United States: NY1 Journalists Who Filed A Lawsuit Against Gender Discrimination Are Facing Retaliation
Location: United States, New York
Date: July 8, 2020
PHOTO CREDIT: WIGDOR LLP
The Coalition For Women in journalism condemns the workplace intimidation and retaliation five NY1 anchors have been facing following the lawsuit they filed last June on grounds of gender and age discrimination they faced at the network.
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 women and men.
Since then, the situation has gotten direr for the five journalists. Roma Torre, Amanda Farinacci, Vivian Lee, Jeanine Ramirez, and Kristen Shaughnessy told VICE that the management and several of other journalists in the network have attempted to further isolate them as retaliation for the lawsuit.
After we filed the lawsuit, the divide became more pronounced. Many people at the network gave us the cold shoulder, disparaging us behind our backs and in some cases refusing to even speak to us. https://t.co/9SoBcmD5w7
— Roma Torre (@RomaTorreNYC) July 4, 2020
Retaliation claims have been added to the ongoing file by Torre’s lawyer. Some journalists in the network have shown support with them in private but refused to acknowledge the treatment the women have been receiving, publicly, for fear of alienation.
A former producer for NY1 spoke to VICE anonymously. “I've thought twice before liking or commenting on a post from one of the women because I know people have been approached and asked what's up with that?__,” the former producer said. “You kind of learn if you want to avoid retaliation from management then you wouldn't talk to them.”
To another former producer, it felt as if management seemed to want to “make the women feel as if they were really all alone.”
All five women are working from home since the coronavirus outbreak. However, this does not erase the memories of marginalization and alienation they have faced in the past year.
Coalition For Women In Journalism shows solidarity with women journalists everywhere who stand up for themselves and the rights of women in the industry. Daunting actions by management to cover up for unfair treatment are unacceptable.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
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