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

[brianbcomedy]

https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/news/ ... -coverage/

[MWmetalhead]

I suspect Stanton Tang and Amy Fox might be reprimanded or fired over this.

https://www.woodtv.com/about-us/wood-tv ... room-memo/

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ ... 326709007/

My thoughts? I think potentially a mountain was made out of a mole hill. That is, unless there are other actions by the ND or Assistant ND that already compromised rapport with news staff prior to this specific incident.

I'd be curious to know how 8's on-air reporting compared to that of 13 and 17.

[Barry Sanders]

A mountain out of a mole hill? Seriously? Holy shit. Did you read the fucking memo???

[TC Talks]

That was quite ignorant of the ND and AND to try and dictate coverage. There aren't two sides to Pride events any more than there are two sides to Independence Day or Christmas.

[MasterB]

FTVLive headline I saw on Tue sounded more like the memo came from Nexstar HQ I didn't know it was from Wood TV, I wonder if the 2 will be fired or suspended will not know unless the 2 speak on it because the stations/TV groups always keep that type of stuff hush, hush, hush other than what has already been reported. I'm guessing the FTVLive report was the same as the first link since it was under a pay wall on FTVLive.

[MWmetalhead]

Yes, I read the portions of the memo that were publicly divulged. TV news departments routinely make assessments of how much air time to devote to a particular subject.

The memo did not say to run disparaging stories or to avoid further pride month-related stories altogether. It did state a faction of the viewing audience was uneasy with the volume of such reports that had already aired.

No one has answered my question of how 8's coverage of pride month compares to ZZM or XMI.

[ral315]

The memo did not say to run disparaging stories or to avoid further pride month-related stories altogether. It did state a faction of the viewing audience was uneasy with the volume of such reports that had already aired.

There are two issues here: The first is the directive to show "both sides" of the issue. That's like telling your news department to highlight anti-war, anti-soldier members of the community on Veterans Day.

The second is that the newsroom's decisions should not be dictated by the politics of some loud viewers. We all know that the lines get blurred in that respect, as well as the line between newsroom and advertisers. But it's not surprising that they pushed back against a dictate, from on high, telling them to avoid certain topics that they think are newsworthy merely because their viewers don't agree politically.

[Barry Sanders]

I thought Michele DeSelms summed it up very well on Twitter. She wrote that the mandate within the memo was “essentially requiring us to give equal time to hate and discrimination”.

[km1125]

I guess it all depends on what was meant by “If we are covering pride events, we need to consider how to make the story balanced and get both sides of the issue,”

If "the other side" means that you're covering ALL THE OTHER NEWS out there and not giving an irrational amount of coverage to just this one topic, then I'd say it's a pretty valid memo. If "the other side" means countering the drivel that "we're not treated special enough" by the LGBTQ community, then it's also a pretty valid memo.

It may be nothing to do with hate and discrimination, although that's always the first horse that some people jump on and run with.

[Barry Sanders]

If “the other side" means countering the drivel that "we're not treated special enough" by the LGBTQ community, then it's also a pretty valid memo.

It may be nothing to do with hate and discrimination, although that's always the first horse that some people jump on and run with.

Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

It has NOTHING to do with being treated “special enough”. It’s about being treated EQUALLY and like a human being. Nobody is asking to be treated better than everyone else.

How is it that such a large portion of America still does NOT understand that?

[km1125]

If “the other side" means countering the drivel that "we're not treated special enough" by the LGBTQ community, then it's also a pretty valid memo.

It may be nothing to do with hate and discrimination, although that's always the first horse that some people jump on and run with.

Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

It has NOTHING to do with being treated “special enough”. It’s about being treated EQUALLY and like a human being. Nobody is asking to be treated better than everyone else.

How is it that such a large portion of America still does NOT understand that?

Well, you can think that, but you'd be wrong.

Just "having our own month to celebrate" is wanting to be "more special" than everybody else.

[ZenithCKLW]

If “the other side" means countering the drivel that "we're not treated special enough" by the LGBTQ community, then it's also a pretty valid memo.

It may be nothing to do with hate and discrimination, although that's always the first horse that some people jump on and run with.

Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

It has NOTHING to do with being treated “special enough”. It’s about being treated EQUALLY and like a human being. Nobody is asking to be treated better than everyone else.

How is it that such a large portion of America still does NOT understand that?

Well, you can think that, but you'd be wrong.

Just "having our own month to celebrate" is wanting to be "more special" than everybody else.

Your assertion assumes that community is treated equally, fairly, and without prejudice the rest of the year. News flash, they aren't treated equally, and face discrimination and hatred all year long. Pardon that community for asking for a month to be supported and not be treated poorly. You can think that's not true, but you'd be wrong.

[ZenithCKLW]

Double post.

[georgetownt]

Boy they sure adhere to the Memo not to accurately report on the bumbling, stumbling, fumbling, old fool of The you know the thing... the thing... whatever, come on man .... POTUS

[Reese K Rickards]

According to a February 2022 Gallup poll,

"WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The percentage of U.S. adults who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual has increased to a new high of 7.1%. Michigan totals between 3 and 3.9 % who identify as LGBTQ. A different survey in 2016, from the Williams Institute, estimated that 0.6% of all U.S. adults identify as transgender. "