Former Channel 5 reporter says Blaise Lobato gave money to her son after $29.5 million settlement

What happened

Cyndi Lundeberg, a former KVVU-TV, Channel 5 journalist, said Kirstin "Blaise" Lobato gave money to Lundeberg's 4-year-old son, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Lobato had been declared innocent in a 2001 murder and recently received a $29.5 million settlement. Lundeberg posted about the gift on social media, where the response was mostly positive.

Lundeberg told the Review-Journal she did not take money for herself, though she signed paperwork for her son's account. She said she learned of the arrangement earlier this month from a call by Lobato's financial advisor. Lobato's attorney, David Owens, declined to say how much money was given.

Background on the Lobato case

The verdict and settlement

In 2024, federal jurors awarded Lobato $34 million. They found that two now-retired Metropolitan Police Department detectives fabricated evidence against her and intentionally caused her emotional distress, according to the Review-Journal. The case is part of a long-running story about Metro police conduct. Owens said earlier this month that the $29.5 million settlement resolved her suit instead of lengthy appellate litigation.

How the reporter became involved

Lundeberg said she met Lobato around 2015, while Lobato was still in prison, and first told her she thought she was guilty. After looking into the case, she concluded Lobato was in Panaca, an eastern Nevada town 170 miles from Las Vegas, when Duran Bailey was killed. She also came to believe law enforcement had committed misconduct.

She produced a long investigative piece and described herself as "emotionally invested." In a 2024 Facebook video, she asked for donations for a movie about Lobato. Her LinkedIn page says she left TV journalism for a hospital public relations job in 2019, and she said she occasionally gave Lobato a couple hundred dollars while in that role.

The earlier settlement offer

Lundeberg said she believes prosecutors once offered a deal that would have freed Lobato if she agreed not to sue. She first recalled urging Lobato to keep fighting while she was still a reporter, then later said she did not tell her to reject it. A 2017 Facebook post indicates Lundeberg reported on the offer for Channel 5. A Clark County district attorney's office spokesperson could not immediately confirm the terms.

What ethics experts said

Edward Wasserman, a former dean of the journalism graduate school at UC Berkeley, told the Review-Journal he saw no direct harm but worried about the precedent. He said reporters and sources should not expect "a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."

Mary Hausch, a former Review-Journal managing editor and UNLV journalism professor, called the distinctions workarounds. "The perception is still there and therefore, the conflict of interest is there," she said. Kathleen Culver of the University of Wisconsin-Madison was less sure, saying the gift apparently could not influence reporting since Lundeberg is no longer a journalist.

Kelly McBride of Poynter said most newsrooms would bar a journalist from advising a newsmaker, though she did not see that as a major infraction here. She said that if Lundeberg returned to journalism, it would be a "huge black mark on her reputation because she essentially took money from a source." Lundeberg said on Instagram she has no plans to return.

Responses from the station and Lobato's attorney

Channel 5 General Manager Michael Korr said he would not comment on a former employee and hung up on a Review-Journal reporter. He did not answer questions about station policy on staff taking money from people they cover. News Director Judy Greene also declined to comment.

Owens said Lobato had no comment and asked that she be left alone. "This is not news. It is not newsworthy," he wrote. Lundeberg said, "I just never gave her money or worked on this case in hopes of anything in return."

What to watch next

• Whether KVVU-TV will review Lundeberg's prior coverage. The general manager would not answer that question, according to the Review-Journal.
• The terms of the earlier offer from prosecutors, which the Clark County district attorney's office could not immediately confirm.
• The amount given to Lundeberg's son, which Lobato's attorney declined to disclose.