Ex-News Anchor Sues WBZ-TV, Accuses Station of Racism Against Whites

A Former Boston TV News Anchor Files a Lawsuit Alleging Anti-White Discrimination

A former co-anchor of WBZ This Morning and WBZ News at Noon, Kate Merrill, has filed a federal lawsuit against WBZ-TV, its parent company Columbia Broadcasting/Paramount Global/CBS, a Black WBZ-TV anchor/reporter, the station’s only Black meteorologist, the station’s former general manager, and Paramount’s vice president of employee relations. The lawsuit claims that she faced anti-white discrimination during her 20-year tenure at the station.

Merrill abruptly left her job at WBZ-TV last year without explanation, ending her long career with the station. In the lawsuit, she alleges that CBS/Paramount conducted a flawed investigation into allegations that she had acted in a racist manner toward other employees, which led to her demotion, damage to her reputation, and ultimately her resignation. She also claims that the media company failed to properly investigate a complaint she made against WBZ-TV Meteorologist Jason Mikell after he yelled at her on set.

Merrill denies any allegations of racial bias against non-white staff and describes herself as “anti-racist” in the lawsuit. Neither WBZ-TV nor CBS/Paramount has responded to requests for comment.

Policies Aimed at Increasing Diversity Spark Legal Challenges

The lawsuit begins by stating that starting in 2019, CBS/Paramount implemented policies designed to increase racial diversity across all its programming and affiliate stations in response to criticism from its former diversity director, who claimed the company had “a white problem.” These policies included setting hiring targets to increase the number of people of color among staff and on-air talent.

As a result, many white employees filed lawsuits against the company. At WBZ-TV, the lawsuit claims that CBS’s head of East Coast stations labeled the Boston station the “whitest of all their stations” and refused to hire new white employees, even when no non-white candidates were available. This led to complaints from managers at the station.

The lawsuit details several instances where white news staff were demoted or terminated, despite being highly qualified and having worked at the station for years. These positions were reportedly filled by less qualified non-white employees. It also cites cases where non-white staff were promoted over more experienced white colleagues, and where the company failed to take action against non-white staff who behaved improperly in the workplace.

“WBZ / CBS / Paramount adopted and began to implement policies of reverse discrimination,” the lawsuit states.

The Decline of Kate Merrill’s Career

Most of Merrill’s complaints center around incidents involving Meteorologist Jason Mikell and the station’s response. Initially, she had a “warm” relationship with Mikell and supported his transition to working in Boston. However, the situation changed when Mikell allegedly implied during an on-air segment that she and her co-anchor had a romantic relationship at a gazebo. She reported this to the station, but neither the station nor CBS/Paramount investigated the incident, and Mikell was never disciplined.

Despite this, Merrill continued to support Mikell until April 3, 2024, when she privately texted him to correct a mispronunciation of the town of Concord during a weather segment. According to the lawsuit, Mikell confronted her loudly on the studio floor, accusing her of being critical of him.

Merrill reported the incident to WBZ-TV, but a week later, Michael Roderick, Paramount’s vice president of employee relations, informed her that an investigation was being conducted into allegations that she treated coworkers differently because of their race. Roderick did not provide her with a copy of the investigation report, if one existed.

Investigations and Demotion

Mikell and another Black WBZ-TV employee, Courtney Cole, reportedly raised complaints about Merrill directly with Paramount’s Legal Department. Mikell alleged that she was overly critical of him and had made racially charged comments, such as saying he would “find his people” upon joining the station. Cole’s complaints were similar.

Despite Merrill suggesting that Roderick interview witnesses on her behalf, Roderick stated that he had corroborated the complaints against her but could not verify her complaint against Mikell. He did not share the findings with her.

Then-WBZ-TV General Manager Justin Draper issued Merrill a written warning based on Roderick’s findings, claiming her behavior was rooted in microaggressions or unconscious bias and created an unwelcoming work environment. The warning indicated that further disciplinary action, including termination, could follow if the behavior continued, and required her to complete unconscious bias training.

The Final Blow: Demotion and Resignation

In addition to the written warning, Draper announced that he was demoting Merrill from her role as co-anchor of the Weekday Morning Show to weekend nights. He claimed the decision had been in the works for some time, but a lawyer for WBZ-TV later stated that the findings of Roderick’s investigation played a role in the decision.

Draper also announced the demotion in two staff meetings, something he had not done when other employees were demoted, causing significant reputational harm to Merrill. The lawsuit argues that the demotion sent the false message to her colleagues that she had engaged in serious wrongdoing.

Because of the potential damage to her career, especially in the context of allegations that she was racist, Merrill resigned on May 24, 2024, effectively immediately. She had signed a non-compete agreement with WBZ-TV that did not expire until June 1, 2025, preventing her from working in her industry and causing significant financial losses. Additionally, the station has yet to pay her for her accrued paid leave prior to her resignation.