two tv news bosses got fired over a memo saying pride needed "both sides." a jury gave them $4 million. read the fine print before you scream.

via The Desk and Radio+Television Business Report, with the federal dockets

In June 2023, the assistant news director at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids wrote a memo to the newsroom, at her boss's direction. "We should not cover every Pride event that we learn about," Amy Fox wrote, and stories that did run should pursue "both sides," The Desk reported at the time. Nexstar, which owns the station, fired her and news director Stanton Tang.

On Friday, Oct. 9, a federal jury in Grand Rapids gave them about $4 million.

what the jury actually paid for

Before anyone frames this as a jury blessing the memo: it did not. Both sued Nexstar for defamation, and the jury rejected that, The Desk reports. What it found instead was that Nexstar violated their privacy under Michigan law when it confirmed details of the firings to reporters at other outlets, including CNN. Fox was awarded $2.393 million and Tang $1.683 million, including exemplary damages and, per RBR, a claim under Michigan's Employee Right to Know Act. The verdicts are on the dockets in Fox v. Nexstar and Tang v. Nexstar.

So the lesson is not "say Pride needs two sides." It's "if you fire someone, do not then chat about it with CNN." Nobody at any point was found to have been right about Pride.

what comes next

Nexstar plans to fight it. "We are pleased that the jury found in Nexstar's favor on the central defamation claim. However, we strongly disagree with other aspects of the verdict," a spokesperson told The Desk, adding that the company will pursue all legal options, including an appeal.

One more detail from court records, via The Desk: Tang worried that heavy Pride coverage could alienate conservative viewers, "including some members of his church." He now works in business development at a Christian radio station, RBR reports. Everybody landed where they were always headed.