United States: Five female NY1 anchors to leave after filing a discrimination lawsuit
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January 4, 2021 - Five women, who have been long-time anchors for the local television channel in New York City, decided to leave after filing an age and gender discrimination case against the media outlet. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) stands with these anchorwomen who dedicated years of their career to the channel. We call on all media outlets to end discriminatory practices in the workplace.
Roma Torre, Amanda Farinacci, Vivian Lee, Jeanine Ramirez and Kristen Shaughnessy filed a lawsuit against the media organization in June 2019, alleging age and gender discrimination. “After engaging in a lengthy dialogue with NY1, we believe it is in everyone’s interest — ours, NY1’s and our viewers’ — that this litigation be resolved, and we have mutually agreed to part ways," the plaintiffs said in a statement on New Year's Eve.
We are pleased to announce we have reached a confidential resolution of our lawsuit against Charter/NY1. After engaging in a lengthy dialogue with NY1, we believe it is in everyone’s interest – ours, NY1’s and our viewers – that this litigation be resolved
— Roma Torre (@RomaTorreNYC) December 31, 2020
The legal process started last year when the news anchors, aged between 40 and 61, filed a lawsuit against NY1's parent media company, Charter Communications. The lawsuit claimed that all five women with experience in the profession have been blatantly marginalized and cast aside in favor of younger and less experienced men and women.
Executives at Charter described NY1 as a "respectful and fair workplace", saying the case and its allegations were unfair. The company notes that Cheryl Wills, another long-serving female anchor, was appointed to host a major weekday news show as part of the network refresh. According to New York Times, “We want to thank them for their years of dedicated service in reporting the news for New Yorkers, and we wish them well in their future endeavours,” Charter said in a statement.
"We feel we are being railroaded out of the place,” Roma Torre told the NYT when the lawsuit was first filed in 2019. She added “Men age on TV with a sense of gravitas, and we as women have an expiration date.”
The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands with these dedicated anchorwomen and demands all organizations to end the discriminatory practices against age, gender, religion and race. Age and gender discrimination within media outlets is a major issue for many women journalists. We reiterate the importance of a fair work environment where journalists’ efforts are acknowledged and properly compensated.
