The Virginian-Pilot today did a profile of Joel Rubin, host of On the Record and CEO of Rubin Communications. Wearing so many hats (some, such as his involvement with the Norfolk Kiwanis, too numerous to name) creates a situation where his ethics could be called into question. But, as WVEC reporter Mike Gooding says, “the proof is in the pudding.”
“Joel does a nice job,” said Tim Murtaugh, who managed Republican U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake’s contentious re-election campaign. “People will have their preconceptions as to the personal convictions of whatever host there is, whether it’s Joel Rubin, Tim Russert or anyone else. But if you watch Joel and watch it consistently, he runs a very fair program.
“I hear people on both sides of the aisle say they don’t like certain things, which is probably the best endorsement you could give him.”
Robert Dean, the former Beach councilman, said Rubin walks “a fine line,” but that “so far, I’ve not had any major heartburn.”
“Nothing ever came up that made me have to worry about the duality of his role,” said [Mario] Hewitt, the station’s [WVEC’s] longtime boss. “Joel had a sense of equilibrium.”
There you have it.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 