Asian Journalist Sues After Being Denied Promotion For Being “The Wrong Minority”

Asian Journalist Files Lawsuit After Being Denied Promotion Due To Her Ethnicity

An Asian American journalist has filed a lawsuit against her former employer for allegedly refusing to promote her for being “the wrong minority” at a Kansas-based news station.

Megan Murphy, also known as Megan Dillard, worked for Fox 4 in 2014 after signing a three-year contract and signed another deal in 2017 when she was promoted to a news anchor.

According to the lawsuit, Murphy expressed interest in the lead anchor position for the evening news after a former colleague, identified as D.R., announced she was leaving the station. Her boss, Sean McNamara, allegedly refused to offer Murphy the position due to her race.

 

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“She was not Black/African American, which Defendant considered to be the ‘right’ minority,” the suit reads. The position reportedly remained open until 2020 when the station Christel Bell, an African American journalist.

Murphy resigned from her position in 2019 and currently works as director of public relations for the Independence School District despite signing the three-year contract with Fox 4. She claims their discriminatory motives left her no choice but to resign.

She is suing Nexstar Media Group, a parent company that owns the news station, and is seeking damages under Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act.

According to KCUR, Nexstar is based in Irving, Texas and it is the largest television owner in the country with 199 stations.