Ex-Iowa anchor hopes her age bias lawsuit changes TV news

By RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A once-prominent anchor at one of Iowa’s biggest local television stations has filed a lawsuit alleging she was let go last year because of her gender and age. Former WHO-TV investigative reporter and anchor Sonya Heitshusen filed the discrimination lawsuit Tuesday against the NBC affiliate’s parent company, Nexstar Media Group, Inc. The lawsuit alleges that Heitshusen was “thrown out to pasture” after she turned 53 because she was no longer seen as camera-worthy, after enduring years in which her older male colleagues received better pay and working conditions. Heitshusen says she hopes her lawsuit encourages a “cultural shift” in the TV news industry. Nexstar has called Heitshusen’s firing a reduction in force.