DELIBERATIONS BEGIN IN EX-TV ANCHOR’S TRIAL
Maas claims KUSI paid her less than colleague because of her gender
There’s no question former KUSI news anchor Sandra Maas was paid a lower annual salary than her male co-anchor on the TV station’s flagship newscast. The question is — why? Jurors began deliberating Wednesday afternoon in the lawsuit Maas brought against McKinnon Broadcasting Co., which owns KUSI. Her lawsuit, filed in San Diego Superior Court, alleges the company violated state laws against unequal pay, age and gender discrimination, and whistleblower retaliation.
Maas was paid about $65,000 less than co-anchor Allen Denton in 2019. His annual salary was $245,000; hers was $180,000.
If the jury decides in her favor, Maas is seeking up to $2.5 million in lost earnings and $5.4 million for past and future emotional distress, among other damages.
Maas, who worked at CBS 8 in San Diego in the 1990s, started at KUSI as a morning anchor in 2004. Denton, who had worked in the Bay Area, joined KUSI in 2010.
During closing arguments Wednesday, an attorney for Maas told jurors that Maas and Denton did the same job, but KUSI paid Maas a lower salary because of her gender.
And after Maas raised concerns about her pay, her contract was not renewed, attorney Josh Gruenberg said.
Attorney Ken Fitzgerald, who represents McKinnon, told jurors the law does not require “equal pay for equal work.” He said Maas was paid fairly based on her experience.
Fitzgerald argued that Denton had more — and better — experience than Maas, including eight years as an evening anchor in the Bay Area — a larger market than San Diego, where Maas built her career.
“Allen Denton was a more valuable anchor,” Fitzgerald said.
Maas’ attorneys said Maas worked in broadcast television for 33 years, compared to Denton’s 37 years on TV. KUSI’s attorneys said Denton had a 48year career, including 11 years in
radio before he jumped to TV news.
Aside from experience, other factors were at play in the pay differential, including Maas’ attitude and dedication to the job, Fitzgerald told the jury. He described Denton as more engaged than Maas in the news process, including script editing.
The attorney played several audio and video clips that depicted Maas as exasperated during tapings, including a clip from 2019 in which Maas struggles over several takes to read apparently incoherent lines on a teleprompter. At one point, she rolls her eyes.
After she eventually nails the lines, Maas says, “I’m over it,” then walks away.
In the end, Fitzgerald said, KUSI news director Steve Cohen decided Maas was not a good fit for a fresh news format the TV station was moving toward.
Gruenberg said Maas at times got frustrated — and she could be “sassy” and “human” — but he said lawyers for McKinnon “cherry picked” negative behavior to present to the jury. He said Maas was hardworking, engaging and kind.
“Those things don’t change overnight,” Gruenberg said.
Gruenberg reminded the jury of comments, including text messages, in which KUSI’s managers described
Maas as a solid journalist before she filed her lawsuit.
Another attorney for Maas, Joshua Pang, said there were no records of negative conduct on Maas’ part. He also said there were no memos or other evidence that KUSI based the differences in pay on experience.
In fact, Gruenberg pointed to depositions in 2020, in which KUSI general manager Mike McKinnon Jr. and Cohen both said they weren’t familiar with the particulars of Maas’ experience.
According to Gruenberg, Maas hoped to retire at KUSI.
Judge Ronald Frazier’s courtroom in the Hall of Justice in downtown San Diego was packed during closing arguments.
Jury deliberations will resume today.