Take this job and shove it: Fed-up Bangor TV anchors quit on air

[Newsjock]

Source: Bangor Daily News

Citing a longstanding battle with upper management over journalistic practices at their Bangor TV stations, news co-anchors Cindy Michaels and Tony Consiglio announced their resignations at the end of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. newscast.

Michaels and Consiglio, who have a combined 12½ years’ service at WVII (Channel 7) and sister station WFVX (Channel 22), shocked staff members and viewers with their joint resignations Tuesday evening.

“I just wanted to know that I was doing the best job I could and was being honest and ethical as a journalist, and I thought there were times when I wasn’t able to do that,” said Consiglio, a northeastern Connecticut native who broke in with WVII as a sports reporter in April 2006.

... “We figured if we had tendered our resignations off the air, we would not have been allowed to say goodbye to the community on the air and that was really important for us to do that,” said Michaels, the station’s news director, who has spent six of her 15 years in Bangor’s radio and TV market at WVII.

Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/11/20/news/bangor/anchors-away-at-wvii-cindy-michaels-tony-consiglio-resign-on-air/

[hr]
Video: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/watch-maine-news-anchors-cindy-michaels-and-tony-consiglio-resign-live-on-air/

Previously on DU: Maine anchor gets hate mail for Palin resemblance
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4072910

From 2006: At 2 TV Stations in Maine, What Al Gore’s Movie Says Isn’t News
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/business/media/30warming.html?_r=1&oref=sl

Michael Palmer, the general manager of television stations WVII and WFVX, ABC and Fox affiliates in Bangor, has told his joint staff of nine men and women that when “Bar Harbor is underwater, then we can do global warming stories.”

“Until then,” he added. “No more.”

[LuckyLib]

1. Maybe they resigned because they had to do stupid stories -- fluff and puff that is not news.

Our major metropolitan local news is so bad that it can hardly be called journalism. They now announce during the weather "It will be a beautiful day for Sarah's birthday on Saturday -- she turns 2"!!! (Complete with photo.) Or, "Up next, how to keep your spices fresh."

[justabob]

6. last time I watched my local morning news

they spent more time talking about the plots etc on prime time tv shows than life in our big city. This is one of the many reasons I gave up getting news via my tv.

[rivegauche]

8. UGH. I feel your pain.

One of our local weatherdudes does his forecast with his dog. He also has a schmaltzy greeting card-style designation for every single day. Like, "today is wear a red hat day!" I think he makes them up.

[avebury]

2. In Oklahoma City, they often open with the

latest murder.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

11. That's not done in Chicago. It would take too much time to decide which one to start with.

As long as the let's-send-American-manufacturing-jobs-to-foreign-countries "free-trade" agreements are in place, all of our major cities are going to see unnecessary unemployment and unnecessary aggression leading to more murders.

[alfredo]

16. Ours open with a report of a meth lab in a Walmart bathroom.

[busterbrown]

21. L.A. isn't any better....

[Rex]

3. Ah...nothing worser than someone that hates the planet

over capital and/or popularity. See, some people are so fucking stupid, that they treat life and death situations (like global warming) like it was all one big joke...hahaha etc..

These are the mostest dangerousous of us all.

[pscot]

4. If it weren't for shopping "news", rain and traffic

The 5 to 6 hour wold be dead air around here.

[arikara]

28. Ours loves the wild animal sightings

a cougar possibly seen within city limits, or a bear spotted on a rural road. They even report on deer if none of the bigger animals were available during the day. And then they'll feature a kitten or puppy that was mistreated. They'll spend at least 5 minutes interviewing the person who found the animal, the vet and pan the camera over the animals injuries after warning that it could be "disturbing to some viewers".

Then they move on to shopping news, rain and sports.

[catbyte]

5. This quote says it all:

“It’s a culmination of ongoing occurrences that took place the last several years and basically involved upper management practices that we both strongly disagreed with,” she explained. “It’s a little complicated, but we were expected to do somewhat unbalanced news, politically, in general.”

Neither Michaels nor Consiglio would say what specific political leaning they were expected to adopt.

Wanna bet which way they were expected to lean? Glad to see journalistic integrity, sorry that they had to quit to keep it.

[Iggo]

12. I blame the manager.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

14. That's because you are logical person.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

13. You blame the audience? Isn't this an example of blaming-the-victim?

[TahitiNut]

20. Blaming the audience only encourages predation.

It gives a free pass to predatory codependency and isn't "supportive" of anyone. It's a cop-out.

[BlueJazz]

9. I admire these two immensely ! What they did takes courage and raw mental strength.

Their job was reporting the news not how shitty the Democrats are (supposedly) running the country.

[spooky3]

10. Best wishes to Cindy and Tony, and thank you for standing up for integrity.

I hope it doesn't cost you any more dearly than you already realize.

[mountain grammy]

17. Yes, it seems "integrity" is not so desirable anymore

but I'm still betting these two will land on their feet and join the growing number of "real" journalists who appear to be making a bit of a comeback. Somehow, "liberal biased facts" have a creepy way of being true.
Our Denver news channels are 99% entertainment with occasional valuable weather and traffic info and decent theater critics. Some anchors look annoyed with the silly reporting of the "news," but that's as far as it goes for "commentary."

[Fantastic Anarchist]

15. "Go Fuck Yourself, San Diego!"

Good on them.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

19. "Great Odin's raven!" LMAO!!!! Classic. nt

[Fantastic Anarchist]

22. I love your signature quote!!!

Revolutionary thinking ... "in due course."

Love it.

[NotThisTime]

18. Good for them, I wish them the best in their endeavors. It's a scary thing to do though...

[valerief]

23. WOW! Quitting over integrity. That's something you don't see in journalism. nt

[donco]

24. I hope that

they find a new job but i would bet it will not be anywhere near Bangor.

[xtraxritical]

25. "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!"

[Lucinda]

26. I wish they had been specific on air and said what was happening behind the scenes.

I wish them both well