Columbus Meteorologist Under Fire for Closing Remarks at LGBTQ Conference

By Stephanie Tsoflias Siegel 

WSYX‘ chief meteorologist is making headlines for his comments yesterday at the NLGJA conference for LGBTQ journalists over the weekend.

During the closing ceremonies at the Palm Springs, Calif., conference, which was hosted by Fox News, longtime Columbus weather anchor Marshall McPeek addressed the crowd as “ladies, gentlemen, things and its.”

Them reporter Mary Emily O’Hara was the first to tweet about the awkward moment.

Advertisement

Marshall apologized for his comments before the evening ended, and also resigned his membership from the NLGJA.

Tony D’Angelo, general manager of WSYX, the Sinclair-owned Fox and ABC affiliate in Columbus, told NBC News, “Marshall’s comments in no way reflect the values of Sinclair Broadcast Group. We are an inclusive workplace that prides itself on all employees feeling comfortable and welcome. Sinclair has supported the important work of NLGJA and its member journalists and we were saddened by his comments.”

The association also issued this apology: “We’ve worked hard for many years to make NLGJA an inclusive organization for transgender and nonbinary journalists. People were understandably hurt and offended by last night’s remarks. As journalists, we understand uniquely that words matter. We apologize and are committed to working to make NLGJA more inclusive and diverse.”

McPeek, who has been silent on social media since the incident, has been with WSYX since 2013.

Advertisement