An employment discrimination lawsuit filed four years ago by a former CNN anchor/correspondent has now gone to trial in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. Marina Kolbe says the network did not renew her contract in 2003 because she was 42 and white — and that CNN was instead interested in hiring young, minority on-air staff.
According to the Fulton County (GA) Daily Report, “internal CNN memos introduced (at the trial) suggest that, beginning in 1999, in some cases a job candidate’s race and ethnicity were key factors in hiring on-air talent. One memo also revealed a push by CNN to hire ‘younger, more attractive anchors’ to draw younger audiences…”
CNN spokesperson Christa Robinson tells TVNewser, “CNN did not discriminate against Marina Kolbe in any way. CNN made a competitive talent decision that had nothing to do with the race or age of Ms. Kolbe. In addition, we do not agree with the characterizations of the documents presented in the article.”