Demetria Kaladinos files discrimination suit against Channel 4

https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/article/21034094/demetria-kalodimos-files-suit-against-wsmv

"Demetria Kalodimos, the longtime anchor and reporter who was the face of WSMV for more than three decades, filed suit against the station’s owner this morning, alleging that Meredith Corporation engaged in age discrimination when they let her go in December.

The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Kalodimos arrived at WSMV in February 1984 as a reporter and weekend anchor with Teddy Bart. After a short period, she was promoted to anchoring the popular Scene at Six newscast with Dan Miller, Bill Hall and Charlie McAlexander. Over the next 33 years, Kalodimos would become one of Nashville’s most decorated television journalists, garnering 16 Emmy awards and winning three prestigious Investigative Reporters and Editors medals.

Kalodimos, 59, told the Scene earlier this year that, with her contract up at WSMV on Dec. 31, 2017, she was offered a two-week extension “so that the station could create the illusion that I retired.”

"When I made the decision to devote my career to Channel 4, I never dreamed I would have to bring a lawsuit in order to do my job,” says Kalodimos in a news release. “Effective news anchors personify trust for their organizations and committed journalists expose wrongdoing, even if it's happening under their own roof. If this can happen to me, after decades of dedication and sacrifice, I know it can happen to anyone, and I certainly don't want that to be my legacy.”

The lawsuit alleges that WSMV “engages in a continuing pattern and practice of gender- and age-based discrimination” by replacing on-air personalities who are older with younger ones. “Channel 4 moves to replace older females at a much younger age than older males.”

The suit is separate from an age-discrimination suit filed against WSMV by Nancy Van Camp, Jennifer Johnson and Dennis Ferrier — that suit was later joined by Steven Good, the actor who portrayed Snowbird for more than 20 years. Meredith Corporation declined to comment on the suit. In her suit, Kalodimos alleges that WSMV retaliated against her for being a witness in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint filed by the other four."