Hoak Media, the parent company of Fargo’s KVLY-KXJB, filed a response yesterday to an age discrimination lawsuit filed by former anchor Robin Huebner.
In the response, an attorney for Hoak Media sought to disprove Huebner’s claims that she was pushed aside on the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts by a younger, more attractive anchor. Huebner’s lawsuit says she boosted ratings for KVLY-KXJB’s newscasts in the 21 years she reported and anchored there, according to the Fargo Forum.
“[Huebner], individually, is no more responsible for ratings in any demographic than the other three anchors of newscasts she participated in,” Gina Janeiro, the lawyer representing Hoak Media, wrote.
Janeiro also defended Stephanie Goetz, the anchor that replaced Huebner on the evening newscasts, contending “all employment actions … were based on legitimate, non discriminatory reasons,” according to the Forum.
“[The damages Huebner claims], if any, were caused or contributed to by [her] own conduct or the conduct of third parties over whom [Hoak Media] has no control,” Janeiro wrote.