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Friday, June 16, 2023

MI TV: WOOD-TV Newsroom Ignoring Pride Month Directive


Journalists at a Michigan television station who were told earlier this week to ease up on their coverage of LGBT-related matters say they are largely ignoring the directive, reports The Desk.net.

Producers and reporters at Grand Rapids NBC affiliate WOOD-TV (Channel 8) also say they are upset with their news director, Stanton Tang, after he admitted during a staff meeting that he ordered his assistant news director, Amy Fox, to write and distribute the memo.

The memo, circulated among newsroom employees on Tuesday, said recent coverage of Pride Month parades and similar events were upsetting Conservative viewers who comprise much of WOOD-TV’s audience.

“We know that West Michigan is a Conservative area in many ways,” the memo said, according to a copy obtained by The Desk. “We need to recognize that some stories related to LGBTQ issues are going to be controversial and polarizing in our community. While you personally may not agree with a certain position, people are entitled to their opinions, and they are our viewers.”

“We need to do some work to discern the newsworthy-ness of the event,” she continued. “If we are covering Pride events, we need to consider how to make the story balanced and get both sides of the issue.”

The directive was met with swift backlash inside the WOOD-TV newsroom, with some producers staging a brief walkout in protest, according to a station employee who spoke with The Desk on condition of anonymity Thursday.

After the memo became public knowledge, Tang held a staff meeting where he revealed the memo written by Fox was at his urging, two sources said.

The admission upset a number of people, who immediately contacted the human relations department at WOOD-TV’s parent company, Nexstar Media Group. Nexstar has since ordered Fox and Tang to not participate in any planning meetings or discussions about the station’s coverage involving Pride Month celebrations or LGBT matters while an internal investigation is carried out.

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