News Directors Fired After Asking Team to Cover Both Sides of 'Pride' Month - But They Aren't the Only Ones Gone
There are doubtlessly countless corporate executives breathing a sigh of relief that the month of June — LGBT “pride month” — has passed them by.
For the first time in recent memory, virtue-signaling toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, as well as any other identities added to the alphabet soup in recent years, was met with serious resistance when numerous campaigns began shoving values inimical to many Americans’ into their faces — and Americans began shoving back.
Thus, for those employed to market Bud Light, Target, Ford and others, “pride month” is now “damage control months” as C-suite types scramble to undo what the diversity, equity and inclusion inculcators hath wrought.
And now media giant Nexstar may be among them.
You might not know the brand Nexstar, but you likely know one of its brands; the media conglomerate is the largest owner of individual television stations in the United States.
According to CNN, the company faced a crisis in the midst of “pride month” when the news director and assistant news director at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan told reporters to “get both sides” on LGBT controversies, saying they’d faced feedback from conservative viewers that their coverage was “polarizing.”
“We need to recognize that some stories related to LGBTQ issues are going to be controversial and polarizing in our community. While you personally may not agree with a certain position, people are entitled to their opinions and they are our viewers,” the memo read, according to The Desk.
That resulted in a backlash from people in the newsroom.
At the time, it sounded like the news director was the only one in trouble. “We’re looking into the situation at WOOD-TV, as the communication regarding the station’s coverage of PRIDE month activities in the area is not consistent with Nexstar’s values, the way we cover the news, or the respect we have for our viewers,” the company said in a statement, according to CNN’s June 16 report.
Nexstar said it would “take appropriate action as necessary to address this situation” and issued an apology “for offending members of the LGBTQ community and WOOD-TV’s viewers.”
Well, it has taken “appropriate action” — and the people who found themselves sans employment were both those who complained about the travesty of being forced to cover both sides of the story, along with those who tried to get them to do it.
According to The Detroit News, two executive producers at WOOD — Madeline Odle and Luke Stier — were fired last week after making their criticism of the memo public, violating the company’s confidentiality agreement.
The two released a statement Friday, confirming they were “waking up reading the news instead of writing it.”
More’s the pity.
They also have non-compete clauses, which makes it a bit difficult to get work at other stations.
“We have been told our non-compete clauses remain in effect, which means we are looking at unexpected career changes,” they said.
What’s more, they don’t exactly have a spouse to rely on for a second income: “Odle and Stier, who are getting married to each other next month, both tweeted on June 15 that a newsroom memo about toning down Pride Month coverage faced opposition among staff,” the Detroit News reported.
“This memo does not reflect our views,” Odle said regarding the memo. “It has not and will not change how we cover members of our community.”
— Madeline Odle (@MadelineOdleTV) June 30, 2023
However, the authors of the memo — station news director Stanton Tang and assistant news director Amy Fox — were also let go Thursday, per CNN.
Nexstar said the firings were made to “ensure its ability to continue providing outstanding local news coverage and service to the Grand Rapids community and surrounding area.”
So, in other words: At Nexstar, asking your reporters to cover both sides of a controversial topic will get you fired, and complaining about being asked to cover both sides of a controversial topic will get you fired.
That’s one way to stand in the middle of the road. It still won’t stop them from getting run over, one suspects, especially in Grand Rapids.
The message seems to be that we’ve reached a status quo. “Pride month” is good, but don’t go overboard. Don’t make waves. Quietly acquiesce and hope that the controversy passes over you. Refuse and face the consequences.
The issue is that these things don’t just pass by anymore, particularly with social media putting every company under a magnifying glass. Firing everyone involved and starting afresh simply doesn’t work, not in these times.
It could very well be that Nexstar ends up being the final victim of corporate America’s “pride month” from hell — all because it took umbrage at the idea that journalism exists to cover both sides of a story.
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