Kansas City, Mo. reporter Lisa Benson says she was fired for sharing an article on her personal social media page.
The longtime KSHB reporter made the allegation in a post on her professional Facebook account last week.
“I want you to know, I did not quit my job 41 Action News – KSHB-TV. I was suspended for sharing a meme & a Guardian US article on my personal FB page and subsequently told I ‘shall not report to work’ for the duration of my contract,” Benson said in the post.
Benson had shared a Guardian US opinion piece which was originally called “How White Women Use Strategic Tears to Avoid Accountability,” though the Guardian later changed the headline to “How White Women Use Strategic Tears To Silence Women of Colour” to “better reflect the content of the piece,” it said in an addendum to the story.
Hamas, the author of the Guardian piece, posted Benson’s story on Twitter in a thread that has gone viral:
Okay. About this. This will be a short thread. Lisa has given my permission to tell all the details. https://t.co/m9hU90cyOi
— Ruby Hamad (@rubyhamad) August 20, 2018
Benson told TVSpy she has filed a lawsuit against the station. “I absolutely want people to know what happened to me, especially other journalists of color,” she said.
KSHB news director Carrie Hofmann confirmed to TVSpy that Benson is no longer employed at the station: “We can confirm that, in line with its contractual rights, KSHB did not renew Lisa Benson’s employment contract. We can’t comment on pending litigation. We stand by our commitment to diversity and inclusion in our workplace.”
Benson joined the Scrips owned station in 2004.