The imminent firing of popular local television anchorwoman Sue Simmons is prompting internet grumbles\u00a0that she\u2019s a victim of gender and\/or age bias.<\/p>\n
I would argue she held the post longer than her performance merits.<\/p>\n
The 68-year-old Simmons has read the news on the NBC affiliate here for 32 years.\u00a0 While WNBC isn\u2019t my top choice at 5, 6 or 11, I\u2019ve watched Simmons off and on for about fifteen years.\u00a0 She totally mails it in.<\/p>\n
When something big breaks, she\u2019s in over her head.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that she gets rattled but Simmons can\u2019t muster much off-script dialogue with colleagues that doesn\u2019t come off as a scoff or a been-there, done-that response.\u00a0 It\u2019s tiring.\u00a0 She\u2019s tired.\u00a0 And while her employer enjoys tops-in-the-market numbers with her and partner Chuck Scarborough in the 11 PM slot, WNBC is probably tired of paying\u00a0Simmons a reported $5 mil annual when they see other younger, hungrier broadcast journalists doing it better for much less at the stiff competition doing news at channels 5. 7 and 11.<\/p>\n
The fact Scarborough is getting a three-year extension at the same time Simmons is being shown the door is probably the leading reason for the cries of discrimination.\u00a0 Chuck is the same age and his identity is linked with Simmons because they\u2019ve sat together for so long.\u00a0 Why does Chuck the old man get to stay while Sue the old woman gets canned?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s because Chuck still has it.\u00a0 Sue doesn\u2019t – and hasn\u2019t for a good stretch.<\/p>\n
I’m not saying local television news executives don’t wrongly discard aging female broadcast journalists\u00a0for\u00a0completely misguided\u00a0reasons.\u00a0 They do.\u00a0 I simply don’t think Simmons is getting that kind of malicious shaft here.<\/p>\n
I watch Liz Cho and Bill Ritter on channel 7 at 6 PM.\u00a0 They excel at interaction with a big roster of talented field reporters doing live reports during both routine and hard, breaking news.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m also devoted to Jodi Applegate\u2019s very unusual one-hour cast at 10 PM on WPIX (channel 11).\u00a0 Applegate\u2019s sharp wit is infectious as is her station\u2019s devotion to a solid block of reports and commentary on outer borough corruption, violent crime and odd city government action\/inaction in those neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
One side note on the Simmons saga:\u00a0 it was Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams (a Simmons pal) who first broke the story in Tuesday\u2019s newspaper.\u00a0 The reason this is notable is because Adams never scoops anybody on anything.\u00a0 Her column is far and away the biggest waste of space of any in the city\u2019s three major newspapers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The imminent firing of popular local television anchorwoman Sue Simmons is prompting internet grumbles\u00a0that she\u2019s a victim of gender and\/or age bias. I would argue she held the post longer than her performance merits. The 68-year-old Simmons has read the … Continue reading