Annie Barker/U.S.A. Today Network/Imagn
Detroit authorities and citizens collected for the yearly pride flag raising in Spirit Plaza
New York
CNN
—
Two news directors at a Michigan NBC affiliate were ousted on Thursday following the blood circulation of an internal memo requiring scaled-back protection of Pride Month occasions and directing the station’s reporters to “get both sides” on LGBTQ concerns, a source with understanding of the circumstance informed CNN.
The email, sent previously this month by Stanton Tang, news director of Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV, and Amy Fox, the station’s assistant news director, said the “polarizing” nature of Pride occasions had actually distressed a few of its conservative audiences, CNN formerly reported.
“We need to recognize that some stories related to LGBTQ issues are going to be controversial and polarizing in our community,” the memo sent by Fox said. “While you personally may not agree with a certain position, people are entitled to their opinions and they are our viewers.”
“If we are covering Pride events we need to consider how to make the story balanced and get both sides of the issue,” she included.
The memo stimulated strong reaction from the newsroom’s staff, triggering the station’s owner, Texas-based Nexstar, to launch an examination into the matter. In a declaration to CNN previously this month, Nexstar said the email was “not consistent with Nexstar’s values, the way we cover the news, or the respect we have for our viewers” and excused angering members of the LGBTQ neighborhood and WOOD-TV’s audiences.
On Thursday, Gary Weitman, a Nexstar representative, validated to CNN that the business had actually made modifications to WOOD-TV’s newsroom management group to “ensure its ability to continue providing outstanding local news coverage and service to the Grand Rapids community and surrounding area.”
“As these are internal personnel decisions involving matters of personal privacy, we will decline further comment,” Weitman said.
Two of the station’s executive manufacturers, Luke Stier and Madeline Odle — who had, to name a few, openly voiced their issue over the instruction — have actually likewise left the station, the set revealed Friday on Twitter.
“We’ve had a front row seat to history for countless events in the city we love, working with the best journalists in the industry,” Stier and Odle composed. “We are heartbroken to not be with our team today continuing the incredible legacy we have fought so hard for.”
