These TV news anchors are suing over age and gender discrimination

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Vivian Lee admits it can be a little awkward working for a company that she's actively suing — but she says it's worth it to secure a fairer future for women in the news industry. 

Lee, 44, is one of five women between the ages of 40 and 61 who have filed a lawsuit against the owners of NY1 cable news station in New York City alleging discrimination based on age and gender. 

The lawsuit, filed last month in the Federal District Court in Manhattan, claims the company "blatantly marginalized them and cast them aside in favour of younger women and men."

"It had never quite been done before that people stood up for their rights regarding age and gender discrimination, and the intersection of those two issues, while they were still receiving a paycheque from the boss that they were challenging," Lee, who is from Toronto, told As It Happens guest host Rosemary Barton.

"We could have just quietly left our jobs and maybe sought opportunity elsewhere — but then what are we leaving behind?" 

New owners, new faces 

According to the lawsuit, the trouble started when cable giant Charter Communications acquired NY1 from Time Warner in 2016 and immediately began laying people off as it restructured the station's operations.

The few veteran female anchors who survived the layoffs found their careers were stopped in their tracks, the suit alleges. Their air-time was cut, opportunities disappeared, and new prime-time roles were filled by younger reporters with less experience.

"There was a feeling that because of our age, we were not desirable on the air," Lee said. "It was only happening to women."

Charter Communications has denied those allegations. Spokesperson Maureen Huff  told As It Happens that 57 per cent of NY1's on-air talent is female, and 55 per cent are over the age of 40.

"We take these allegations seriously, and as we complete our thorough review, we have not found any merit to them," Huff said in an emailed statement. 

"NY1 is a respectful and fair workplace, and we're committed to providing a work environment in which all our employees are valued and empowered."

'Because we were older, we were not being considered'

But Lee says she feels anything but valued and empowered by her new employers.

One of Charter's first big changes, she said, was to create a new hourly news segment. But rather than post a listing for anchors to host those slots, she says the company quietly filled them — mostly with women under 40. 

"A few of us actually approached upper management and complained, and we clearly stated that we felt we were being sidelined, that as legacy employees — employees who had been holdovers from the previous ownership — we should have been considered first and at least communicated to," she said.

"I said that I thought because we were older, we were not being considered for these positions."

You could see a man age in the anchor seat, be celebrated for two decades, three decades, four decades helming a show, and you couldn't quite see that happening as much with women.- Vivian Lee, NY1

Their complaints, she said, had no effect. And for Lee, things only got worse.

She says that when she had her first child, she requested to be put on a part-time schedule, believing she'd be able to return to her full-time duties when she was ready. But when she requested to return full time, the company told her they had no room for her.

"And then shortly after that there were a couple of freelancers who were hired instead," she said. 

Huff called Lee a "valued employee" said that after her show Spotlight was cancelled earlier this year, the company has been "working at finding new ways to accommodate her request for more hours."

Making room for the next generation 

The women say management have told them it's necessary to cultivate new talent at the station and give young reporters the opportunities they need to excel in the field.

It's a sentiment some of Lee's colleagues agree with. 

Angi Gonzalez, 38, told the New York Post that she resents being named in the lawsuit as one of the less experienced reporters being groomed as the plaintiffs' replacements.

"One of the things I took issue with is being referred to as inexperienced," she said. "I have 16 years experience."

But Lee says she and the other plaintiffs have nothing but support for their colleagues. She says they were happily mentoring young women at NY1 long before Charter came along.

"Our complaint doesn't disparage their abilities," she said. "Our complaint is about being passed over."

A different story for men 

Lee says women in the news business are constantly told that their work has "an expiry date" — while men are celebrated late into their careers. 

"You could see a man age in the anchor seat, be celebrated for two decades, three decades, four decades helming a show, and you couldn't quite see that happening as much with women," she said,

"And I think that is tied to the value that is placed on women."

And it's not limited to New York, she said. 

On a recent trip home to Toronto, Lee said she was surfing the city's news stations and was amazed by how many more male anchors she recognized than women. 

"There were more men than I remembered seeing as a youngster, as a young adult, as a budding journalist," she said. 

"Local television news especially is one of the last places where you can see this discrimination happening right before your eyes — year in, year out."

Written by Sheena Goodyear. Interview with Vivian Lee produced by Chloe Shantz-Hilkes.