Newsreaders quit, live-on-air: Cindy Michaels and Tony Consiglio sign off
EVERYONE in media is so bloody concerned for their careers that they refuse to upset anyone or make any bold moves. So when someone finally does it – and in a very public way – one can’t help but stand and applaud.
And so, to two American newsreaders in Maine who resigned live-on-air at the end of their programme, because they were being leaned on to give a certain political slant to their broadcasts.
Cindy Michaels and Tony Consiglio of ABC’s WVII affiliate in Bangor, Maine, announced that they were quitting, with Michaels telling viewers: “And finally tonight, this will be Tony and my final show together right here on ABC 7. The last six years have been an interesting and enjoyable time for us as we have been the longest-running news team in Bangor.”
Consiglio added: “On behalf of Cindy and me, we have loved every moment bringing the news to you. Some recent developments have come to our attention, though, and departing together is the best alternative.”
Later, they went on to explain things further. In the Bangor Daily News later, Michaels said: “There was a constant disrespecting and belittling of staff. We both felt there was a lack of knowledge from ownership and upper management in running a newsroom to the extent that I was not allowed to structure and direct them professionally. I couldn’t do everything I wanted to as a news director. There was a regular undoing of decisions.”
She added: “It’s a culmination of ongoing occurrences that took place the last several years and basically involved upper-management practices that we both strongly disagreed with. It’s a little complicated, but we were expected to do somewhat unbalanced news, politically, in general.”
Of course, the station rejected all this, and vice president Mike Palmer responded: “Upper management is not involved in the daily production of the news, period. We’ve made great changes over the last few months and are not slowing down. Over the last 15 to 18 months, we’ve been a raging locomotive of change.”
A raging locomotive of change? What an Earth does that mean? No wonder the presenters quit.
Anyway, you can watch them jacking their jobs in, in the video below. We would’ve liked more gusto and snarkiness, but y’know, these are media-luvvies and they don’t know how to go all-out dickish.
Posted: 23rd, November 2012 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
