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Yup... “retiring” but “retiring from WABC” and doing it quickly, as he said in his memo to staff.... aka Disney/ABC is hitting the reset button on management of the station, likely due to lawsuits against the MIA news director and losing a star anchor after mismanaged contract negotiations saw the anchor walk out suddenly with the contract fully paid, a six minute on air send off, and end up on a competing station in the same position just six weeks later.

 

http://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2018/2/23/the-internal-memo

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Yup... “retiring” but “retiring from WABC” and doing it quickly, as he said in his memo to staff.... aka Disney/ABC is hitting the reset button on management of the station, likely due to lawsuits against the MIA news director and losing a star anchor after mismanaged contract negotiations saw the anchor walk out suddenly with the contract fully paid, a six minute on air send off, and end up on a competing station in the same position just six weeks later.

 

http://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2018/2/23/the-internal-memo

Not to mention the accusation of sexual harassment against him set forth by Behnke referencing his comments to Stokes.

 

That said, by most accounts he's been a very successful TV executive, and plenty of people like him and respect him highly. Plus, he's worked for at least four decades, and many in his position with his net worth would be ready to retire.

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You have to rule with fear in NYC.

 

That's just the way it is .

i strongly disagree the fact is that camille left a trail of devestation with a demoralized news room, and has blood on her hands(some will say thats too far but who knows)

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i strongly disagree the fact is that camille left a trail of devestation with a demoralized news room, and has blood on her hands(some will say thats too far but who knows)

 

...and every news director gets sued at least a few times...no matter the market size.

 

I would go as far to bet the lawsuits have NOTHING to do with anything.

 

ABC and it's affils are sued every single day of the week for all kinds of reasons.

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Hopefully with the new leadership on the horizon we can see some new refreshing things happen to the station. Does anyone have any insight on was allegedly done to Lori Stokes prior to her departure? I don't recall hearing anything mentioned or I must've missed that discussion..

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...and every news director gets sued at least a few times...no matter the market size.

 

I would go as far to bet the lawsuits have NOTHING to do with anything.

 

ABC and it's affils are sued every single day of the week for all kinds of reasons.

 

I don’t think you see on air talent suing their news director for discrimination ever day of the week. That’s what happened here. There’s a reason WABC management has just been gutted.

 

Hopefully with the new leadership on the horizon we can see some new refreshing things happen to the station. Does anyone have any insight on was allegedly done to Lori Stokes prior to her departure? I don't recall hearing anything mentioned or I must've missed that discussion..

 

The WABC GM allegedly insinuated that Lori Stokes submitting to sexual favors would speed up her contract negotiations. Here is the following from Laura's lawsuit:

 

August 3rd: Goldberg said, “My agency is currently involved in negotiations to remove on-air talent from her contract but still have that contract fully paid because this person was treated so poorly by WABC, worse than you have been treated. I actually thought Dave Davis was going to lose his job last week but somehow he survived.”

 

August 16th: Lori Stokes (“Stokes, black female, Co-Anchor) announced her last day of employment with WABC “as of today”. Edwards sent a station-wide email announcing Stokes’ decision to leave. Laura told Goldberg, “I’m guessing Lori might be the person you were telling me about. So sad.” Goldberg responded, “She’s gonna [sic] be fine”.

 

On September 6, 2017, Andrew Brill (white male, ESPN Radio Reporter) told Laura generally, “Dave [Davis] told Lori [stokes] during contract negotiations, you know there is a way to make this whole process go a lot faster.” Laura recalled Goldberg had told her previously that Davis “likes black women and has a history of inappropriateness.” Thus, Laura believed that Lori was propositioned for sexual conduct in exchange for a better negotiated contract.”

 

Laura then notified HR that she would not sit in negotiations alone with Dave Davis.

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I don’t think you see on air talent suing their news director for discrimination ever day of the week. That’s what happened here. There’s a reason WABC management has just been gutted.

 

KGO TV was just sued by talent in a similar type case...ND was named in the suit.

 

http://richliebermanreport.blogspot.com/2018/02/kgo-still-hasnt-made-announcement-on-gm.html

 

Numerous other stations across the country are being sued by talent...for age discrimination.

 

It happens everyday.

There are plenty of good reasons why you DON'T just lop-off the heads of the departments. Very solid strategic reasons are behind these decisions.

 

If we fire her...she can go rouge.

If we keep her on staff...we still have almost complete control.

 

The WABC case is pretty standard fare as far as employer/employee suits go.

 

...and the best part is...

 

None of us will ever know how it ends...unless there is a stipulation making any settlement public...

 

I wouldn't bet on that stipulation becoming true.

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I guess every station has their ups and downs. Despite it all they still manage to be the #1 Watched station in the nation. They've have been for a long time.

Yes because they are in the biggest city... a pet rock in NYC would be too... that’s the most absolutely meaningless boast in the business.

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Yes because they are in the biggest city... a pet rock in NYC would be too... that’s the most absolutely meaningless boast in the business.

 

That is true, they are number one because they are in the number one city, which happens to like ABC programming. So they do have that advantage. I do agree, I don't think they'd be on the same boat if it were a different market. They just need to be refreshed. I feel like the broadcasts have been stale and the on-air presentation is kinda lazy if you will. I'm hoping with the new leadership things will change.

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That is true, they are number one because they are in the number one city, which happens to like ABC programming. So they do have that advantage. I do agree, I don't think they'd be on the same boat if it were a different market. They just need to be refreshed. I feel like the broadcasts have been stale and the on-air presentation is kinda lazy if you will. I'm hoping with the new leadership things will change.

They have become very complacent... being the top for long enough usually does that...

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