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8 hours ago, MorningNews said:

This is getting ridiculous. I’ve not once seen this discourse around Shirleen in the decade she’s been at WABC yet suddenly everyone’s had a negative opinion of her just days after we learned she was called an offensive term.

 

FWIW, Ken and Shirleen seemed to have a great on and off air relationship. I never got a sense that she was cold to him or vice versa.
 

 

I never got the vibe that there was tension between Ken & Shirleen and I never got the vibe that she was a mean person. The backlash against her is surprising given that a few months ago, members of this thread said she was national anchor material and a good get by WABC.

 

But again, I --like many of us-- don't know her personally, and are not privy to what happens behind the scenes.

 

Moreover, we have all been in a position where a coworker or someone we know pissed us off, and we said a word that we shouldn't have. For that, I'm not going to destroy Ken based on that one moment.  

Edited by MediaZone4K
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On 5/15/2023 at 8:11 PM, NYNewsCoverage said:

This definitely doesn't seem good for WABC in any way. It is good they took action for Ken, but this is suddenly now giving a lot of attention to Shirleen (again, its NYPost commenters, but it seems like most on the comments are actually defending Ken and blaming Shirleen). I suppose we will see what happens in the coming days and months with arrangements. There's still another longtime morning anchor (and more deserving) that should be in the weekday anchor chair, who's name starts with an M. It would be really cool for Phil Lipof to come back, and reunite with Michelle on weekdays! I feel like that would be quite the strong duo, and viewers have already come to know them. Purely wishcasting, of course. 

Phil Lipof would never come back unless he was anchoring with Michelle GUARANTEED! So we can just forget about that pipe dream. 

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1 hour ago, Geoffrey said:

You're blaming someone for getting a promotion?

It's been well documented that the previous news director was not well liked for the decisions she made and how she treated people. Nobody moves cities to anchor one hour long newscast, and definitely not the Noon! Shirleen was groomed to be Lori's replacement and people felt a certain way about it. I vividly remember people commenting on this very blog that they thought it was weird Shirleen was moving for one show.

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11 hours ago, JustinH said:

It's been well documented that the previous news director was not well liked for the decisions she made and how she treated people. Nobody moves cities to anchor one hour long newscast, and definitely not the Noon! Shirleen was groomed to be Lori's replacement and people felt a certain way about it. I vividly remember people commenting on this very blog that they thought it was weird Shirleen was moving for one show.

If that’s true, then the blame is solely on Camille Edwards and Dave Davis. Not Shirleen. No offense, but blaming an anchor for the missteps of a news director and GM who haven’t been in the building for years is beyond unfair, especially when this talk about Shirleen amounts to nothing more than baseless gossip. Are we supposed to blame Sade Baderinwa for taking Roz Abrams’ old job now?

11 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

But again, I --like many of us-- don't know her personally, and are not privy to what happens behind the scenes.

 

Moreover, we have all been in a position where a coworker or someone we know pissed us off, and we said a word that we shouldn't have. For that, I'm not going to destroy Ken based on that one moment.  

I get it, but in any workplace, you have a responsibility to maintain standards of professionalism. No one claims to know what the working environment was like, nor do I think anyone is trying to “destroy” Ken. However, we do know that WABC fired Ken with cause. I don’t like the fact that he’s gone either, but there are ways to settle your problems without getting your a$$ kicked out the door. I work with plenty of people I don’t care for, but if I called any of them that slur, I’d be gone too.

Edited by nycnewsjunkie
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8 hours ago, MorningNews said:

This is getting ridiculous. I’ve not once seen this discourse around Shirleen in the decade she’s been at WABC yet suddenly everyone’s had a negative opinion of her just days after we learned she was called an offensive term.

 

FWIW, Ken and Shirleen seemed to have a great on and off air relationship. I never got a sense that she was cold to him or vice versa.
 

 


THIS. I find it incredibly alarming that, after all these years, character assassinations of a woman have launched only because a man in a more senior position was fired for using a vulgar term to describe her.  

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3 minutes ago, wabceyewitness said:


THIS. I find it incredibly alarming that, after all these years, character assassinations of a woman have launched only because a man in a more senior position was fired for using a vulgar term to describe her.  

You're allowed your opinion, I'm allowed mine. This is America after all. Also, never said what Ken allegedly did was right, just didn't think he should have been fired. 

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Yeah anyway, regardless of the personal issues aside, I'm pretty sure we will be hearing more and more details about this incident if Ken speaks out and we will likely hear his side of the story. Maybe he had his reasons for uttering that word, but still, doesn't matter whether you like the person or not, name-calling like that shouldn't be tolerated in any workplace regardless of the circumstances that lead to it. If it was allowed then it would send the wrong message out to staff and it's promoting bad behavior in the workplace. It's all about respect and kindness. Ken was indeed a class-act anchor, well-spoken, and a true professional, but that doesn't excuse him from insulting others. And even if Shirleen is not "liked" nobody has to "like" anyone as long as the job is getting done that is what matters. She does the job incredibly well too at the end of the day and that's what is important to the viewer they don't see what happens behind the scenes. 

 

There is always a story behind everyone's actions perhaps and I think it's always important to hear their side. But I'm glad that WABC has a zero-tolerance policy on disrespecting others, I hope this firing is a wake-up call for not only the employees at WABC, ABC, and Disney but really for all of us in the workplace that colleagues oughta be respected, despite their differences.

 

It's still kinda hard to fathom this change though, so swift and unexpected... 

 

Edited by Vlad
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Listen guys -

I said Ken was fired for cause. What he said wasn’t right. It’s a disgusting word to use, let alone call someone. 
what I said was that SA has been the same person for 20 years. She is not the nicest person. She knows how to be fake.  If she doesn’t feel like she can gain something from you - she’s not very friendly. 

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1 hour ago, nynewsguy said:

Listen guys -

I said Ken was fired for cause. What he said wasn’t right. It’s a disgusting word to use, let alone call someone. 
what I said was that SA has been the same person for 20 years. She is not the nicest person. She knows how to be fake.  If she doesn’t feel like she can gain something from you - she’s not very friendly. 

Evidence?

EDIT: Shouldn’t have even asked. It’s baseless and it’s being pulled out of you know where.

Edited by nycnewsjunkie
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1 hour ago, nynewsguy said:

Listen guys -

I said Ken was fired for cause. What he said wasn’t right. It’s a disgusting word to use, let alone call someone. 
what I said was that SA has been the same person for 20 years. She is not the nicest person. She knows how to be fake.  If she doesn’t feel like she can gain something from you - she’s not very friendly. 

You....can't just say that without any context...

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1 hour ago, nynewsguy said:

Listen guys -
what I said was that SA has been the same person for 20 years. She is not the nicest person. She knows how to be fake.  If she doesn’t feel like she can gain something from you - she’s not very friendly. 

That is caca, and you know it. And I won't even wanna ask for proof too.

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15 hours ago, JustinH said:

Phil Lipof would never come back unless he was anchoring with Michelle GUARANTEED! So we can just forget about that pipe dream. 

Who would leave network for local news, I’d never do that even it was part time. Unless my contract doesn’t get renewed.

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1 hour ago, Action Newsroom said:

That is caca, and you know it. And I won't even wanna ask for proof too.

 

 

 

You don't know that, you don't know that, I'm being neutral on this, but he may have worked at WABC. So this reaction by several of you guys are to stop and it not “caca” cause you dont know that he obviously has been around her and worked with her either at WABC or WPVI. This is a good time to mention this was the same reaction when former Channel 7 anchor Charles Perez took a blowtorch to the station telling his experiences about some of the anchors, hello he worked there too. I'm not saying whether I believe it or not but I'm staying neutral if I knew SA yes I defend her however i’d be neutral about it and listen to both sides, including the accuser. They're is a cause an effect unless you are mentally ill no man calls a woman that word for no reason this is why I'm neutral because there must've been a reason for it, not defending him using that word but again there is has to be a reason. I'm not saying SA is a bad person but he has more experience with her because that’s was his co-anchor. When Camilie Edwards got fired for fostering a toxic work environment you guys went into full drive and said she should be fired I remember that, I could've called the allegations against her “caca” the bottom line is you don't know what happened.

 

I'm defending @nynewsguy

 

Personally I've been interested in the business I contacted on Linkedin some anchors they don't even respond. I could understand a network reporter not responding but not a local feel like WABC, WNBC, WCBS anchors think there network correspondents because they work in the #1 market, they get paid a lot with salaries that's close to or network level money. And they have drivers and specific specifications like network journalists this is for them I'm sure Los Angees and Chicago anchors have those experiences too, the reality is you simply don't know and stop disregarding his account that made me really mad, stop ostracizing!

Edited by RaleighTVBOI1
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16 hours ago, 24994J said:

The idea that Shirleen pushed and shoved her way up I-95 to dethrone Lori is laughable. Clearly WABC management had some kind of long-term plan to groom a new morning anchor, and if it wasn't Shirleen, it would've been someone else. She's not some homewrecker, and honestly, using the Rosato incident as an excuse to air Allicot grievances just comes across as defending Ken's word(s), even if not the intention.

There's some forgotten context about what brought Shirleen to WABC TV on June 8, 2015. Back in 2014, when the morning show moved to a 4:30am start, both Ken and Lori asked for a lighter schedule to just the morning newscasts and occasional fill-ins because they were looking at what could be 10-12 hour workdays based on schedule, which would be taxing. Anchors don't just walk into the chair a few minutes before the start of a newscast and don't immediate leave in most instances. I also think Lisa Colagrassi's sudden passing expedited their request for a lighter schedule. Also, remember that Lori's father was sick and subsequently passed during that summer, so Shirleen filling in was not very surprising, especially because it helped viewers become more familiar with her.

 

I've watched Channel 7 since I was in diapers, and consider myself a news nerd growing up watching Bill Beutel, Diana Williams, Ernie Anastos, Kaity Tong, Doug Johnson, John Johnson, Roz Abrams, Greg Hurst, Bill Evans, Sam Champion (1st stint), Scott Clark and even remember Edye Tarbox, Harry Martin and the experiment of the noon newscast more than 30 years ago. I have always respected the way the anchors and reporters do just that- anchor and report the stories that are important and give the facts, no matter where they fall. I've also had the pleasure of meeting many of the team members at WABC due to my line of work over the years. While I don't know what happens behind the scenes, I can say that I've had pleasant experiences with everyone at WABC, from the news team to security. In addition, there is absolutely no justified reason for a person being called out of their name or any pejorative. As a person who has worked in Corporate America, Higher Education and other industries, that language and behavior are not tolerated anywhere. Media is no different. In fact, it might be scrutinized even more.

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40 minutes ago, RaleighTVBOI1 said:

You don't know that, you don't know that, I'm being neutral on this, but he may have worked at WABC. So this reaction by several of you guys are to stop and it not “caca” cause you dont know that he obviously has been around her and worked with her either at WABC or WPVI. This is a good time to mention this was the same reaction when former Channel 7 anchor Charles Perez took a blowtorch to the station telling his experiences about some of the anchors, hello he worked there too. I'm not saying whether I believe it or not but I'm staying neutral if I knew SA yes I defend her however i’d be neutral about it and listen to both sides, including the accuser. They're is a cause an effect unless you are mentally ill no man calls a woman that word for no reason this is why I'm neutral because there must've been a reason for it, not defending him using that word but again there is has to be a reason. I'm not saying SA is a bad person but he has more experience with her because that’s was his co-anchor. When Camilie Edwards got fired for fostering a toxic work environment you guys went into full drive and said she should be fired I remember that, I could've called the allegations against her “caca” the bottom line is you don't know what happened.

 

I'm defending @nynewsguy

 

Personally I've been interested in the business I contacted on Linkedin some anchors they don't even respond. I could understand a network reporter not responding but not a local feel like WABC, WNBC, WCBS anchors think there network correspondents because they work in the #1 market, they get paid a lot with salaries that's close to or network level money. And they have drivers and specific specifications like network journalists this is for them I'm sure Los Angees and Chicago anchors have those experiences too, the reality is you simply don't know and stop disregarding his account that made me really mad, stop ostracizing!

 

Do you? Do you? You don't seem to prove this. I'm not being neutral about this. So why are you hitting back at just me? I never called for anyone to be fired in this situation (or even never heard of Camile Edwards before), or said literally anything about this topic until earlier today. This long post equates to almost nothing to me. You have your right to defend them and I (and all else who did) have the right to criticize them. Don't like it? Too bad. So is this not ostracizing??

Edited by Action Newsroom
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22 minutes ago, Action Newsroom said:

 

Do you? Do you? You don't seem to prove this. I'm being neutral about this. So why are you hitting back at just me? I never called for anyone to be fired in this situation (or even never heard of Camile Edwards before), or said literally anything about this topic until earlier today. This long post equates to almost nothing to me. You have your right to defend them and I (and all else who did) have the right to criticize them. Don't like it? Too bad. So is this not ostracizing??

Yeah but the topic is about Shirleen Alicot it think we should be respectful about his allegation it's might be true. It only takes one person to come out before everyone else does. Camille Edwards was the ND a few years ago who got axes for toxic work environment.

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11 minutes ago, RaleighTVBOI1 said:

Yeah but the topic is about Shirleen Alicot it think we should be respectful about his allegation it's might be true. It only takes one person to come out before everyone else does. Camille Edwards was the ND a few years ago who got axes for toxic work environment.

That which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. For the love of all things holy, can we stop already?

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4 minutes ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

For the love of all things holy, can we stop already?

 

Agreed.

 

I don't want/care to hear any more opinions on anchor character in this situation, positive or otherwise. We can discuss this matter further if/when any involved parties speak out, or reasonably-reputable publications release anything new.

 

Good day.

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4 hours ago, RaleighTVBOI1 said:

Who would leave network for local news, I’d never do that even it was part time. Unless my contract doesn’t get renewed.

Several network correspondents have left their jobs for weekday or weeknight anchor roles at local stations in big markets.  The pay is better and there’s no travel required. 

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19 minutes ago, mountainave said:

Several network correspondents have left their jobs for weekday or weeknight anchor roles at local stations in big markets.  The pay is better and there’s no travel required. 

Pay is better at local really than national please show me.

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Doesn't need evidence:

5 hours ago, RaleighTVBOI1 said:

You don't know that, you don't know that, I'm being neutral on this, but he may have worked at WABC. So this reaction by several of you guys are to stop and it not “caca” cause you dont know that he obviously has been around her and worked with her either at WABC or WPVI. This is a good time to mention this was the same reaction when former Channel 7 anchor Charles Perez took a blowtorch to the station telling his experiences about some of the anchors, hello he worked there too. I'm not saying whether I believe it or not but I'm staying neutral if I knew SA yes I defend her however i’d be neutral about it and listen to both sides, including the accuser. They're is a cause an effect unless you are mentally ill no man calls a woman that word for no reason this is why I'm neutral because there must've been a reason for it, not defending him using that word but again there is has to be a reason. I'm not saying SA is a bad person but he has more experience with her because that’s was his co-anchor. When Camilie Edwards got fired for fostering a toxic work environment you guys went into full drive and said she should be fired I remember that, I could've called the allegations against her “caca” the bottom line is you don't know what happened.

 

I'm defending @nynewsguy

 

 

Needs evidence:

17 minutes ago, RaleighTVBOI1 said:

Pay is better at local really than national please show me.

 

Edited by 24994J
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On 5/18/2023 at 7:27 AM, JustinH said:

. Also, never said what Ken allegedly did was right, just didn't think he should have been fired. 

Agreed.

23 hours ago, RaleighTVBOI1 said:

Who would leave network for local news, I’d never do that even it was part time. Unless my contract doesn’t get renewed.

IDK about the pay part but Russ Mitchell left CBS News in 2009 to take a lead anchor position in Ohio. Contessa Brewer went from MSNBC to WNBC. I've seen reporters in bigger local markets go down to smaller markets in order to get a anchor position. Example Sheldon Dutes or Jummy O from WNBC going to Orlando and DC respectively. Sometimes taking a step down can make for a more comfortable working/living position, or a larger role in a smaller organization.

19 hours ago, mountainave said:

Several network correspondents have left their jobs for weekday or weeknight anchor roles at local stations in big markets.  The pay is better and there’s no travel required. 

Exactly.

 

The person who made the claim about Shirleen not being nice to work with, I'm not saying it's false, we just need more context and specifics.

 

Yes, one complaint makes it  comfortable for others to speak up, but it also looks fishy if people out of the blue start complaining about someone after one allegation.

 

From personal experience...you can't base your opinion of someone by other people's judgments, BUT you can use it as a warning.

Edited by MediaZone4K
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13 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

Agreed.

IDK about the pay part but Russ Mitchell left CBS News in 2009 to take a lead anchor position in Ohio. Contessa Brewer went from MSNBC to WNBC. Or I've seen reporters in bigger local markets, go down to smaller markets in order to get a anchor position. Example Sheldon Dutes or Jummy O from WNBC going to Orlando and DC respectively. Sometimes taking a step down, can make for a more comfortable working or living position, or a larger role in a smaller organization.

Exactly.

 

The person who made the claim about Shirleen not being nice to work with, I'm not saying it's false, we just need more context and specifics.

 

Yes, one complaint makes it  comfortable for others to speak up, but it also looks fishy if people out of the blue start complaining about someone after one allegation.

 

From personal experience...you can't base your opinion of someone by other people's judgments, BUT you can use it as a warning.

There could be a thousand reasons why someone would move to a local station from a national one that don’t involve pay. When it comes down to it these are still people and despite the minor fame it works exactly the way it would in literally any other job. 

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