Posted by RP on February 04, 2009 at 16:17:47:
All these comments about newscasters or weather people who the station is "afraid to let go", and the one thing these personalities have in common is that they are black. Let me tell you a story: back in the 1980s, WCLR (now WTMX) owned then as now by Bonneville had an overnight jock called Leo Rengers. Leo was an older white chap, and he was absolutely horrible on the air. He was famous for mispronouncing "Lynyrd Skynyrd" on the air when reading the story about the plane crash that killed several of the band's members. He sounded confused on the air even when backselling a Roger Williams record.
Leo was let go, after being allowed to stay on the air far too many years. He sued Bonneville for age discrimination and won. I believe it was later turned over on appeal, but I'm not certain about that part.
Bottom line: a white personality who has clung too long can cause trouble for an employer when they let him go, just as a black personality in the same circumstances can. So why does this all have to be made about race? The undercurrent is so blatant, it is hard to read these posts and realise that in 2009 people basically think about race they same way they did in 1969.