We’ve heard a lot this year about discrimination allegations being brought against major news networks. From gender and racial discrimination and sexual abuse allegations against Fox News to racial discrimination allegations against CNN, one can’t help but wonder what the ruling will be in any of the lawsuits. Well, the wait is over. In one particular case against Time Warner networks CNN and TBS, a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination was dismissed earlier this week “for a lack of factual evidence.”
We’ve heard a lot this year about discrimination allegations being brought against major news networks. From gender and racial discrimination and sexual abuse allegations against Fox News to racial discrimination allegations against CNN, one can’t help but wonder what the ruling will be in any of the lawsuits. Well, the wait is over. In one particular case against Time Warner networks CNN and TBS, a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination was dismissed earlier this week “for a lack of factual evidence.”
The judge who decided to throw the case out was U.S. District Court Judge William Duffey Jr. He dismissed the entire case after denouncing the lawsuit as “fraught with conclusory claims, unsupported by factual allegations sufficient to support the inferences claimed by Plaintiffs,” and “littered with conclusory assertions, rank speculation, confusing statements, and generalized allegations.”
But what were the allegations exactly, and who filed the lawsuit? For starters, the lead plaintiffs were “former CNN employee Celeslie Henley and former TBS employee Ernest Colbert Jr.” Working a combined total of 27 years at Time Warner networks, the two made up a group of an estimated “175 current and former employees who requested to join the class action lawsuit.”
As for the allegations? Well, the allegations brought forward by the two lead plaintiffs included “allegations of mistreatment of African-American employees, including lower performance ratings, wage discrepancies, and unequal promotion opportunities.” Additionally, both Henley and Colbert claimed they “had been subjected to racial slurs in the office such as ‘It’s hard to manage black people’ and ‘Who would be worth more: black slaves from times past, or new slaves?’”
Despite the fact that this latest case was dismissed, no one should ever feel discriminated against while working their jobs. Before the case was dismissed, Sarah Glover, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, issued the following statement in response to the allegations:
“No one working in the media industry today should be subjected to discriminatory practices. This has to end.”
However, despite that particular statement, Duffy still claimed the lawsuit was “poorly constructed with the only numerical evidence offered, hiring and advancements statistics, related to those of color, not African-Americans alone.”
Perhaps one of the few parties not upset about the ruling is CNN. The major news network undoubtedly hopes this lawsuit dismissal will result in some much needed “good publicity” after a bit of a rocky year in terms of ratings.
Sources:
Time Warner Shakes Discrimination Lawsuit
Time Warner employees who claimed discrimination lose lawsuit
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