Posted on 04/11/2006 6:54:19 AM PDT by MindBender26
An African American producer who had been at CBS News for 13 years is attributing her March termination to racial discrimination, noting that "not one of CBS News' eight broadcasts is in any way directed, influenced, or shaped by an African American or any minority holding a senior position on that broadcast.
"There is not one single African American person holding a rank above producer on any of CBS' eight separate broadcasts," states a complaint to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed by Raylena Fields, 52, who said she earned $185,000 a year.
"In the last eighteen (18) months, at least five African American women were, in one way or another, forced out of their jobs at CBS News. Only one African American male has been promoted to a producer position at CBS News in the last decade."
Her complaint, which her lawyer told Journal-isms was filed March 30 at the EEOC offices in New York, paints an unflattering picture of "CBS Evening News" anchor Bob Schieffer, who has won praise from critics and viewers for his avuncular, folksy style since taking over from Dan Rather 13 months ago.
"My termination is also retaliatory," the complaint reads. "It came almost one month to the day, after I filed a complaint that CBS Evening News anchorman Bob Schieffer asked me to answer his phones, something a veteran similarly situated Staff Producer, would have never been asked to do. When I responded that I would find someone to help him, Mr. Schieffer raised his voice at me in front of his quests and said, 'Well, if you can't be bothered!' I chose not to be intimidated and ran down to the newsroom and found an entry level person to handle Mr. Schieffer's phones until his secretary got in.
"Bob Schieffer has a reputation for bigotry," the complaint continues. "Mr. Schieffer frequently and publicly refers to a newsroom assistant as 'Brownie' due to the complexion of his skin.
"I personally witnessed Bob Schieffer address a veteran African American correspondent as 'Hey, Boy.'
The complaint comes just as CBS is winning kudos for appointing Katie Couric as the first woman to anchor a prime-time newscast solo during the week, and a week after it named Russ Mitchell, who is African American, as its Sunday evening news anchor.
In expanding on her claim that her firing was partly in retaliation for complaining about racial matters, Fields wrote, "in January 2006, I complained that I was troubled by the reporting and tone of a story done by Washington correspondent, Gloria Borger regarding the questioning of Judge Sam Alito," who was successfully nominated for the Supreme Court. "I stated that the tenor of Ms. Borger's piece was that Democrats questioning Sam Alito on issues of race and gender, and possible bigoted behavior, 'crossed the line' because it made his wife cry. Somehow the wife crying trumped this critical line of questioning.
"In February 2006, I prepared a story relating to a black death row inmate in Louisiana, who was exonerated due to the intervention of a group of attorneys from England and Australia.
"I was told by Senior Producer Reid Collins that talking about race in the story was 'veering off point.' I argued that 72% of all the people incarcerated in Louisiana are black and that you can't discuss the American criminal justice system without discussing race. Mr. [Collins] declared that our viewers were not going to like my story.
"Without my knowledge, Reid Collins telephoned one of the characters in my story, questioning my reporting. This was an unprecedented departure from standard policy. Similarly situated veteran Staff Producers are not subjected to the same treatment."
In 2000, the (government)announced it had settled a major sex discrimination lawsuit against CBS Broadcasting, Inc., for $8 million in financial compensation for approximately 200 female workers. "The suit charged CBS with subjecting a class of female technicians to a pattern and practice of discrimination in regard to salary, over time, promotions, and training; creating a hostile work environment that included sexual harassment; and retaliating against female employees for complaining about the discrimination," it announced in a news release.
Fields joined CBS after having been at ABC, where she had been acting senior broadcast producer for "Good Morning America's" news segments and director of talent recruitment and development at ABC News.
At CBS' "60 Minutes 2," she said, she was "the only black producer on staff, and the only producer that the show frequently required to work without an associate producer." Hartman, who joined the "CBS Evening News" in January, accused her of low production on both shows, Fields said. She argued that "terminating me for purportedly not doing as many stories as other Staff Producers, while ignoring the fact that I produced many more investigative and enterprised stories than my peers, is evidence of a pattern and practice of disparate treatment of me and of the disparate impact that CBS' policies have on African Americans.
"Twice, on stories relating to Osama Bin Laden's family, and following the trail of the 9ll hijackers, my investigative work resulted in major 'scoops' which excited senior staff. Each time, however, my bosses insisted that those 'scoops' be turned over to other producers who were white."
The complaint also alleges that terminating her contract violates the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. "The enormous stress due to discriminatory treatment I received at Sixty Minutes Two, brought on a condition diagnosed as Cervical Ridiculitis. I had to take several weeks of full medical leave and undergo physical therapy over a two-year span.
"At times, I came to work at the Evening News while taking prescribed narcotic painkillers, wearing a neck brace, and using heating pads to cope with the pain," the complaint said.
Bryan Monroe, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, said tonight, "We are deeply troubled by the assertions in this CBS complaint. NABJ is in contact with Ms. Fields and [we] are looking into the allegations."
Cynthia McKinney is having a hard time making the race card a winning hand right now. But you need to make it more of a last card in the hole -- she came right out playing it and that's harder.
Cervical Ridiculitis. That's really good.
Watch mah results.
Is it possible that CBS promoted the complainant beyond her ability level just because of her color/gender, just because they wanted to appear diverse and it backfired on them? Is there some gaping irony here?
A racist incompetent against a lying liberal organization that forges documents to make news?
Awesome.
No matter which one loses this battle, we win.
I love it when liberal policy turns around bites liberals on the a$$.
Oh...my...Gawd!
Somebody at CBS is a Republican?!!
I have two words for her; "cervical ridiculitis"?
Even though no DNA of Mr Schieffer was found in or on Raylena Fields, she will still go forward with her charges.
Easily solved. Quotas.
Ever hear of "at will" employment? The expectations of the company were set at this interview. No one was excused from doing what was necessary or beneficial to the company because of job description.
Obviously there are times when high level people are needed for things other than making coffee, but the principle stands.
Right. The only reason anybody SHOULDN'T make coffee or answer phones should be based on comparative advantage -- they can be performing a function at that time that is more valuable to the company. No one should think they're TOO GOOD to answer the phone, because that's the attitude that rots companys from the head on down.
If everbody has to take a turn answering the phone so that that lesson isn't lost, that might be a highly valuable use of their time.
Cervical Ridiculitis
HMMM...Sounds like a Harry Potter curse.......
sorry if its a double post :)
Cervical Ridiculitis? Is that anything like ridiculous...er...nevermind.
hard to sympathize with anyone making 200k/yr
Man, just reading her side of the story makes her sound like really, really bad news.
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