Detroit TV Station May Bring Back Fired Black Reporter Emery King
Talks over renewing ousted anchor Emery King's contract with WDIV-TV in Detroit are likely to begin "early next week," Joe Berwanger, the station's vice president and general manager, told Journal-isms today. But Berwanger said that "not a terrible amount" of his decision to reopen talks stems from the public outcry that greeted King's March 11 termination. "It's more of, if somebody thinks I wasn't doing it right in the talks, that weighs fairly more than anything else. Also, I happen to like Emery. I wouldn't want to declare this over until I'd exhausted everything," the general manager said. Berwanger said he had read that King's lawyer, John Moye of Denver, was quoted "saying that he thought my actions were abrupt, and I thought, maybe they were." Moye had said that the talks never got underway, as King was told he was terminated shortly after Moye presented the station with a proposed updated contract. Berwanger said he had "called the meeting," but "it's been tough getting schedules coordinated." [more]