TAMPA, Fla. â€" A confrontation between a television producer and Sheldon Adelson's daughter, captured on video, illustrates escalating tensions as the news media tries to scrutinize the mega-donors who are pouring millions into the presidential race.
A producer and cameraman for the left-leaning news program “Democracy Now†were wandering the halls of the corporate suites at the Tampa Bay Times Forum when they came across Mr. Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate, being pushed in a wheelchair. Mr. Adelson, who has given tens of millions of dollars to Republicans and the “super PACs†that support them, replied “no comment†when the producer, Mike Burke, asked what he thought of the Romney-Ryan ticket. (The segment begins at the 10-minute mark in this video.)
Mr. Burke continues to follow Mr. Adelson as he is wheeled away, according to the video, and then it becomes difficult to tell what happened.
M r. Burke pursues Mr. Adelson and his entourage, and the producer appears to collide with a dark-haired woman, believed to be Mr. Adelson's daughter.
“Don't touch me!†the woman says, leaping forward. “I'll hit you.â€
“I did not touch her,†Mr. Burke says. “She ran back into me.â€
As the cameraman moves forward, the camera suddenly starts shaking, and Mr. Burke claims that the woman stole the camera. It crashes to the ground.
A spokesman for the family would not discuss the details of what took place, but did say, “We believe in free access by the press and access to people of interest.â€
He continued, “But in general, members of the press should not push, shove, or force any physical contact with anyone in order to conduct an interview. We wish them the best in their continuing coverage of the convention.â€
Although Mr. Adelson, chief executive of the Sands Corporation, has pledged to spend up to $100 million to defeat President Obama, he has preferred to let his money do the talking, rarely granting interviews.
That has not spared him and his family scrutiny in the national press, whether it's coverage of his plans to attend the Republican National Convention here or a deep investigation into his casino company's dealings in China.
