WHO-TV13 was not motivated by discrimination when it laid off its oldest female news anchor in 2020, a jury has decided.
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| Sonya Heitshusen |
The verdict came after closing arguments in which Heitshusen's attorney, Lawrence Dempsey, asked jurors to award her more than $1.5 million in damages, including $92,863 in back pay, $800,000 for emotional distress and $650,000 in future emotional damages. Dempsey accused the station of terminating the longtime anchor because it wanted younger, prettier talent in front of the cameras.
"She dedicated her life to speaking truth to power. Despite her dedication, Nexstar, Peterson and Totsch ended her career," Dempsey said. "It was a plan that involved bringing on the cool kids and Ms. Heitshusen was not part of that plan."
Station executives argued throughout the trial that Heitshusen was let go as part of broader layoffs based on her higher compensation and less-essential work duties than those of other anchors. Nexstar attorney Chris Hoyme told jurors in his closing arguments that, from the company's perspective, the case was "common sense."
"This case is about dollars and cents. You’ve heard testimony from various witnesses, including Bobby Totsch, that he selected Ms. Heitshusen for the reduction in force because she made a lot of money, $120,000, and her role was redundant," Hoyme said. "... By making that selection, he was able to keep several other employees. That’s it. It’s not a Hollywood story, it’s not a courtroom drama, it might be kind of boring, but that’s what happened."
Dempsey told jurors that Heitshusen consistently received better performance reviews than other male and female WHO anchors and reporters. He pointed to station documents preceding her 2020 termination touting the station's "hip young relatable talent," and that in the three years after her departure, WHO hired 12 much younger reporters and anchors, eight of them women.
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