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Pat Kiernan wanted the bagels.
They literally dropped the bagels, says a former producer.
Shaughnessy and Kiernan had worked together at NY1 for more than two decades.
They were cub reporters convinced they werent simply doing a job but performing a public service.
It felt like a family.
Then, in 2019, the public illusion of the NY1 family blew up.
The drama played out in the newsroom hence the bagel incident and in the city tabloids.
The allegations in the lawsuit were damning but not shocking.
TV has always been a brutal business for women, particularly women over 40.
But the real damage was in the details.
It would come to serve a more practical purpose as a retention tool for Time Warner Cable customers.
Aurelio later described NY1 as a gift to the people of New York.
Compared with the big networks, the pay was bad.
Initially, on-air reporters made as little as $32,000 a year.
But NY1 had the draw of being a small station in the media capital of the world.
Instead of slogging away in Cincinnati or Rochester, young journalists got to cut their teeth in New York.
Three years later, Shaughnessy was hired as a weekend anchor and reporter.
Ramirez became the Brooklyn reporter soon after.
NY1 had the reputation as the scrappy news start-up, says Kiernan.
You knew what you were getting into.
Reporters worked long nights and holidays, delivering no-fuss news with local-access-style graphics.
On-air talent didnt just shoot their own footage; they also did their own hair and makeup.
We didnt care much about aesthetics, says a former producer.
Our anchors and reporters looked and sounded like the people who watched them.
Italian girl from Staten Island.
But thats about as good as youd get at 5:30 in the fucking morning.
Kiernan gained notoriety as the guy who read the newspapers on air.
(Paulus got the idea from watching Regis Philbin.)
That mentality served us well for many years.
But ultimately, we grew up.
In 2011, he pissed off management when he toldNew Yorkthat he had thought of NY1 as a stepping-stone.
When Martelli-Hines walked away, they say, Kiernan came up close behind her, shouting.
It was extremely intimidating, says another witness.
(Martelli-Hines, who left NY1 in 2017 after 21 years, declined to be interviewed.
Kiernan claims he never followed her.)
On another occasion, a producer made the cardinal sin of telling Kiernan to wrap.
We were trained, Dont you dare wrap Pat Kiernan, says a former staffer.
When they cut to a commercial, Pat struts out of his anchor chair …
He hovered over her and just verbally castrated her.
Kiernan, as far as anybody knows, never apologized to Martelli-Hines, probably because he didnt have to.
But colleagues say he became the unofficial ruler of the newsroom.
Pat Kiernan is not going to be reprimanded.
Pat Kiernan does not suffer consequences.
He was a diva, says Menefee.
I dont know how else to put that.
Paulus insists he never gave in to what he calls the star system hed seen in his connection days.
Did he make more money?
Yes, he did.
Did he deserve more money?
Its a tough one.
Cable-TV subscriptions in the U.S. peaked around 2010, then began to rapidly slide.
Initially, NY1s managers were relieved.
He also turned his attention toward the staff.
And who really believes in this too?
In my sour-grapes mode, Ill say he co-opted the business, Paulus says of Bairs approach.
Well make it theTodayshow of New York City.
Paulus and Jacobson, the news director, soon found themselves iced out of discussions about programming.
They were the old guard, the purists still clinging to the notion that they were public servants.
Oh yeah, he loved the attention.
(A Charter spokesperson denies that Bair asked Kiernan to do anything funny.)
I probably could have done a better job in general with it, Bair says of the management transition.
Paulus is more dramatic: There was a bloodbath at the station.
They fired everybody who had any experience.
Aurelio bristled at the cancellations, accusing Charter of abandoning their commitment to the city.
But not everyone was disappointed.
The station had outgrown Pauluss loose management style.
Shaughnessy and Torre testified for NY1, speaking against their female colleague.
It was hard to blame Charter for trying something new.
The median age for cable viewers is now around 60.
Im not going to pretend its been a walk in the park for everyone.
Some people left angrily.
But sometimes things change.
NY1 plucked Anthony Proia from Time Warner Cables operation upstate to fire off the newsroom.
(A Charter spokesperson says Finn did not submit her tickets as required, resulting in fees.)
(A Charter spokesperson says using GPS trackers is a common practice for safety reasons.)
They were told they were lucky to have jobs at all when other media outlets were cutting staff.
says a former staffer.
We wanted to maybe be able to afford an apartment without a roommate.
Nobody was looking to live in the Dakota.
The trio are represented by the same agent and are friends off-camera.
Kiernan even helped set up Stelter with her husband, CNN host Brian Stelter.
Its a story she tells so often its included in her bio on the NY1 website.
Kiernan often referred to the grand morning-show studio as my studio.
Colleagues say he became irate on multiple occasions when he discovered that someone had sat in his chair.
A rift formed behind the scenes.
We felt like whoever was their favorite got to do it.
It wasnt like you auditioned for it or anything like that.
Pat was the deciding factor.
He is the person who says yes or no.
Ten current and former employees say Gooden was ostracized by the three co-anchors.
(A second former producer confirms this account.
Kiernan and Stelter deny it.)
A former crew member says Gooden reported the behavior to HR.
When nothing changed, Gooden quit.
She wouldnt even let them counteroffer, says the crew member.
(Gooden declined to comment; Charter declined to comment on Pergaments behalf.
*)
Outside the morning show, older reporters found themselves pushed aside.
That juxtaposition wasnt lost on people, says a former producer.
She had grown up watching NY1; getting the opportunity to anchor already?
Shed be crazy to turn that down.
But outside that one-hour program, she saw her on-air hours slashed.
However, the company claims her live coverage did not decrease.)
What opportunities they did have were dramatically reduced.
Torre was also allegedly told that hair and makeup were not for her.
Ahbi Nishman, a freelance makeup artist, says she was instructed not to stay late for Torre.
Thats just the way it is.
Torre was also a theater critic for NY1sOn Stageprogram.
Gruber asked, per Garfins complaint.
Shaughnessy went into panic mode, according to co-workers.
She told bosses she would do whatever it took to get more anchoring opportunities.
Lee also spoke to management about Rabinovich.
Afterward, both women were demoted to general-assignment reporter a junior position that involves lugging ones own camera equipment.
you’re able to imagine how humiliating it is.
Farinacci and Ramirez both escalated their complaints to HR around the same time to no avail.
Frustrated and out of options, the five women banded together and hired a lawyer.
Now Im Being Pushed Aside Because Im a 61-Year-Old Woman.
Shame on @NY1.
(A Charter spokesperson notes that the parade took place prior to Torres time slot.)
The lawsuit further divided the newsroom.
At the same time, I think the way their attorneys had written the complaint was a little unfair.
Still, she recognized some of the behaviors mentioned in the lawsuit.
Angi Gonzalez, then 38, was one of the women pictured.
Gonzalez wasnt much younger than Farinacci.
Farinacci, after all, had been nominated for an Emmy five times.
The petty sniping that had existed before only worsened.
In December,Torre, Shaughnessy, Lee, Farinacci, and Ramirezsettledwith Charter for an undisclosed amount.
By hiring younger talent, they had intended to save money.
But I think, at least in the short term, this was costly for them.
Still, it was hardly a victory.
As part of the deal, the women agreed to leave NY1.
People go, Oh well, you get paid to be silent.
(Ailes disputed her allegations.)
Those women at NY1, they want to work.
They dont want a settlement.
Carlson is now an advocate for legislation banning NDAs and arbitration clauses.
Some of the former NY1 anchors are also speaking out.
If you know the rules in your state, you should record those conversations if it is allowed.
Charter is still contending with legal issues.
Perez, then 43, says she was fired during her third trimester of pregnancy.
Greenstein says she was let go months after giving birth at age 40.
You should stay home and enjoy the time with your baby, Rabinovich allegedly said.
Multiple women interviewed say HR mishandled their sexual-harassment complaints.)
(Neither recalls reading the email.)
In a recent deposition for Perezs case, Rabinovich denied wrongdoing.
There are also still believers.
She goes to bat for Bair without prompting.
You know what Im most impressed with about Mike Bair?
Hes not a journalist, but hes an excellent listener.
Only her show includes the name of its host.
Pat Kiernans name is not onMornings on 1, she says.
Did you catch that?
Even without his name on his show, Kiernan remains the cornerstone of the channel.
Look, if youre an anchor, you want to be the next Dan Rather.
The next the next Lester Holt.
And I dont think its there for [Kiernan], says Paulus.
Hes perfect for the channel, and the channel is perfect for him.
For now, though, it seems Kiernan will stay put.
He still speaks in the tone of NY1s original mission statement.
Were telling the stories that need to be told, he says.
Bair and Swenson are attempting to create a nimble newsroom that can keep pace with Twitter.
Ferry, for one, is excited about the new approach.
For her, NY1 is still a launchpad.
My ultimate goal would be to anchor and anchor live, she says.
Torres role as the noon anchor remains unfilled.
Its too bad that the ship sailed the way that it did, he says.
But at the same time, Im not surprised, right?
For viewers, theres at least some comfort in the consistency.
The next day, his name had been added to the back.
*This story has been updated to clarify that Charter declined to comment on Annika Pergaments behalf.
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