An Age-Old Problem

[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Anne Becker]
Do television news operations discriminate against women of a certain age? Statistics would appear to support network executives who say age discrimination is rare in the business. Last year, 17,837 age-discrimination complaints were filed in the U.S. during fiscal year 2004, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Of those, 80 claims were in radio and television broadcasting. That's a decline from the 85 filings, out of a total of 19,124, the year before. And this year seems assured of an even bigger drop: With one month left in fiscal 2005, just 39 age-discrimination suits had been filed in the broadcasting category. But interpretations of those numbers vary. To TV news execs on the local and national level, the stats are proof of the value placed on over-40 employees despite the business' traditional emphasis on youth, particularly for female reporters and anchors who don't have the star power of Barbara Walters or Katie Couric. Others who know the business -- current and former TV journalists interviewed for this article, as well as agents and employment lawyers specializing in media cases -- say that the decline in complaints reflects a more sobering reality. Anchors and correspondents have realized that filing suit can mean being shunned by potential employers. And companies have become adept at using sensitivity training, employee manuals and Human Resources departments to inoculate themselves against age-discrimination lawsuits.
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