and gloom news we normally see and hear. Nice to see human interest stories coming from places other than Sioux Falls. Nice to know other advertisers are not paying for his face time on KELO??

  3. If Heuther & his wealthy buddies pay the station to air his vanity project, then no, it’s not a donation, at least not a donation from KELO.

  4. It’s Apprentice after the fact, or is like Reagan and General Electric Theater before the act? Or, is it just like Huckabee on FOX?

    The guy never gives up. I’ll give him credit for that, but when is he coming to Sioux Falls to do a story about the bunker ramp or the siding on the Events Center?

  5. This is very strange. He doesn’t have a background in journalism or media of any kind, yet they give him a show? What’s next – Wake Up with Billie Sutton and KELOland Evening News with Brendan Johnson?

  6. Maybe I’m parsing the text, but “not employed by” doesn’t eliminate the possibility that he’s under some kind of a contract relationship.

    I was once offered the chance to produce and host a drive-time radio show for a station in Providence, RI. Their idea was that they would provide the airtime, I would provide the voice, stories, and sell my own commercials. I would pay a flat fee to the radio station. This would give me the risk of economic success or failure depending on my ad sales, promoting myself into paid engagements as a consultant and speaker, etc.

    It sounded like a scam to me, so I asked Rick Knobe about it. He checked it out and said it was legitimate, but why pay to broadcast in Rhode Island when he would let me co-host his show with him on KSOO for free? That led me to being his fill-in host several times. I absolutely loved it!

    My point is that there are all kinds of possibilities surrounding the circumstances that led to Mike Huether hosting a show on KELO-TV.

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