Bounced Nashville Anchor Looks at Herself as a Survivor
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Longtime WSMV Anchor Demetria Kalodimos found out she was losing her job by a note that was left on her desk by station management.
The note said that the station was not renewing her contract.
After 33 years on the anchor desk, her boss didn't have the guts to tell her to her face, it was done with a note.
Kalodimos says she is a survivor of mistreatment at her former station.
"She has demonstrated she indeed is a survivor," said Cathy Gurley, CEO of the group, You Have the Power. The victims' rights group is giving Kalodimos its highest honor.
"Demetria handled it with grace and honesty and courage," Gurley said.
Kalodimos, thrilled with the honor, said, "I’m trying to think of myself as a survivor. I’m certainly not giving up."
The Tennessean writes that the split from the station came about five weeks after Kalodimos was named as a witness in an age discrimination suit filed by three former Channel 4 employees, Dennis Ferrier, Jennifer Johnson and Nancy Van Camp.
In the suit, the three said management subjected Kalodimos to "many acts of age-based discrimination and hostility," adding that managers referred to the veteran anchor as an "old maid."
Paul Karpowicz, president of Meredith Local Media Group, which owns WSMV, maintained the claims are without merit. He denied that anyone at the station was mistreated or discriminated against.
The general manager and news director at the station's helm during the time when the lawsuit alleges discrimination and mistreatment no longer work at WSMV.
The current top managers didn't respond Tuesday to an email asking for comment on Kalodimos being honored as a "survivor" by You Have the Power.
The organization said it's also honoring Kalodimos for years of empathetic storytelling for the city's crime victims and survivors.
"We think Demetria is a very deserving of this honor because she understands how to respond to those who have been victimized, and she understands how victimization affects her personally," Gurley said.
