Ex-producer’s Claims Racial Harassment At One America News Network

Jonathan Harris had generally enjoyed his time working as a production assistant at One America News Network. Then he began working for Graham Ledger, the ultra-conservative host of the the cable news channel’s flagship show.

“It’s a nightmare he hasn’t woken up from,” Harris’ attorney, Britany Engelman, told a jury Thursday.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports Harris, 34, is suing both Ledger and Robert Herring Sr., the CEO of One America’s parent company, on claims that he was harassed based on his African-American race and then retaliated against when he complained.

The case opened for trial this week in San Diego Superior Court, more than two years after Harris was terminated from the San Diego-based news operation.

Jonathan Harris

One America News Network itself is not named as a defendant in the case, but its parent company, Herring Networks Inc., is. Still, the channel provides the setting for the workplace dispute.

In opening statements Thursday, attorneys for both sides previewed their evidence, providing dueling narratives of Harris’ employment history at One America News Network and the ultimate reason for his termination in 2017.

Harris was fired after deleting documents from his personal work computer. According to management, he violated policy. According to Harris, it was an excuse to get rid of him.

Harris was hired in 2014 first as a production assistant for the news desk, then as a booking producer for “The Daily Ledger,” an evening opinion show hosted by its namesake, a longtime San Diego news anchor and television personality.

The two clashed.

Harris claims that he — the only African-American present at the show’s planning meetings — was regularly berated, demeaned and verbally abused on account of his liberal views and his perspectives as an African-American male, according to his attorneys, Engelman and Rodney Diggs. They did not present specific examples at the trial’s opening, and Harris has yet to testify.