Sonya Heitshusen was forced out at Ch 13

[JP4CY]

But they offered her an off air contract. That screams "you are a good employee and we want to keep you, but ................. to be on air". If they would have just let the contract expire then no problem. The fact they offered her a off camera job is the thing raising questions.

Yep, I see that point too.

 

[Mr Janny]

But they offered her an off air contract. That screams "you are a good employee and we want to keep you, but ................. to be on air". If they would have just let the contract expire then no problem. The fact they offered her a off camera job is the thing raising questions.

I think that is very open to interpretation. You may see it as "screaming agism", but to someone else it might just be "it was time to go in a new direction", which is well within the station's rights.

 

[NorthCyd]

It would be interesting to see this play out in court to see who's right on this subject, but we all know this is going to end with a settlement+NDA and back to business as usual.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

How someone looks should not be the main reason they are on air. That being said I am retired but work at a golf course part time in the summer. We had an employee who worked in the club house who always put the TV on FOX, when asked one day why, his answer was they have the best looking women on air. PS the guy was later let go due to comments about female employees.

Are we really going to act like being good looking isn't an implicit bias we all have affecting our lives? It's proven that good looking people are more successful. Why is it strange to believe a network television broadcast wouldn't do the same. There's a reason movie stars are always beautiful. Not condoning the ageism, just saying it's a little naive to be up in arms over it.

PS
Not trying to target you or put words in your mouth, just responding to the overall temp of the room and your message was the post which most beckoned my opinion.

 

[Peter]

A few years ago Sonya really changed herself. She hit the gym hard. She went from aging reporter to pretty ripped. Guessing she started doing some sort of HIIT workouts. She looks fantastic. I always go back to people knowing what there job is. My job does not depend on looks at all. Models will have there contracts cut the older they get. It's part of the deal. Women in broadcasting depend on looks also. That's part of the deal. It's not fair but that is the industry and pretty much everyone knows it. WHO lived out there contract and so did Sonya. They are moving on. If Sonya is as good as she thinks, someone will pick her up. I think she does a good job.

WTF? Journalism isn't modeling. Fair and accurate reporting is all that matters. This is highly discriminatory and sexist. If we applied the same agist standards to men, 90% of Fox News reporters would be out of a job for being butt ass ugly.

 

[isufbcurt]

Are we really going to act like being good looking isn't an implicit bias we all have affecting our lives? It's proven that good looking people are more successful. Why is it strange to believe a network television broadcast wouldn't do the same. There's a reason movie stars are always beautiful. Not condoning the ageism, just saying it's a little naive to be up in arms over it.

PS
Not trying to target you or put words in your mouth, just responding to the overall temp of the room and your message was the post which most beckoned my opinion.

I disagree because Renee Zellwiger is about the ugliest and most homely person I've ever seen. lol

 

[awd4cy]

Let’s just hope people are being alert on Grand Ave at night. It’s not safe with drunk Sonya driving around.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I disagree because Renee Zellwiger is about the ugliest and most homely person I've ever seen. lol

Lol, she's homely hot as I call it. Much like average hot, there's not as much of it and I find it endearing from person to person.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

WTF? Journalism isn't modeling. Fair and accurate reporting is all that matters. This is highly discriminatory and sexist. If we applied the same agist standards to men, 90% of Fox News reporters would be out of a job for being butt ass ugly.

Guys can't be fat or ugly, just confident or cuck.

 

[BCClone]

I wish KIMT would get rid of one of their weather men. Guy sounded like he drank a pot of coffee before going on and then went on some rant about loving water, grabbing a tumbler and taking a swig. It was a mess.

 

[spierceisu]

But they offered her an off air contract. That screams "you are a good employee and we want to keep you, but ................. to be on air". If they would have just let the contract expire then no problem. The fact they offered her a off camera job is the thing raising questions.

Was her other job a "contract position". Maybe it was a way to cut money. If she went to an off air position I'm sure it was for less money. I hope one of the other stations pick her up. I do remember on her KXNO interview she said she probably wouldn't do an on air gig again. Maybe she could do something in the fitness realm. She seems very passionate about that.

 

[RoseClone]

Yes Iowa is at will but if you fire someone who is protected by discrimination laws and they have a history of good performance you are going to get sued.

She wasn't fired.

 

[Drew0311]

WTF? Journalism isn't modeling. Fair and accurate reporting is all that matters. This is highly discriminatory and sexist. If we applied the same agist standards to men, 90% of Fox News reporters would be out of a job for being butt ass ugly.

Fair and accurate reporting? hahaha. Have you seen the news in the last 15 years? It's opinions and looks. The news is not the news anymore

 

[Drew0311]

Your comparison is flawed.

Models are usually independent contractors who are signed with an agency or various agencies and thus are not subject to employment law. The agencies are there to put out their name and portfolio to attract gigs.

TV personalities are employees of the station and are subject to employment laws which included anti-discrimination.

It's pretty simple if you want to fire someone you better have a valid reason (history of poor performance, violating polices & procedures, etc.). If that employee has a history of great performance and reviews, but happens to be 60 years old and you fire them without a reason then you are going to get sued for ageism. It's actually a pretty simple concept.

Actually news people are under contracts. They sign a 2 year contract. Almost like a sport. They are not considered employees.

 

[NorthCyd]

Fair and accurate reporting? hahaha. Have you seen the news in the last 15 years? It's opinions and looks. The news is not the news anymore

We're getting closer and closer to Idiocracy every day.

 

[Drew0311]

We're getting closer and closer to Idiocracy every day.

Yeah they report the news at Foxnews, CNN, MSNBC. You know the national "News" networks.

 

[clone4life82]

WTF? Journalism SHOULDN’ BE modeling. Fair and accurate reporting all that matters. This is highly discriminatory and sexist. If we applied the same agist standards to men, 90% of Fox News reporters would be out of a job for being butt ass ugly.

Fixes the above for you. I wish it weren’t true but sex is what sells. Look at the fact that the porn industry nets more profit than the nfl, mlb, and nba combined annually. Unfortunately People use sex to sell in every industry which is why you see this type of thing happening in every industry.

 

[cycloner29]

WTF? Journalism isn't modeling. Fair and accurate reporting is all that matters. This is highly discriminatory and sexist. If we applied the same agist standards to men, 90% of Fox News reporters would be out of a job for being butt ass ugly.

Do the same standards apply to women meterologists.? When was the last time you saw a butt ass ugly gal on the weather channel?

 

[VeloClone]

Hopefully part of your job isn't knowing the difference between there and their

They're their now.

 

[VeloClone]

I disagree because Renee Zellwiger is about the ugliest and most homely person I've ever seen. lol

Glad to read that I'm not the only one who has never been able to stand RZ.