WDBJ reporter Orlando Salinas says he left the Roanoke CBS affiliate because he and the station “have differing views on what constitutes news and these moments happen at media organizations all across the country everyday.”
Salinas wrote about his departure on facebook, even telling viewers about a disagreement he had with management over a jacket and tie.
My bosses previously said they wanted me to wear and a tie and jacket because I would look more like a “doctor or a lawyer” and people would respect me more. I said “I’m not a doctor nor a lawyer. I’m just a guy who goes out and speaks with folks who are kind enough to share a little of their world with me. Then on the 5 or 6 o’clock news, I share what I’ve seen and heard. Whether folks believe me or not is up to them.
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The Roanoke Times said Salinas, who, at one time, was a national correspondent for FOX News, is known for his “brash, sometimes confrontational reporting style.”
Salinas had an exuberant reporting style and occasionally clashed with public officials and law enforcement spokespersons during news conferences. He also made a habit of speaking to his cameraman during live shots, even bringing him on screen at times — an uncommon practice for television reporters in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market.
He says he hopes to start a podcast and “will speak with great transparency at how news stations do their jobs. The good, the bad and the ugly… Thank you Clint Eastwood!”
WDBJ GM Jeff Marks told TVSpy, “We don’t comment on the reasons for employees departing.”