One year after Moonves' exit, CBS TV stations also face harassment and misogyny claims
Michele Gillen was a reporter for CBS’ WFOR-TV Channel 4 in Miami. She sued her former employer, alleging age and sex discrimination.
During the last seven years, multiple women at the Los Angeles stations complained that they were subject to harassment by their bosses or colleagues.Early in 2018, prominent KCAL anchor Leyna Nguyen complained to KCBS management about inappropriate comments and unwanted touching by a male colleague,
The station’s then-head of makeup, Gwendolyn Gatti, backed Nguyen’s allegations. Gatti said the same employee harassed her, too, and that he “propositioned her for sex, asked about her sex life,” “slapped her on the buttocks,” and used the N-word when referring to her, according to a lawsuit in a separate case. CBS settled the matter with Gatti on July 27, 2018, according to court records. In a court filing, a CBS attorney labeled Gatti’s sexual harassment allegations “frivolous.
The Times independently confirmed that CBS was paying Arrington about $60,000 a year less than her male predecessor. Arrington said her goal simply was to extend her contract, which expired in April 2018, and get a bump in pay to an anchor’s salary because she was putting in long hours serving as both a reporter and an anchor — appearing in as many as seven telecasts on a weekend shift.
A second CBS executive who attended the meeting said he didn’t recall Mauldin making inappropriate comments. Arrington claims that executive left the meeting just before she did. The second executive and Mauldin said they felt that Arrington was out of line in asking for a substantial raise over her $135,000 annual salary at a time when the station was struggling to control costs. Arrington initially was reluctant to talk to The Times.
Dallman, who now is news director for an ABC affiliate in Seattle, told The Times: “Jill and I both worked diligently to improve the quality of the on-air product and the culture in the building.” Arrington said she tried to persevere: “I was just hoping the quality of my work would speak for itself.”
“I thanked her for her contributions and we talked about budgetary reasons,” Finestone told The Times. “Hers was the position that we decided to eliminate.”“My takeaway from my experience at KCBS is that they were more concerned with protecting political alignments rather than the quality of their on-air broadcasts,” she said.
Nearly a decade ago, London, who worked at KCBS in technical services, received a new assignment and a new boss. He “harassed and ridiculed” her, she claimed in a lawsuit, alleging age, race and sex discrimination. London is African American. When she complained to HR, she said the situation grew worse. In July 2011, she was confronted by her boss and three other men who “railed upon” her in a group setting, London alleged in court filings.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Keli Lee Exits As Disney TV Studios Reassesses Future Of ABC Studios InternationalThe London-based ABC Studios International team led by Managing Director Keli Lee has been let go as Disney Television Studios reevaluates its UK presence and overall international strategy. In all…
Read more »
What's on TV Saturday: 'A Christmas Love Story' on HallmarkWhat's on TV Saturday, Dec. 7: 'A Christmas Love Story' on Hallmark; The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage; Sunday talk shows.
Read more »
TV Ratings: Why Is the NBA Shooting Air Balls?The NBA’s TV ratings so far this season have been far from all-star level. Viewership across ESPN, TNT and NBA TV is down 17% year-to-year overall, according to Nielsen figures. TNT’s coverag…
Read more »
Yes, These Bizarre Reality TV Shows Actually ExistReality television can be strange, but these shows are on another level. From Born in the Wild to Joe Millionaire to The Swan - a list of the top ten most bizarre shows to exist on television.
Read more »
The 50 Best TV Shows on Amazon Prime Right NowAmazon Prime has a growing catalogue of original series, lots of HBO hits, and so much more. Here are the 50 best shows you can watch there right now
Read more »
TV Review: Showtime’s ‘Work in Progress’There’s never a second that Abby (co-creator Abby McEnany) is unaware of all the things that make her different from the characters we’re used to seeing on TV, let alone those that typi…
Read more »