New York (CNN) � Two news directors at a Michigan NBC affiliate were ousted on Thursday following the circulation of an internal memo calling for scaled-back coverage of Pride Month events and directing the station’s journalists to “get both sides� on LGBTQ issues, a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN.
The email, sent earlier 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 events had upset some of its conservative viewers, CNN .
“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 added.
The memo sparked fierce backlash from the newsroom’s staff, prompting the station’s owner, Texas-based Nexstar, to launch an investigation into the matter. In a statement to CNN earlier 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 apologized for offending members of the LGBTQ community and WOOD-TV’s viewers.
On Thursday, Gary Weitman, a Nexstar spokesperson, confirmed to CNN that the company had made changes to WOOD-TV’s newsroom leadership team 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 producers, Luke Stier and Madeline Odle � who had, among others, publicly voiced their concern over the directive � were fired, the pair announced 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 wrote. “We are heartbroken to not be with our team today continuing the incredible legacy we have fought so hard for.�
The-CNN-Wire
� & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
