Naked News? Veteran Reporter Files
Age Discrimination Complaint
by Christine Stuart | July 7, 2009 4:36 PM
Posted to Media Matters
A veteran political reporter at Fox 61 filed an age and gender discrimination complaint with the Connecticut Human Rights and Opportunities Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Tuesday.
Shelly Sindland, 40, who has been a reporter at the station for more than 14 years, alleges in the complaint that the station has engaged in a pattern of discrimination against older women at the station by demoting those over the age of 35 and paying some of the female reporters less than the male reporters.
The complaint “speaks for itself,” Elizabeth Conklin from the law firm of Livingston, Adler, Pulda, Meiklejohn, and Kelly said Tuesday afternoon. Conklin said once a complaint like this is filed the commission has more than 200 days to investigate and depending on the outcome of the investigation it may then become a lawsuit.
The complaint alleges that the station as recently as June 19 offered Sindland a contract which will decrease her salary by 18 percent or $13,000. In addition the station only offered to renew the contract for one year, not the traditional three year contract she had received in the past. According to the complaint, one male reporter was offered three years around the same time period.
The detailed, 18-page complaint alleges a pattern of age and gender discrimination within the Fox 61 organization.
“Big Boob Fridays”
According to the complaint, in January 2009 Laurie Perez, 38, was removed as weekend anchor and replaced by Sarah French, 23. During a meeting with reporters and anchors Jan. 30, 2009, Fox 61 New Director Bob Rockstroh stated that the Friday newscasts looked like “Big Boob Fridays,” and the station’s ratings were up as a result of at least one female reporter wearing a tighter shirt. According to the complaint, then-General Manager Rich Graziano stated, “Hey, whatever works.”
When Sindland attended the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Hartford with her daughter March 14 on behalf of the station, she was initially told she would be riding in one of the two convertibles the station was driving in the parade. However, when she arrived she was asked to walk behind the convertibles because Erika Arias, who is younger than Sindland, would be riding in the convertible, instead. During that same event Perez, who was reporting on the parade, was instructed by the promotions director to “concentrate on the newer girls” when the Fox 61 team passed by.
In April 2009, then-34-year-old Rebecca Stewart was removed from her job as weekday anchor and moved to weekend anchor, which is considered a demotion. Stewart was replaced by the 23-year-old French. Prior to Stewart’s removal as weekday anchor, she refused to comply with Fox 61’s request that she “appear on the news as though she were naked as part of a promotional campaign for her news reporting on April 1.” The name of the campaign was “Naked News.”
The complaint also states that Stewart’s male co-anchor was not asked to appear as though he were naked.
“I’m sorry I got old”
Longtime news anchor Susan Christensen’s departure came next. On April 20, 2009, Christensen, who was in the midst of contract negotiations, told Sindland, “Oh, my God, they want me gone … I’m sorry I got old.” Sindland stated in the complaint that following her conversation with Christensen she inquired about the status of her own contract, which was scheduled to expire June 14. At the time, the complaint says, she received no substantive response.
On June 11, three days before Sindland’s contract was to expire, she was notified by the news director that her annual performance review was ready. According to the complaint, Sindland expressed concerns that she was receiving her review, which should have been completed in Dec. 2008, just a few days before her contract expired. It was the first negative review Sindland has received in the more than 14 years she’s been with the station, and was in stark contrast to the 2006 and 2007 reviews which refer to her as a “true team player.”
On June 15, the day after her contract expired, Sindland was notified via email that “The Real Story” was being moved from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and would appear after the new “The Stan Simpson Show,” which would air at 10 a.m.
That’s the time slot Sindland says she had been requesting for the past few years. Simpson, the Hartford Courant columnist and former WTIC 1080 AM radio host, also has two producers working on his show, while Sindland has none, the complaint states.
Andrea Savastra, corporate affairs and communications consultant for Fox 61’s parent company Tribune, said Tuesday afternoon in an email that the company does not comment on personnel issues.
Click here and here to read all the details of Sindland’s complaint.
Comments (39)
Posted by: TrueBlueCT | July 7, 2009 5:41 PM
I get angry just reading this kind of stuff. I can only imagine what it's like for you to write it.
Anyway, I hope Shelly nails them for $1,000,000.
And someone should tell the bozo's at FOX61 that this is the 21st century!
Posted by: RM Wyant | July 7, 2009 5:44 PM
I think it is great that Shelley Sindland is speaking up about this.
Shelley is a very talented member of The Fox 61 team and she is a great host of the Real Story.
I hope Shelley takes it to Fox 61 and gets the raise and continues to do a great job for Fox 61.
Posted by: iBlogWestHartford | July 7, 2009 6:24 PM
I haven't watched TV news for some time. Too much traffic, and weather, and sports, and commercials, and commercials, and commercials, and now back to more weather.
Also, the people involved didn't seem particularly bright. Now, they may have actually been quite bright -just not allowed to show it on air (I have no idea about any of the particular people mentioned in this post).
My impression was that most of the on-air talent was chosen based on their looks.
So I have a mixed reaction to this story.
Certainly, age and gender discrimination should never be tolerated.
But is there not a reasonable chance that Ms. Sindland got her start on TV by replacing older women who had themselves "aged-out" of the job - in the looks department?
Isn't a TV news career (unfortunately) a job similar to modeling? Hired for looks, then fired for looks?
And in a for-profit-watch-every-quarterly-report industry like TV, if the customers/audience prefer nice looks to, say, knowledge, or experience or talent, then isn't that just "business"?
I'm wondering what other people think of this....
Posted by: CtRoadrunner | July 7, 2009 9:36 PM
I seemed to get real annoyed watching a Governor's press conference and she would use her daughter to ask a question. It wasn't very professional.
Posted by: BintDeeb | July 7, 2009 9:37 PM
"Big Boobs Friday"? Excuse me? Do the words "sexual harrassment" and "hostile workplace" ring a bell? I hope Sindland files a civil rights lawsuit personally against Rockstroh as well as against the station.
Can you imagine the response to a woman boss talking about "Big Dick Friday" and demoting guys who didn't, um, measure up?
Posted by: Ken Krayeske | July 7, 2009 9:44 PM
GO SHELLEY! Behind you 100%.
Take the money you win and start your own news organization!
Posted by: jb | July 7, 2009 10:23 PM
All should take note of the one name that keeps showing up in unflattering or unsettling news stories about Fox 61 and the Hartford Courant - Richard Graziano, the man recently put in charge of both.
Take for example what Christine is reporting, "then-General Manager Rich Graziano stated, 'Hey, whatever works.'"
This guy is in charge of the Courant? I'm troubled by this.
You may also recall his late night encounter with police and an allegedly drunken female employee not too long ago that was reported by the Courant.
What will be next from Graziano?
I hope someone at the Tribune Company is watching.
Posted by: Hood Rebel | July 7, 2009 11:04 PM
This is downright offensive, if any of it is true! Duby Macdowell also alluded to this type of behavior in this earlier article:
http://thelaurel.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/susan-christensen-leaving-fox61/
Posted by: Billygoat | July 8, 2009 1:02 AM
iBlogWH: I agree with you.
Where, on the local news, are unattractive women with stellar journalism credentials? There aren't any, because people are hired in the first place because of how they look.
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
Posted by: Beth | July 8, 2009 9:12 AM
I always thought Fox 61 had the best TV news of all the networks, but now have no desire to watch it. Why are men such idiots?
Posted by: robn | July 8, 2009 9:14 AM
IBLOGWH,
Walter Cronkite was pretty good anchorperson and his boobs were only so-so.
Posted by: iBlogWestHartford | July 8, 2009 9:19 AM
robn,
True.
But Walt had abs to die for.
Posted by: Martha H | July 8, 2009 10:07 AM
I think there are two related, but still quite distinct, issues here:
1) Sexual harassment
2) Age discrimination
We can all agree (I hope!) that charges of sexual harassment should be fully investigated and any/all guilty parties should be punished.
The age discrimination question is more much nuanced.
Posted by: Sean | July 8, 2009 10:30 AM
She is shocked, shocked! that Fox is in the business of putting young, attractive blondes on camera, no matter how stupid they are? Give me a break!
This is Fox, after all. This is the network that has no qualms about keeping Bill O'Reilly ("Loofa Boy") on air even after he was accused of sexual harassment and had to pay the Fox female employee a hefty cash settlement. And this is the channel that regularly puts Ann Coulter on camera. And Ms. Sindland surprised that Fox has no ethics?
But late is better than never, and I sincerely hope that she wins her lawsuit. She probably will, but I don't hold out hope that Fox will become an honest, ethical organization after it loses. Decency and honesty are simply not in the nature of that corporate beast.
Posted by: Colomom | July 8, 2009 10:47 AM
In the 1980s, early in my career, I worked in Kansas City about the time the Christine Craft lawsuit first broke. Too old, too unattractive and not deferential to men. I cannot believe in 2009 we are still there. We are a looks-obsessed society but it seems to be especially brutal to women who have enough experience that their journalist talent is hitting its stride. I have nothing against successful, beautiful women. They should be supported by men and women alike. But not to the deteriment to those who were once them and have now "aged out." If TV news truly is only about youth and fabulous looks, and maybe that is what viewers want (I am skeptical), then everyone should just be up front about it. And by the way, if that is the case then men should "age out" as well.
Posted by: Joe Primus | July 8, 2009 11:36 AM
Yeah, it sucks, but pencil necks are making decisions on "whatever works" without regard for the talking heads. It's no longer about talent and skill, it's about ratings and advertising revenue. If boobs and cleavage will get more advertisers dollars, management will do it.
Sorry Shelly, but you work in a crappy industry. Good Luck!
Posted by: Kate from CT | July 8, 2009 1:24 PM
I'm not surprised. Fox 61 had a "news" story on the other night about a guy attacked with a baseball bat while having sex. They acted like he was some great interesting mind with the in-depth interview they did with this 25 year old about how "good the sex was" and "was the attack due to the amount of noise they made". It was really sick. Even my teen age son was like "Wha??? That is NOT news."
Posted by: Stephanie | July 8, 2009 3:01 PM
I don't think people can truly gather all the facts by simply reading an article. In my experience there are two sides to every story and always a motive for such harsh accusations. I'm not discounting how wrong sexual harrassment is, simply saying that no one can judge without full knowledge of the situation.
Posted by: C.K. | July 8, 2009 3:01 PM
Radio, and later television, when it was introduced were promoted as new venues for advertising. After all, like newspapers, their raison d-etre always has been to make money.
FOX News at the national level has disgraced itself by putting a bunch of "twinkies" on the air who would never even get in the door if not for the great equalizer: the teleprompter.
At the local level? Not entirely surprising. This has happened before. Doesn't make it right, and neither is it right that it is no longer a man's business either. Fewer male reporters are getting hired, especially as anchormen unless they can be listed as members of minorities.
FOX 61 has its hands full by trying to make the square peg of The Hartford Courant's print reporters into the hole of a broadcast reporter. It ought to make their newscasts -- at the very least-- something "interesting" to watch.
Let justice prevail, and relegate to the scrap heap of the useless the idiot news director and front office people who put cheesecake over content.
Then again, it seemed to work for the FOX news network. Frightening.
Posted by: BlueMrsKitty | July 8, 2009 3:46 PM
I used to work at Fox61 behind the scenes. It was a sexist place and am glad Shelly is speaking up.
Posted by: Disappointed | July 8, 2009 4:43 PM
This is truly upsetting to read. FOX61 was always a professional, reliable source of news in Connecticut. Why they believe they can get away with massacring their older, female staff is beyond me. This will come back to bite Tribune in the end. They're going to be forced to give up both The Courant and WTXX-TV. The government has been more than accomodating to Tribune/FOX61 for the last several years. This is all going to change now.
Posted by: David | July 8, 2009 5:05 PM
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. In reading her complaint a few things strike me that may be troubling for her case. First, these alleged incidents were going on fairly consistently since 2006, yet Sindland files the complaint now, right after she was offered a lower salary. This begs the question, fairly or unfairly, would she have brought any of this up if she were offered a big raise. Also, why was she having "social" dinner and drinks with the head of the station in 2006? That's just poor judgement. Finally, broadcast news is a cosmetic business, for better or worse, and it seems that a twenty something Sindland, tall with blonde hair, may have benefited from these same standards in the 1990's that she now decries.
Posted by: Virginia Fisher | July 8, 2009 8:06 PM
I think Shelly Sindland is very brave.
I believe she is standing up for appropriate behavior in the newsroom and at the negotiating table.
As a former local news manager I understand the importance of respectable language and actions by those in charge. Anything less is completely unacceptable.
Posted by: John | July 8, 2009 10:31 PM
In the complaint it was revealed that Shelley said he was willing to have her pay frozen because of the difficult economy. What may or may not have happened in the 90's has nothing to do with this. Indeed the anchor who was there before Susan was Beth Carroll and she is now with New Hampshire Public Television. If Shelley was not a very competent reporter, she could have never been on the air as long as she has. In fact, I think she is one of the best in the state currently.
Posted by: RDD | July 8, 2009 11:48 PM
The fact of the matter here is that television news, regardless of network or agenda, is all about image. I'm sure Shelly and other attractive reporters (both male and female) had no problem at all being the beneficiaries of the image-driven business when they were younger. Just as they are now being replaced by younger faces industry-wide, they once took the jobs of the thirty-somethings, and other worthy individuals their age who may have not had their looks.
I know she's a great reporter, but this is how the business works, so you can't complain about the system once it works against you, after using it to your advantage for so many years.
I wish her the best of luck with her career, wherever she may take it.
Posted by: Martha H | July 9, 2009 10:22 AM
The scary thing is realizing how many people rely on TV news to keep informed. I can't imagine a more superficial, more biased and less reliable source of information.
Posted by: Doug | July 9, 2009 2:32 PM
I don't really disagree with you, Martha, but I do think there's a role for TV news.
What they do really well is to quickly turn around short stories about breaking news or other events that rely on the visual to tell the story. I always find that they get into trouble - at least some of the local affiliates' reporters & producers do - when they try to tell a complicated story that they haven't been covering on a daily basis.
60 Minutes seems to do a fantastic job with complex topics, but they're the pinnacle of the industry and you can't really expect local affiliates to do that every day.
Posted by: Rod | July 9, 2009 2:51 PM
Whats this?? They still do local news??
Hope Shelly takes them to the cleaner.
I haven't watched TV for news for at least 10 years. Because of the internet I feel I'm better informed than I have been all my life.
Like the guy said; commercial, commercial, useless info, commercial, teaser for the 11pm news.
Posted by: Second Row Seat | July 9, 2009 9:15 PM
My spouse and I have been referring to to Fox 61 news as an "intern newscast" for a while. If this complaint is accurate our eyes have not betrayed us! From a marketing perspective I have been told that women make a majority of financial decisions in a majority of households. Youth IS appealing, but it isn't everything...
Posted by: Doug | July 10, 2009 9:06 AM
It's quite sad in today's industry that I'm reading this type of story. These "legal" issues were a big story in the 80's and 90's and one would think as we entered into 2000, things would drastically improve...ok, I was totally wrong.
I was part of the Hartford media community for nearly 10 years and all of the "big 3: channels 3,8,30" had their share of labor issues. In the case of Channel 61, Tribune hired some bad news managers with no market ties and poor people skills. I know Janet Peckinpaugh had her issues with Channel's 3 and 30 but some of blame goes to Janet. Bottom line, these issues come to light and should focus on Tribune for hiring bad news directors and show producers. If you don't like talent, immediately deal with the problem and then go to corporate and deal with the issues.
Notice how WTIC-TV doesn't have any news personnel that's from the area, except for Rich in sports. Channel 3 and 30 still have people that know the area and have some history with Hartford area viewers. Al Terzi, Gerry Brooks and Ann Nyberg all have strong followings. I can't name one star on channel 61.
Tribune should have stacked their WTIC management team with people that have Connecticut roots! It sounds too conservative but match this concept with hiring a staff with good good people skills and you'll have a winner!
Posted by: Keith Malloy | July 10, 2009 11:43 AM
I'm totally going to start watching Fox news on Friday nights now. I love big boobs!
Posted by: James D | July 10, 2009 2:34 PM
So what really stops local TV news from doing meaningful reporting? On a shoe string or two (I imagine), THIS web site provides more substance in a day than "News at 10:00!" does in a month. "Hiring pretty" is the easy way, the loser way. Work harder at NEWS, TV people.
Posted by: Rob | July 10, 2009 3:39 PM
Hmmm, it seems to me that anytime a woman gets "demoted", they automatically want to pull out the sex discrimination suit. Can it be that the audience is having a disconnect with these reporters and need some "inspiration"? Look at the girls on channel 8 or 3. They had some older reporters, numbers went down, and voilla!! instant hot chicks on the news. It is the way of the world. Get over it!! Try AM radio..
Posted by: Walt![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| July 11, 2009 6:06 AM
It is a tough fight ladies.
Even your hero Obama and the French leader were caught by the cameras this week admiring a 15 year old girl's kiester.
Human nature---hard to change.
Posted by: mona | July 11, 2009 10:23 AM
In reading Shelly's blog, since she became a mom her concentration on the job may be waning. She brought her daughter to a governor's news conference because she didn't have a sitter? She tried to "crash" both Clinton's and Obama's campaign using the excuse of being a single mom but asked "reported like " questions where none were allowed? Any job is tough, especially being a single mom. Looks like her priorities are not the same as they used to be. Maybe rightly so. If my surgeon was a single mom I would still like her to be at the top of her game. Parenthood should not be an excuse. After all, they didn't talk of firing her. It looks like she just wasn't as good as she used to be. They don't give you raises for past performances, just your latest.
Posted by: Media Maven | July 13, 2009 10:37 PM
It takes great courage to move forward with this suit. I have been in this business for a long time and nothing ever changes. Keep up the good fight, Shelley. Why is it that white men still make all the decisions? Do you notice also there are no women or men of color in anchor positions at Fox? Rarely seen at other affiliates either.
The people have power to change the airwaves. It's time to pull the ad dollars from the stations that discriminate.
Posted by: brenda | July 14, 2009 10:49 AM
Television news is getting to be ridiculous, no more do they care about the story, it's all about looks the best presenting it. In Shelly's case, she gets to the bottom of stories on her show, and that's what I look for. Not if her hair is out of place, or if she has skin tight clothes on. DO WE WANT NEWS, OR SEXY LOOKING ACHORS. ( In my opinion, Fox needs to replace Logan Byrnes, his journalistic skills are limited at best, and he's sooo full of himself.)
Posted by: Peter Miller | July 21, 2009 11:15 AM
Ever since the Connecticut stations started the battle of the female morning traffic reporters, the situation seems to really have gotten out of hand.
I have to agree that the ageism-sexism is wrong, but in Sindland's case, the penchant for pretty blonde on-air females may have helped her get hired back in the day - when Beth Caroll and Pat Sheehan were the first Fox 61 anchors.
I thought the TV NDs would have learned a lesson from the Peckingpaugh case, but I guessed wrong.
Posted by: Emilie Waters | July 25, 2009 11:12 AM
Go Shelly.
I will no longer watch Fox 61.