WOOD-TV8 staff push back on internal memo to tone down Pride Month coverage

[MWmetalhead]

If I were Luke and Madeline, I wouldn’t worry about the non-compete. I doubt any judge or jury would enforce it after a company fired them. WOOD shouldn’t be allowed to prevent journalists from seeking employment after they fired the two EPS.

If they received no severance, I agree the non-compete should be unenforceable.

If they did receive severance, then that's a different story.

[OneBigFan]

There is more than a half dozen long tenured members of the on air staff and production team(s) who didn’t want to rock the boat and find themselves pushing 50 (or more) looking for another TV gig. Better to let something slip and keep your job than stay quiet and possibly be outed by a co-worker.

The new reality is Nexstar owns 197 TV in over 90 markets. Sinclair owns 294 stations in 89 markets including WWMT and Tegna owns 68 including WZZM. Every employee of those ownership groups have non-compete clauses in their contracts. At this time I believe those clauses are not limited by geography but limited to a large broadcast radius of, in this case Nexstar. Sure Sinclair and Tegna have similar clauses.

In many cases the only way an employee under contract can move to a bigger market for bigger pay is to stay with the ownership group.

However WOTS is Stanton Tang has hired an attorney. Don’t think he’ll get his job back but expect Nexstar to settle admitting nothing with an NDA as part of deal.

[whitebalance]

Tang will get nothing.

[Newsman123]

The non compete is absolutely enforceable. Its a legal provision, and they were fired for cause. It might be different if it was a layoff. Even then, they are usually still enforced.

[sinklair]

From FTV Live:
https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2023/ ... pping-wood

Maybe Tang and Fox should apply for the WWMT opening. Sinclair’s GM Corbus is desperate to fill the position left open by Matt Johnson with very few people apparently willing to work for Sinclair. Tang has worked for Sinclair before… and he’s comfortable with using questionable ethics and management practices… so sounds like a perfect marriage!

[whitebalance]

Mr. Tang needs to take his cult like views to a Sinclair station. He can push his right wing agenda all he wants.

It appears to me that if GM Brinks had done her job correctly, all this could have been avoided. She seemed to have turned a deaf ear on her employees.

[MWmetalhead]

I agree with that last part.

[sinklair]

OneBigFan: I agree with you, however it would be a pretty crappy move if those “tenured” WOOD TV staffers encouraged the leak… then didn’t back up their colleagues who were made scapegoats for standing up to management. I hope that’s not the case here…

[whitebalance]

Does Nexstar have proof that Luke and Madeline released the memo?. Do they just have statements that may have been made under duress of being fired? How was the investigation conducted? Who conducted the investigation? How much experience did this person or persons have in conducting investigations.


No investigation into the voter suppression memo. A superior discouraging you from voting in the primary. Planting the seed of intimidation. The law encourages people to vote. Sue Tully of Nexstar doesn't seem to concerned about that. Neither did GM Brinks.

GM Brinks, in my opinion, failed as a GM. She needs to go
Bring in a new GM, hire back Luke and Madeline.

[inmyopinion]

Does Nexstar have proof that Luke and Madeline released the memo?. Do they just have statements that may have been made under duress of being fired? How was the investigation conducted? Who conducted the investigation? How much experience did this person or persons have in conducting investigations.


No investigation into the voter suppression memo. A superior discouraging you from voting in the primary. Planting the seed of intimidation. The law encourages people to vote. Sue Tully of Nexstar doesn't seem to concerned about that. Neither did GM Brinks.

GM Brinks, in my opinion, failed as a GM. She needs to go
Bring in a new GM, hire back Luke and Madeline.

Corporate was in the building for more than a week, Im not defending them AT all, but Im pretty sure they have proof of who leaked the memo or they wouldn't have fired the two. And yes, I agree, the voter suppression memo should be a bigger deal, as I predicted it would be about a week ago.

[georgetownt]

Too bad a memo wasn't sent out late 90's about doing too many stories about the Duane Faust billion dollar project....

[tc]

Also, several people used to be in the LGBTQ community who are no longer there and now disavow it. There are several reasons for that, which I won't go into here, but there are people who were part of it that are no longer part of it.

What's your source for this claim?

[AndyD]

How many sources do you want?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14567650/

https://changedmovement.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zRtjHOoPAY

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Sex/story ... 465&page=1

Pat Robertson's CBN, an ABC News article from 2001, the website for a "pray away the gay" group and one quack study do not count as reliable source. Ridiculous.

I will say there's obviously nothing wrong with being balanced in coverage. That's what a journalist should strive to do. But to think a Pride celebration needs to be "balanced" by talking to some anti-LGTBQ+ nuts is tantamount to covering a Juneteenth celebration and getting reaction from the KKK to "balance it out".

[HD74]

Go away.

[tc]

How many sources do you want?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14567650/

https://changedmovement.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zRtjHOoPAY

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Sex/story ... 465&page=1

Oh please, just stop.