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KYW Morning News Anchor Carol MacKenzie Suing Audacy For Age, Gender Discrimination

The legal action seeks a court order directing KYW to halt age discrimination and appoint an external monitor to oversee anchor and reporter pay rates for at least three years.

Ryan Hedrick

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A photo of the KYW logo

Morning co-anchor Carol MacKenzie of Audacy News 1060/103.9 KYW Philadelphia is taking legal action against the company, alleging gender and age discrimination.

According to Radio Insight, MacKenzie is seeking unspecified compensation for back pay, damages, interest, attorney fees, and injunctive and declaratory relief. MacKenzie claims that Audacy violated the Equal Pay Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

MacKenzie has been an employee at KYW since 2003. However, she alleges that she has faced persistent pay discrepancies compared to her male and younger colleagues. She initially started earning $20,000 to $30,000 less than her male peers who held equivalent positions. When she requested a raise in 2010, she claims she was turned down and informed that she couldn’t surpass the salary of anchor Ed Abrams.

Her allegations continue, noting that in 2011, two reporters who were 15 years younger than her were earning $10,000 more annually. In 2014, her colleague Brandon Brooks was promoted and given $30,000 more than her. After she discovered the pay gap in 2018, the station reportedly reduced Brooks’ salary while making a “modest” increase to hers.

In 2020, as KYW’s top earners faced voluntary pay cuts amid COVID-19, MacKenzie claims she agreed to a $20,000 reduction. However, the same year, Denise Nakano was hired as midday anchor for $20,000 more than MacKenzie. In 2021, a SAG-AFTRA investigation revealed “systemic gender-based pay violations” at KYW during MacKenzie’s tenure. While the probe was ongoing, she received a three-year contract renewal with salaries of $137,000 (2022), $140,000 (2023), and $143,000 (2024). Turning down the offer, citing it as below her male counterparts, Audacy upped their offer by $10-13,000 per year, which she accepted.

The legal action seeks a court order directing KYW to halt age discrimination and appoint an external monitor to oversee anchor and reporter pay rates for at least three years. MacKenzie independently handles the 5 am slot and co-anchors from 6-9 am with Ian Bush. Before joining KYW in 2003, she was a television news anchor at WBRE-TV Scranton, WHP-TV Harrisburg, and New England Cable News.

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Daily Wire Co-CEO on Ben Shapiro, Candace Owens Spat: We Won’t Always Agree

“We employ people [and] give them a platform to give their opinion.”

Eduardo Razo

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A photo of The Daily Wire

The Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro and one of the platform’s big names, Candace Owens, were recently in a public feud.

It all began when Shapiro called Owens’ stance on the state of Israel “disgraceful” and “disreputable,” adding that she was attempting a “faux-sophistication” on the subject.

Co-CEO Jeremy Boreing, who wasn’t in the United States during the entire situation, appeared on The Megyn Kelly Show and was asked about the dispute.

“Yeah, I’ve been handling it by making a movie in Hungary for the last six months, which has been a great way for me personally to handle it,” Boreing jokingly said before taking a more serious tone. “We employ people [and] give them a platform to give their opinion. We’re not always going to agree with the opinions that they give. 

“We empower them to be passionate with those opinions, and sometimes those passions are going to get turned in the wrong direction. And I think that in this particular case, you have two very articulate and passionate people in, Ben and Candace, whose conflict of visions on this issue spilled out into the public square, which is going to happen from time to time. 

“I wish it hadn’t happened the way that it did, but it’s going to happen from time to time. And I think it just is sort of the territory when you decide to start a media company and give people broad freedom.”

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WFNC Morning Host Jeff ‘Goldy’ Goldberg Retires

Barrett News Media

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(Photo: Jeff Goldberg)

Jeff “Goldy” Goldberg has been a staple in the Fayetteville, NC market. However, after 18 years of hosting mornings at WFNC, Goldberg is calling it a career.

Goldberg signed off from Good Morning Fayetteville Friday morning.

“Since I announced my retirement a few weeks ago, the outpouring of love and the good wishes from not only my listeners here in Fayetteville, but my listeners in Washington D.C., has been overwhelming,” Goldberg told Fayetteville’s City View. “It has been a privilege and a joy to live out my dream for these last 45 years, and to have a second chapter like the one I’ve had here in Fayetteville exceeded my wildest dreams.”

Goldberg worked in both television and radio in Washington, D.C. before moving to the Cumulus-owned station in 2005.

“I am 80% excited and 20% nervous,” he surmised about his retirement.

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Buck Sexton: Media Needs to Facilitate More Debates Like DeSantis/Newsom

“That is my fundamental premise in American politics, in American media. We have gotten to a place now where no one has to defend their positions anymore.”

Barrett News Media

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Fox News hosted a debate between Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) Thursday evening. The event was moderated by Sean Hannity. If Buck Sexton got his way, the made-for-TV event would be a regular occurrence.

While previewing the event on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, Sexton argued that he wants to see more debates and discussions with differing viewpoints more frequently on cable news.

“I want to see more high-level debate. That is my fundamental premise in American politics, in American media. We have gotten to a place now where no one has to defend their positions anymore,” Sexton said. “No one is really pushed and feels like people can say, ‘Oh, well, how do we change this?’ Well, you need to have people that feel that there’s a pressure from the public for them to have to actually stand up and do it.”

He continued by noting a seemingly bygone era of cable television that featured constant discussions and presentations of both sides of political topics.

“I’ve said this before: When I first got into media, I came from an era of watching things like Crossfire, Firing Line, and these different shows, and that’s gone now. You used to have a lot more — honestly used to have a lot more debate on Fox (News). High-level people from the Democrat side would go on Fox, and those were the clips that would go viral. I feel like no one debates anymore. I’m not saying this is going to change all that, but there may be follow-up to it. There may be. So, for me, this is what needs to start.”

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