Boston TV news anchor claims she lost gig because – Business News
A TV anchor at a native CBS station in Boston claims she was demoted from her job because she is a white girl — and alleged she fell sufferer to a “DEI agenda” that was raging out of control throughout the Tiffany Network, in response to a bombshell lawsuit.
Katherine Merrill Dunham, a longtime anchor for CBS affiliate WBZ-TV recognized on air as Kate Merrill, filed swimsuit in opposition to the station’s company dad and mom CBS and Paramount Global this month alleging that she was run out of the newsroom to fulfill company range quotas.
The 51-year-old Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, who’s married to ex-Rangers goalie Mike Dunham, surprised viewers final 12 months when she stop the station with out clarification.
Katherine Merrill Dunham (middle), recognized on-air as Kate Merrill, a longtime Boston news anchor for CBS affiliate WBZ-TV. Chris Tanaka is seen left. Levan Reid is seen proper. Facebook / Kate Merrill WBZ
In her Aug. 5 swimsuit filed in Boston federal court docket, Merrill alleged she was focused by managers who mentioned the morning show was “too white” and by co-workers who filed “malicious” race-based complaints in opposition to her.
The lawsuit cites unique reporting by The Post of then-CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, who was accused of utilizing her clout to advertise minorities whereas unfairly sidelining white journalists during her tenure.
Her downfall started, she claims, after Paramount and CBS rolled out sweeping range mandates in response to previous allegations of racism.
Executives allegedly described WBZ as “the whitest of all their stations” and vowed to permit solely minority hires.
Dominican-born Ciprian Mathew was named as president of CBS News in August 2023 regardless of being the subject of an inside probe by the company in 2021 over her alleged hiring practices, The Post reported.
Merrill is married to Mike Dunham, a former backup goaltender for the New York Rangers. X / Mike Dunham
“WBZ-TV exploited such policies and took career-ending action against Ms. Merrill to advance a DEI agenda,” in response to the grievance.
Ciprian-Matthews stepped down in July of final 12 months.
Paramount scrapped its controversial DEI applications earlier this 12 months forward of its deal with Skydance after President Trump-nominated FCC Chair Brendan Carr reportedly vowed to dam any mergers involving corporations that held firm to “woke” insurance policies.
According to the grievance, the difficulty began when Jason Mikell, a black co-worker and meteorologist at WBZ, allegedly “made an inappropriate sexual innuendo about” Merrill “on air” in February of final 12 months when he “implied that Ms. Merrill and her co-anchor had sexual relations at a gazebo.”
The lawsuit cites unique reporting by The Post of then-CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthew, who was accused of utilizing her clout to advertise minorities whereas unfairly sidelining white journalists during her tenure. Getty Images
The lawsuit alleges that regardless of complaints to supervisors by Merrill’s govt producer, Mikell “was not disciplined for his sexually charged remark about Ms. Merrill.”
Just a few weeks later in April of final 12 months, after she privately texted him to right a mispronunciation of “Concord,” Mikell allegedly “loudly yelled at her on the studio floor,” in response to the swimsuit.
Merrill claims she instantly complained to human sources — however a week later, Paramount’s HR chief knowledgeable her that Mikell and Courtney Cole, a black anchor employed by WBZ in 2022, had accused her of racial bias.
After 20 years on the station, the Emmy-winning broadcaster expenses that she was branded a racist, demoted in public and compelled into a “constructive discharge resignation”.
WBZ-TV meteorologist Jason Mikell at his desk. Mikell allegedly accused Merill of making racist feedback. Facebook/Jason Mikell
On May 17, 2024, Michael Roderick, vice president of worker relations at Paramount, issued a report discovering Merrill had engaged in “microaggressions or unconscious bias.”
WBZ President and GM Justin Draper handed her a written warning requiring unconscious bias coaching and threatening termination if she slipped again, in response to the grievance.
The subsequent day, Draper allegedly blindsided her with news she was being demoted from morning anchor to weekends — a transfer he introduced in two employees conferences, the lawsuit alleged.
“Demoting Ms. Merrill in the context of the investigation sent the false message to her professional colleagues that she had engaged in serious wrongdoing,” the lawsuit mentioned.
Merrill was at WBZ-TV for more than 20 years earlier than she left the station with out clarification final 12 months. Instagram / Kate Merrill
Union leaders informed Merrill that the demotion constituted “career sabotage” and she would “never recover.” Facing what she referred to as a career-ending blow, Merrill resigned May 24, 2024.
The swimsuit alleged male and minority colleagues have been spared related punishment for misconduct. It cites Mikell’s innuendo and an incident through which a black reporter allegedly “physically threw” a co-worker in opposition to a wall. None have been demoted, in response to the submitting.
According to Merrill’s lawsuit, Mikell lodged a grievance in opposition to her through which he falsely accused her of making racially charged feedback, together with one through which she allegedly informed him that after his hiring he would “find his people” in Boston.
The lawsuit alleged that Mikell complained after she didn’t ask him “about his weekend, an omission he apparently attributed to his race…”
Dunham is a retired goaltender who performed within the NHL for groups together with the New York Rangers, Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils. He is seen above with the Rangers in 2002. New York Post
The grievance additionally mentions one other incident through which she instructed he might be a rubbish collector whereas a co-anchor joked he may decide strawberries during an on-air bit.
Merrill denied “any of her actions, inactions, or comments were as described or motivated by overt racism or unconscious bias.”
Merrill, a Carlisle, Mass. native and Concord resident, launched her profession in 1996 and joined WBZ in 2004. She grew to become co-anchor of “WBZ This Morning” and “WBZ News at Noon” in 2017.
The submitting touts her spotless file, “extraordinary reputation” and a résumé that included protection of the Boston Marathon bombing, Democratic National Convention, Red Sox World Series win and Patriots Super Bowls.
Merrill mentioned her black colleagues at WBZ-TV fabricated allegations in opposition to her accusing her of racial hostility. Facebook / Kate Merrill WBZ
“For more than 20 years, Ms. Merrill worked closely, virtually daily, with colleagues regardless of race,” the submitting states, attaching images of her with black colleagues.
“She is anti-racist.”
In 2022, WBZ employed Cole and Japanese American anchor Chris Tanaka, demoting white colleagues within the course of.
In 2023, black meteorologist Mikell joined the station, changing Zack Green, a white forecaster, in response to the grievance.
Merrill alleged she was focused by managers who mentioned the morning show was “too white” and by co-workers who filed “malicious” race-based complaints in opposition to her. Facebook / Kate Merrill WBZ
Her WBZ contract — which runs till June 2025 — comprises a non-compete clause, blocking her from working elsewhere in TV till it expires.
She says she has suffered “significant financial losses” and reputational harm, and that WBZ nonetheless has not paid her for 20 unused trip days.
The Post has sought remark from Merrill’s attorneys, Patricia Washienko and Allison Williard; WBZ-TV; CBS; Paramount Global; Draper; Mikell; Cole and Roderick.
