A COMPROMISING POSITION INDEED.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH The Media

Perhaps the thinking by the brain trust at Fox Sports Net is that since this wretched Carolyn Hughes-Derek Lowe soap opera has gone on this long, why not just stretch it another few weeks so there'll be enough material to devote a fresh hour to it on one those cheeseball ``FSN Across America'' episodes.

And Hughes, by all means, can host it, with that everything's-just-dandy bright white smile. Now there's some appointment television.

For that to happen, of course, the aspiring FSN West reporter/anchor would have to come off the company-imposed ``vacation'' that she's been instructed to take by her employers. For the past two weeks, she's been in limbo while FSN officials try to sort out what's fact and folly over her off-the-field involvement with the Dodgers pitcher, which by all accounts indicate she'd hardly be impartial if she were to continue covering the team.

On Thursday, Fox released a statement: ``She is expected to return as host of 'FSN Across America' when the show is scheduled to return in mid-September (but) it is not anticipated that she will return as a local reporter for FSN West or FSN West 2.''

Seriously?

No official suspension, or reassignment, or firing on a clear-cut Ethics 101 conflict-of-interest case. If you put it in sports terms - which Hughes may or may not be familiar with - this is a slam dunk. Especially if FSN West has any interest in salvaging what little credibility it is losing day by day because of this matter.

Maybe Fox is trying to be less than heavy-handed in its approach, allowing her to make a graceful exit. Maybe company policy considers this a gray area, and the human resources legal department feel their hands are tied.

Maybe Hughes just ought to consider another line of work. Fast.

For a little perspective, this breach of professional etiquette has generated the most attention for FSN West since Jack Haley guaranteed the Lakers were shipping three players to Utah for Carlos Boozer last February. And somehow, he kept his job, too.

--All things considered: According to several sources, the Dodgers have already banned Hughes from any access to the stadium press box and locker room, an edict that comes directly from Jamie McCourt.

The statement released Thursday indicates that Hughes could return as an anchor for the ``Southern California Sports Report.'' No way.

Imagine not just the position Hughes has put herself in, but what this does for co-workers Lindsay Soto and Priscilla Hojiwala, who don't deserve similar scrutiny but will nonetheless get lumped into this by those who remain skeptical about the motivations of females becoming sports reporters.

Does this set back the credibility of all women's broadcasters? Put it this way: Three female reporters asked to comment here about the ethics of this kind of situation declined to be interviewed. Off the record, they expressed frustration, disdain and disappointment - and none asked about any of the known details of the relationship in question.

Michelle Tafoya, the ABC ``Monday Night Football'' sideline reporter, said when asked on a national conference call Wednesday about this incident that she'd hope that just like all major-league pitchers wouldn't be judged based on Lowe's actions, all female reporters shouldn't be judged by what Hughes did.

``If someone is going to decide that all female sportscasters are of the one ilk, cut from the same cloth, because of one of us, then that's simply not a smart way to make decisions about people,'' Tafoya said. ``I hate being classified as a female sportscaster. I'm a sportscaster. To separate us by sex is kind of offensive.''

--As it evolves: To its credit, most of the mainstream media in this market has shown plenty of resistance about diving head-first into this Hughes-Lowe quagmire, waiting for FSN to make some sort of decision.

Rumors go all the way back to spring training about Hughes' relationship with Lowe - there's a real mushy piece she did with Lowe in Vero Beach., Fla., where she accompanied him to a jewelry store to get his finger sized for the Red Sox's World Series ring. Yet it wasn't until Ron Fineman's Internet publication ``On The Record'' decided it had enough material to go with a story last Friday that anything of substance surfaced.

The site that tracks the behind-the-scenes of local TV newsroom activity approached the relationship from the perspective of Lowe's wife, Trinka, and included photographs obtained from an undisclosed source that appear to have been taken by a private investigator.

Since then, syndicated radio show host Tom Leykis and The Ticket 1540-AM's Dave Smith have interviewed Trinka Lowe on the air, and it's become widespread sports-talk show fodder since.

When asked by Smith whether she confronted Hughes about the relationship with her husband, Trinka Lowe said: ``I talked to her and asked if this was an appropriate relationship to have with someone you cover. To me, it's a conflict of interest. I don't think you can have a relationship with someone you're paid to report on. She said she had no problem with it.''

Isn't that odd that, for as much as this all may have pained Trinka Lowe from a personal standpoint, she asked the question that made the most sense?

To Fred Roggin's credit, he brought up the relationship on his 1540-AM show Tuesday only as a professional issue, leaving the morality of it for others to judge.

``Most media companies have rules against having a relationship with a player, team or organization they cover,'' the long-time Channel 4 sportscaster pointed out. ``If you're married to a person (on your beat), your judgment is impaired and integrity compromised. You could show favoritism or know things that you don't report on because of your relationship. It's grounds for termination.''

In a Boston Herald gossip column Wednesday, Trinka Lowe is quoted: ``I don't want this portrayed as some sweet romance between the baseball player and the sports reporter, that his marriage broke up and he fell into her arms. The truth is that he chose to do that while he was still married.''

The truth may ultimately be that aspect of this relationship is none of our business, and only came to light because Trinka Lowe did so. So would this have quietly passed if Trinka Lowe had not said anything?

The truth is we should expect everything to be above board when it comes to a reporter-subject relationship in all mediums of journalism. We don't have that here any longer.

We can simply change the channel if Hughes shows up again trying to pretend to be a reporter. And Mrs. Lowe can be comforted by the fact that another alleged sportscaster Lisa Guerrero, aka the current Mrs. Scott Erickson, is available if she needs help understanding any of this.

SOUND BYTES

WHAT SMOKES

-- Linda Cohn, at the Staples Center venue to host this weekend's coverage of the X Games on both ESPN and ABC, may not be in the demographic target audience for the action sports genre. But she admits it has been a neat way to connect more with her 14-year-old daughter and 9-year- old son, who will be out here with her to witness the vert ramps, skateboarding and BMX bike jumping firsthand. ``It's like ice hockey, where you gotta see it in person to understand that 'wow' factor,'' said Cohn, who will also host for the first time an hour-long ``XCenter'' on ESPN2 nightly (9 p.m.) that acts as a sort-of ``SportsCenter'' just for the event. ``I think the big thing as a parent is it gets them away from the video games and TV for awhile. After my son sees this, he may ask for a skateboard. And I'll do it, but I'll also get the helmet and knee pads.''

WHAT CHOKES

-- So Tanya Roberts, who at her advanced age still wants to be thought of as a former ``Bond girl,'' just happens to get on the phone with respected media folk (not to name names, but like a Steve Mason or Fred Roggin or Rick Monday or even KFWB-AM sportscaster Bill Seward), just to talk about how cool it is to hang out in Las Vegas these days. Oh, wait, it's just another cheesy radio commercial sponsored by a resort that's giving out free show tickets if the listener calls in within 15 minutes. No disrespect to such a well-regarded thespian like Ms. Roberts, but if she wants to pimp a desert outpost on her own, great. Stop dragging reputable sportscasters down Interstate 15 with you.

BY TOM HOFFARTH

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SOUND BYTES (see text)