• Los Angeles Times, Wednesday, November 19, 2008 9:15 AM

A television news director who was fired by Univision last year contends in a lawsuit that company executives shaped stories to woo advertisers. Jorge Mettey served for five years as the news director of KMEX-TV Channel 34, Los Angeles' top-rated station. He was ousted in April 2007 after the company determined that he breached ethics policies in directing news coverage.

The suit claims that Mettey was fired because he refused to go along with Univision's alleged practice of tailoring news coverage for some advertising sponsors.

The situation intensified in early 2007, after a group of investors acquired Univision in a $12.3-billion leveraged buyout and "the pressure was on to increase advertising revenue," says Federico Sayre, Mettey's attorney. Univision insists that Mettey's claims have absolutely no merit.

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