Diversity Problems at Tegna's Denver Station

The news of Tegna’s diversity problems seems to be growing.

A past incident with Tegna’s CEO Dave Lougee. Problems at KENS in San Antonio and now issues raised in Denver.

Lori Lizarraga worked as a Reporter at Tegna’s KUSA in Denver.

Just as she started the job, she says that she was assigned to a story of a young man brought to the States from Mexico as a baby.

She writes, “Managers reviewing my piece told me I was not allowed to describe the young man in my story — or anyone else for that matter — as “undocumented” while at 9News. Instead, I was instructed to use “here illegally” or “illegally in the country.” For two years, I explained that I was not comfortable with that verbiage and how it could discourage my community from this platform. For two years, my managers repeated the 9News (KUSA) guidelines.”

She says that the story never aired and it was just the first of many incidents she had at KUSA.

Over a year ago, FTVLive told you how a picture of Lizarraga on the station’s website appeared to be lightened to make her look more white.

“While in 2021 the use of “undocumented” is an industry standard in immigration coverage, the 9NEWS standard solidified in 2013 remains unchanged,” she wrote in a story for Westword.

Lizarraga then points to what she perceives as KUSA’s Latina problem.

“After two years and hundreds of community stories, my contract was not renewed, and I am no longer a reporter at 9News. Like several Latinas before me, leaving was not my choice. In fact, I am the third on-air Latina reporter at 9News to be let go in less than a year — a first-time experience in this industry for each of us, and unique, too, for the station, which has renewed every other reporter since 2018,” she wrote.

She then wrote about her time at the Tegna station.

“That’s what I thought I was hired to do at 9News two years ago. A white-owned, white-led newsroom in pursuit of more representation, I thought. I was proud to be chosen for that. Over better pay in larger markets, I accepted a job at KUSA in Denver with a bright-eyed eagerness to learn from those among the industry’s best.

I had a misunderstanding of the diversity they wanted when they hired me.

A few months in, I would “bring the newscast to a screeching halt” when I used eight seconds of a Spanish interview without a caption. I was told to remember our viewers who speak English.

After six months, I was instructed not to wear my hair in a bun with a middle part anymore — a style I have seen and worn as a Mexican and Ecuadorian woman all my life. Not a good look, I was told.

Last summer, I received written warnings for interacting on Twitter with several Black community leaders who are also my friends and mentors. “It suggests support for their positions on public policy issues,” the warning said, though none of my stories supported that suggestion.

“Don’t get fired” was my mantra by my second year.

I would go on to organize my colleagues of color to present a plan to management recommending more representation in our ongoing coverage of the racial justice movement. I was put on an “improvement plan” the next week. Managers pointed out problems with my work and my performance in biweekly meetings for months thereafter.

For two years, I lugged my diversity to 9News each day in the content of my journalism, wishing I could leave it at home without a clue as to when it became baggage. I was “too close” to the issues, too passionate, too emotional, too aggressive.

I was the most effective community journalist I had ever been, and I knew I was going to lose my job.

“We’re just trying to figure out if you’re worth keeping,” my manager told me after two years. They let me go in a 90-second phone call two weeks later.”

The fact that the station got rid of three Latina Reporters in a year, has to raise some sort of flag.

The question….has Tegna corporate looked into this, and if so what are they going to do about it?

Stay tuned…..