Key Points
- A defamation case brought against Nexstar by two former news directors appears headed for a jury trial, which could happen later this year.
- The case stems from the termination of WOOD-TV’s Stanton Tang and Amy Fox after a memo on Pride Month coverage sparked internal backlash, leading to their dismissals.
- Settlement talks have failed so far, with a new conference set ahead of pre-trial hearings this summer.
A pair of newsroom leaders who were fired by Nexstar Media Group several years ago are likely to have their definitive moment in court later this year, absent a settlement in the case.
In mid-April, the federal judge overseeing two separate but related defamation and wrongful termination cases filed by former WOOD-TV (Channel 8, NBC) News Director Stanton Tang and his direct report, Assistant News Director Amy Fox, scheduled a fresh settlement conference for June and a final pre-trial hearing for July, the last steps before the lawsuit is brought before a jury.
Fox and Tang were fired a few weeks after writing and circulating a newsroom-wide memo that urged journalists at the Michigan television station to pull back on their reporting of Pride Month events there. The memo reminded reporters and producers at the station that some viewers of WOOD-TV’s newscasts were politically conservative, and said stories about gay issues were likely to upset its audience.
“We need to recognize that some stories related to LGBTQ issues are going to be controversial and polarizing in our community,” Fox wrote in the memo, which was orchestrated by Tang. “While you personally may not agree with a certain position, people are entitled to their opinions, and they are our viewers.”
The memo prompted a revolt among the station’s journalists, who vowed not to follow the directive. After The Desk published a report on the memo, Nexstar opened an internal investigation and ultimately determined that Fox and Tang had violated the company’s editorial and business policies. The news directors were fired, as were two other employees suspected of leaking the memo to reporters.
Fox and Tang sued about a year later, arguing that their terminations were without merit because they followed Nexstar’s policies requiring fairness and accuracy in news reporting. They also said statements made by Nexstar‘s Chief Communications Officer Gary Weitman to CNN reporter Liam Reilly and other journalists covering the memo were defamatory.
Nexstar disputes the allegations, and asked the court to toss out the case. In March, a federal judge refused to dismiss the lawsuit, saying there were enough allegations and preliminary evidence to indicate that the broadcaster may have violated federal and state labor laws, including one that protect former employees from having their disciplinary records disclosed to uninvolved parties.
Last year, attorneys representing all sides engaged in a court-ordered settlement conference that was intended to resolve the case without a jury trial. The settlement conference ended in December without an agreement, paving the way for the case to proceed.
A second settlement conference is scheduled for June 4, with a final pre-trial conference hearing scheduled for July 20, according to court records reviewed by The Desk. The jury trial is likely to be scheduled for this fall.
While the lawsuit was ongoing, Nexstar announced a $6.2 billion deal to acquire peer broadcaster TEGNA, growing its portfolio of local TV stations to more than 260. That deal closed in mid-March after federal regulators cleared the deal, despite separate lawsuits filed by DIRECTV and several state attorneys general challenging the acquisition on antitrust grounds.
The federal antitrust lawsuit continues to play out, with a judge ordering in April that Nexstar distance itself from local TV stations previously operated by TEGNA. Nexstar is appealing the order.
The lawsuits involving Tang and Fox had the potential to derail Nexstar’s acquisition of TEGNA: During a sworn deposition, Weitman was asked about Nexstar’s diversity, equity and inclusiveness (DEI) programs, which the company stopped promoting on its website shortly after the election of President Donald Trump. Weitman affirmed that the company eliminated references to DEI from its website, but that those principles were still part of Nexstar’s “corporate philosophy.”
Over the past years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has scrutinized companies with licensed local television assets based on their use of DEI programs, with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr sending letters to Comcast’s NBC Universal and the Walt Disney Company’s ABC inquiring about their programs. After The Desk wrote about Weitman’s DEI comments, Nexstar CEO Perry Sook sent a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr saying the company’s DEI programs were gone. The FCC approved Nexstar’s acquisition of TEGNA one week later.
More Stories
- FIRST TO REPORT: Judge says jury gets to decide if Nexstar defamed news directors fired over memo
- EXCLUSIVE: No settlement reached in news director’s lawsuit against Nexstar
- Nexstar exec: Fired news director’s memo influenced by church discussions
- Nexstar seeks to depose fired WOOD-TV news director Stanton Tang
- Defamation case against Nexstar to move forward, judge says
- Fired Nexstar news director says Pride Month memo was “spot on”
- CNN reporter to be questioned in Nexstar defamation lawsuit
- Newsmax urges FCC to deny Nexstar-TEGNA merger
- Nexstar DEI philosophy could complicate TEGNA deal at FCC (January 2026)
- FCC says it granted ownership rule waivers to approve Nexstar-TEGNA deal
- Former WOOD-TV news directors file defamation lawsuits against Nexstar (June 2024)
- WOOD-TV news director Stanton Tang fired over anti-gay memo (June 2023)
- EXCLUSIVE: Nexstar exec scolds WOOD-TV newsroom for leaking memo
- Embattled Michigan news director threatened journalists who voted
- Calls grow for Michigan news director to resign after anti-gay memo
- EXCLUSIVE: Stressed employees levied complaints at WOOD-TV for months
