4 fired at Michigan TV news station after memo calls for 'balanced' pride coverage
Anchor: Covering 'other side' of LGBT issue is ‘hate and discrimination’
Two managers and two other staffers at a local NBC affiliate in Michigan have been fired after a memo that warned about “polarizing” some viewers over the station’s coverage of LGBT pride events.
The June memo to staff at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids asked them to “do some work to discern the newsworthy-ness” of pride events, The Associated Press reported, citing a copy of the memo obtained by the Detroit Free Press.
One of the station’s managers, Amy Fox, the assistant news director, sent the June 13 memo at the direction of news director Stanton Tang, according to Crain's Grand Rapids Business, a local news outlet.
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The memo reportedly read: “We know that West Michigan is a conservative area in many ways. We need to recognize that some stories related to LGBTQ issues are going to be controversial and polarizing in our community.”
“If we are covering Pride events, we need to consider how to make the story balanced and get both sides of the issue,” stated the memo, according to the AP. “We have also started to hear pushback from viewers who are not happy to see those pride related stories…
“People are entitled to their opinions and they are our viewers.”
WOOD-TV, which covers the Grand Rapids area of western Michigan, is owned by Irving, Texas-based Nexstar Media. The Christian Post reached out to Nexstar for comment Wednesday. The article will be updated if a response is received.
One report from media blog The Desk said employees described Fox as someone who spoke “openly about her religious beliefs” but “isn’t the type to editorialize her religious or political beliefs.”
According to The Desk, Tang “consumed a significant amount of political news and conspiracy theories," followed “controversial” media figures like the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh, and would “occasionally” share “conservative-oriented news articles” with reporters.
CP also reached out to both Fox and Tang for comment Wednesday. While we were unable to contact Fox, Tang declined to comment.
Following the initial memo, WOOD-TV reporters took to social media to voice their concerns.
Kyle McIlmurray, a sports producer for the station, called the post-memo work environment an “awfully difficult week for our newsroom. The silver lining in this mess is that our staff is united in pushing back on this ridiculous and hurtful memo that was sent out.”
Former executive producer Luke Stier tweeted the memo was “met with immediate pushback from our newsroom” and that the editorial “guidance is not being followed.”
Stier announced on June 30 he was no longer with the company. He and colleague Madeline Odle were fired following the response to the memo, according to Detroit News.
Both Fox and Tang were ousted as well, CNN reported.
WOOD-TV anchor Michele DeSelms tweeted that covering “the other side” of the issue would equate to “requiring us to give equal time to hate and discrimination.”
Our newsroom immediately stood up to the 2 managers who wrote a memo mandating that we cover “the other side” of Pride events: essentially requiring us to give equal time to hate and discrimination. We said no, and will continue to fight for our LGBTQ colleagues, family members https://t.co/HFxUcjP6gJ
— Michele DeSelms??????????????????? (@MicheleDeSelms) June 15, 2023
She wrote: “Our newsroom immediately stood up to the 2 managers who wrote a memo mandating that we cover ‘the other side’ of Pride events: essentially requiring us to give equal time to hate and discrimination. We said no, and will continue to fight for our LGBTQ colleagues, family members.”
Despite the end of pride month on June 30, the profile image for DeSelms’ Twitter page is the LGBT rainbow flag as of July 5.
In addition to syndicated AP and Nexstar content, the station’s pride coverage included stories with headlines such as “The evolution of gay pride across Michigan,” which begins, “Homosexuality and queer lifestyles have been a part of human culture for millennia…” and provides an extensive history of LGBT activism in Michigan.
Another story blamed the cancellation of a library event with men in drag on a “threat” of a protest against the event and clarified that despite the name Drag Story Time, the library “did not plan on having a drag show.”
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of BACKWARDS DAD: a children's book for grownups. He can be reached at: [email protected].
