Posted by chicagomedia.org on February 04, 2009 at 19:55:05:
In Reply to: WMAQ-TV's Warner Saunders confronts former Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder at AFTRA meeting posted by chicagomedia.org on February 04, 2009 at 09:50:39:
WMAQ Anchor Likens Critic to David Duke
by Broadcasting & Cable
--------------------------------------
It got downright nasty at an annual AFTRA meeting in Chicago Monday night, reports Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune, as WMAQ lead anchor Warner Saunders assailed former Sun-Times TV critic Robert Feder for perceived bias.
Writes Rosenthal:
Saunders said Feder diminished �the accomplishments of black talent while placing the spotlight on our deficiencies.� Noting it was Black History Month, the Channel 5 anchor said inviting Feder was �like choosing David Duke to serve as mohel at a circumcision.�
Duke was, of course, head of the Ku Klux Klan.
Saunders claims Feder, who left the Sun-Times with a buyout in October, treated minority anchors like Lester Holt and Diann Burns unfairly. (Saunders is set to retire in the spring.)
WMAQ is owned by NBC.
�I simply wanted to confront him, face to face,� Saunders said. �I just spoke my truth in front of a person who I felt has been unfair to me and to black journalists in this city. � Very few people who are not in our skin can understand this.�
Countered Feder:
�What I was writing about in each case had nothing to do with the individual�s race.�