Ex-reporters sued by Sinclair media giant

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Tired of what he described as "consistent right-wing bias" and bumbling management, Jonathan Beaton in 2015 quit his job as a reporter at WPEC-Channel 12 in West Palm Beach to launch a public relations company.

Moving back to Orlando, where he had gone to college, Beaton was busy building his firm when he was hit with a lawsuit from Sinclair Communications, the owner of CBS affiliate WPEC, demanding he pay Sinclair $5,700 for breaching his contract for the job, which paid $42,000 annually.

Lauren Hills, another former WPEC reporter, faces a similar lawsuit from the station's owner. In a lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, Sinclair claims she owes it $17,500 for leaving the station in 2016 before her $46,500-a-year contract was up.

The lawsuits -- both filed in the fall -- surfaced as the Maryland-based company is being scrutinized for forcing anchors at its 193 stations across the country to read the same message, warning viewers of the dangers of "fake news."

Like other journalists familiar with Sinclair's practice of requiring its stations to air what it calls "must reads" at the end of broadcasts, Beaton said he wasn't surprised by the company-wide promotional message many have blasted as pro-Trump propaganda.

"It's a company that's run like an episode of 'Mad Men,' but not in a fun way," the 26-year-old Beaton said. During the year he spent at WPEC, he said he became disenchanted with the station's approach to the news.

"I was told to do man-on-the-street interviews and ask loaded questions like, 'What did President Obama do wrong in your eyes this week?'" recalled Beaton, who is a registered Republican. "A lot of it was just cultural. We were supposed to do stories that made government look bad and make the private sector look good."

Still, he said he was surprised that the largest broadcasting company in the nation would sue him for such a small amount of money. An attorney for Hills, who left the station to take a job working for the communications arm of FPL, voiced similar views.

"It pretty onerous for a poor young reporter," said Miami attorney Patrick Hopple. "She really doesn't have any ill-will toward Sinclair other than she just wants to get past it. It's very nerve-wracking for her."

Sinclair has vigorously defended itself against criticism of its company-wide policy of must-read messages urging viewers to question the integrity of news on other media outlets. The company's message went viral after Deadspin released on online video montage of anchors reading the statement seemingly in unison.

"It is ironic that we would be attacked for messages promoting our journalistic initiative for fair and objective reporting, and for specifically asking the public to hold our newsrooms accountable," Scott Livingston, Sinclair's senior vice president of news, said in a statement posted on the company's website on April 2. "Our local stations keep our audiences' trust by staying focused on fact-based reporting and clearly identifying commentary."

Livingston didn't respond to a phone call from The Palm Beach Post for comment about why Sinclair is suing the two former West Palm Beach reporters. Miami attorney Ravi Batta, who is representing Sinclair, also didn't return a phone call.

Former broadcasters say the type of contracts that are coming back to haunt Beaton and Hills are ubiquitous in the TV news industry.

"They are used at stations all across the country," said Darrell Phillips, a former TV newsman who now practices law outside Memphis. Some, he said, are even more onerous than Sinclair's, requiring departing employees to pay stations a flat amount regardless of how much time is left on their contracts, whereas Sinclair's penalties are based on a formula that includes time left on the contract as a factor.

Harrison Hove, multi-media news manager at the University of Florida, agreed that employment contracts, with stiff penalties, are part of the culture of the TV news business. He signed several while working at stations in Ohio and Louisiana.

However, he said, they were rarely enforced. He recalled a colleague was sent threatening letters after she left an Ohio station to accept a job as a spokeswoman for a local police agency. "She ignored them and they eventually went away," he said.

Hove said he can't imagine why a station would enforce them. "It's a black eye for an ownership group," he said. "If it's not right for you and you don't want to work there, you're probably not doing a very good job. Why would they want to hold you to it?"

However, both Phillips and Hove said, Sinclair may have a different motivation. Realizing that those working at Sinclair stations across the country may respond to the recent criticism of the company by accepting jobs elsewhere, Sinclair may be flexing its muscle, both said.

"They want to send a message across the company that they're going to enforce these agreements," said Phillips.

"They want to stop any other employees from thinking they can make a leap, too," Hove said.

North Palm Beach attorney David Gorman said it is unlikely Sinclair will prevail. It's trying to enforce a clause in the contracts that requires reporters to pay liquidated damages if they leave before their three-year contracts were up. Hills had 11 months left on her contract; Beaton had a month left plus Sinclair wants him to repay a $1,500 signing bonus, court records show.

If Hills and Beaton can show the damages Sinclair is seeking are unreasonable, a judge would ask the company to prove how much they actually lost by the reporters' early exits, Gorman said.

The amounts the company is seeking are so low he can't imagine it's worth an attorney's time. Beaton's case, for instance, belongs in small claims court, he said. Since it is filed in Orange County Circuit Court, Batta would have to travel from Miami to Orlando to pursue it. Such a lawsuit isn't worth the cost of gas, Gorman said.

Hopple said Hills is hoping to reach an "amicable" settlement with Sinclair. Beaton said he initially embarked on the same course.

He said he initially jumped when the company offered to drop the lawsuit in exchange for $1,700. But, as part of the settlement, they demanded that he never talk about his experiences working with Sinclair.

"I told them to take a jump in the lake," Beaton said.

Jane Musgrave writes for The Palm Beach Post. Email: jmusgrave(at)pbpost.com.

Story Filed By Cox Newspapers

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