Michigan TV station EPs ousted for criticizing Pride Month memo deadline

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WOOD TV

It’s been a tumultuous few days at WOOD-TV, an NBC affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group, in Grand Rapids, MI.

Executive producers Madeline Odle and Luke Stier revealed on Twitter that they were ousted on Thursday after criticizing a company memo on the cover of Pride Month. The couple had criticized a memo released by station news director Stanton Tang and deputy news director Amy Fox that urged reporters to reduce coverage of Pride month-related events because LGBTQ issues were polarizing in our community.

According to the memo first reported by The Desk, Fox wrote: We have to recognize that some stories related to LGBTQ issues are going to be controversial and polarizing in our community. Although you may not personally agree with a certain position, people are entitled to their opinions and they are our viewers.

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In their joint statement on Friday, Odle and Stier wrote that they wake up reading the news instead of writing it.

We were told our non-compete clauses remain in effect, which means we are considering unexpected career changes, according to their statement.

This memo does not reflect our views, Odle said of the memo. This has not changed and will not change the way we cover members of our community.

The two were ousted for violating the company’s confidentiality agreement by openly criticizing the memo on Twitter, according to The Detroit News, which cited a source with knowledge of the matter.

Tang and Fox were also fired on Thursday, according to CNN, citing a source familiar with the matter.

A Nexstar spokesperson told CNN the company has made changes to the stations’ newsroom leadership team to ensure its ability to continue to provide exceptional local news coverage and service to the community. of Grand Rapids and surrounding areas.

As these are internal staff decisions involving confidentiality issues, we will decline further comment, the spokesperson said.

Deadline has contacted Nexstar Media Group for comment.

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