Former news director agrees to drop gender discrimination lawsuit against WOI-TV owner Tegna

A former WOI-TV news director has agreed to drop her gender discrimination lawsuit against station owner Tegna Inc.

April Samp joined WOI in 2014 and helped launch the rebranded Local 5 News at the Des Moines-based ABC affiliate. The station won a number of journalism awards during her tenure. She was fired in December 2019, shortly after Virginia-based Tegna Inc. acquired the station.

Her lawsuit, filed in September 2020, alleged that she was one of several women older than 40 who were forced out after Tegna took control and that her age, gender and advocacy for gender pay equity were behind her firing.

The case had been scheduled for trial in December, but on Wednesday, Samp and Tegna filed a joint agreement to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. The court filings do not include the terms of any settlement agreement between the parties.

Previously:WOI-TV denies sex, age discrimination against former news director in federal court

Manager allegedly said women are too emotional to be leaders

In her complaint, Samp said new managers Tegna installed fired her after she raised concerns about pay inequity and that a male coworker had not contributed to election night coverage in 2019. One manager allegedly told her, "this is just a good example of why men make better leaders than women; because they aren’t so emotional."

In an October 2020 court filing responding to the complaint, Tegna claimed it had legitimate business reasons, other than age and gender, for pushing out Samp and the other women let go from the station.

 "Even if (Samp) is able to prove that a prohibited factor motivated any adverse employment action by any Defendant, Defendants would have taken the same action even absent such motivation," the response said.

An attorney for Tegna declined to comment to the Des Moines Register Wednesday afternoon, while Samp's attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

More:Another senior TV newswoman in Iowa, April Samp, cites gender bias in her firing, this time by WOI

Former WHO-TV anchor's suit still pending

Samp is one of two former female TV journalists who recently sued Iowa TV stations for gender discrimination.

In 2020, former WHO-TV anchor Sonya Heitshusen told the Des Moines Register she was denied a contract extension in April 2020, and she was told she would have to take a pay cut and work off-camera if she wanted to stay with the station. 

Heitshusen, now a spokeswoman for the state auditor's office, filed a lawsuit against WHO parent company Nexstar Media Group in August. That lawsuit is pending.

Exclusive: ‘I immediately thought it must be the way I look,’ Sonya Heitshusen says of leaving WHO

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.