GoldenShine9

Meggan Gray, fired by WLOX for defying a vaccine mandate, has just been hired by rival WXXV. As much as the anti-vaccine crowd will be cheering, that would be a violation of the non-compete? That means WLOX and Gray Television have a case for a lawsuit?

Maybe hand the half hour back to affiliates and let east coast CBS affiliates run hour-long 6 pm newscasts?

Eleah Lehnen, the former executive fired from KCBD (Gray), goes all-out insane. The tape of her firing was posted.

One more fired by Gray over vaccine refusal: KGNS - Barbara Campos, morning anchor The common thread seems to be that nearly all those who were fired were in smaller markets (very few were in markets above 100) and in very red areas. Most of them also seemed to be those with high levels of experience. If that is the case, the bloodletting should be less when Tegna and Scripps impose theirs next month, since they are much more prevalent in larger markets.

Yet another reporter gone because of vaccine mandates, and she goes full conspiracist. KMOV's Kim St. Onge has been fired by Meredith (and would have been fired by Gray if they had not aligned their policies).

Gray has caught some vaccine cheaters too. Several at KCBD, including their GM and their news director alongside other executives, have been fired after they faked their vaccination.

While other companies bring up vaccine mandates, the general consensus is that Sinclair will not.

While Sinclair will likely be hard-pressed to mandate such, I could see Nexstar joining in with such - and there are quite a number of markets (my count is 13) where it's Gray vs. Nexstar and no one else. There will be some carnage too when Tegna and Scripps impose their upcoming mandates.

Another one that Gray has let go of: KCWY - Cheryl Hackett, morning anchor and lifestyle reporter KALB - Also I know Tom Konvicka, chief meteorologist, and Al Quartemont, news director, both left on September 15. They have not disclosed if the mandate is the reason and that they were fired, but there is wide suspicion it is.

The fights over exemptions seem like most were bogus or cop-outs anyway. Unless you're Amish or something like that, the chance of a legitimate religious exemption is zero as no organized religious body has said no to vaccines (they have either encouraged or at most been neutral) - independent evangelical churches don't count there. As far as medical exemptions, they are only likely if someone is allergic to it or had a serious reaction in the past from a different vaccine, which applies to less than 1% of the population. That may be about 50 people, at the most, at all Gray operations combined. I know Tegna's mandate begins November 13 and Scripps has theirs on December 1. Meredith aligned them with Gray (which makes sense).

I know she posted it a few days ago on Facebook, but she's gone public - and insane. They will have a hard time finding a new position.

Some more that Gray has axed over refusal to get the vaccine: KSNB - Tim Jones, chief meteorologist WGEM - Don Dwyer, morning anchor and Robert Turek, reporter WTVM - Dave Platta, sports director

Weird question, but I noticed that KCRG in Cedar Rapids had to give up its Circle channel due to bandwidth being maxed out. Are there any loose LP's or low-ranked or dark stations in the market that Gray could acquire? That can shove off the CW affiliation and provide subchannel relief.

A few I know: KXII - Tom Miller, meteorologist and Dan Thomas, lead anchor (their posts got deleted, but reports around social media) KYTV - Linda Simmons, anchor/reporter WLOX - Meggan Gray, anchor WLUC - Karl Bohnak, chief meteorologist (went full conspiracy theorist in his response) and Sarah Blakely, lead anchor Those I know are confirmed, but there are likely many others. It seems old-timers are the most resistant, perhaps older journalists are much more conservative?

The 6 Gray stations in the Carolinas (WBTV, WCSC, WECT, WIS, WITN and WMBF) are launching "Carolina Now", which will be a streaming exclusive. I'm sure WHNS will join it when Gray finishes that deal.

It was actually mostly used by the ex-Raycom stations as their brand, later adopted by the Gray legacy stations.

I question the WYMT petition. It's a mountainous area where UHF signals don't move too well - VHF signals, while technically not as strong in the immediate area, penetrate more of eastern Kentucky, and that is an area of high poverty (which explains why the Lexington stations practically ignore the area).

At least 2 longtime anchors from Gray stations have been fired over their refusal to get vaccinated. Dave Platta (Sports Director, WTVM) - https://www.wtvm.com/2021/09/15/long-time-sports-director-dave-platta-leaves-wtvm/ Karl Bohnak (Chief Meteorologist, WLUC) - https://www.dailypress.net/news/local-news/2021/09/bohnak-fired-for-refusal-to-get-vaccinated/ I don't see them getting back into the business, especially not Bohnak - he burnt all his bridges with his statement going full QAnon.

They get shredded in ratings anyway though by WKYT and WLEX.

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2021/8/6/breaking-news-gray-no-jab-no-job Gray is mandating vaccinations for all new hires. They didn't mention it for existing employees yet. First TV group to do so.

Unlikely to ever do weather again, since OAN and Newsmax don't do such.

It won't be long, I am sure. CBS will want nothing to do with her. She'll be blacklisted too.

The old template is now extinct. Greta's show has flipped too.

She's probably been blacklisted now. About the only places she'll be able to work are Newsmax or OAN.

Two of them, WWBT and WVIR, switched. The last holdout is WFLX (which Scripps actually does the heavy lifting in).