Intern breaks window chasing KSTP producer, cops report

St. Paul police were called to KSTP-TV last week after an intern allegedly tried to administer a beat down to an executive producer.

St. Paul Police Department spokesman Peter Panos told me he had read the police report, but due to a technical glitch I have not been able to see it yet.

Off the top of his head Tuesday, Panos recalled: "Female intern, they had had some disciplinary problems with; she was having problems that morning. They decided to terminate her at that point. When they did, she went off on the person who terminated her. Tried to attack Danielle. Somebody got in between them. Later on in the morning, this girl came at her again. Danielle ran into an office and the girl busted the window out."

Niccccee. So much for covering the news. They are again making the news over at KSTP-TV.

No charges have been filed.

A non-police source told me the intern's name and that the executive producer involved is Danielle Prenevost.

On Sunday, I called the intern and asked if it was true she chased a manager around the KSTP newsroom. "No comment," she said. You didn't chase Danielle, I persisted? "No comment," she said, "I'll talk to you later."

Then I called KSTP-TV to ask Prenevost about the altercation. "That's not something I'm going to talk about, thank you," said Prenevost. Did you call the police? "I'm going to hang up now, thank you, C.J., good-bye."

Who knows whether this encounter was unavoidable but from what I've heard Prenevost's management style could use mentoring and/or training. I'm told Prenevost's normal tone of voice and choice of words are sometimes more likely to escalate a situation than deflate it.

For example, I'm told that if the first instructions Prenevost has given to underlings (even those higher up than interns) do not yield the desired results, it is not uncommon for these words to come flying out Danielle's mouth: My orders to you were...

Oh, oh, just hearing that made me want to come flying over a desk! If Prenevost has ever said such, she needs to drop those five little words from her repertoire especially in these stressful times, even in a newsroom where pressure is the norm.