An Emmy-winning investigative reporter claims she was abruptly fired from News12 Lengthy Island after calling out her bosses for shortchanging her on assets and air time — even sidelining her from protection of the Gilgo Seashore killings — whereas male colleagues had loads of help, based on a lawsuit.
Rachel Yonkunas, who labored for the native information community since 2022, was surprised in September after her superiors demanded she take a $10,000 pay minimize to hitch the station’s morning broadcast.
“I was shocked, devastated and confused,” Yonkunas, 35, completely instructed The Submit. “I couldn’t understand why they were putting me, a successful investigative reporter, in this position. I think they thought I would just accept it.”
The ultimatum got here after Yonkunas identified how male friends had been getting extra from the station, together with often getting further assistance on assignments, she stated.
One male investigative reporter who labored for News12 in New Jersey “got the support of producers and photographers” and the tales labored on by male friends “were given priority,” Yonkunas stated in a gender discrimination lawsuit filed Altice USA, which owns News12 within the tri-state space.
In the meantime, Yonkunas had her tales pulled from broadcasts an hour earlier than they had been to air, in favor of male coworkers, she alleged.
For months, she had no photographer to assist her whereas a male sports activities anchor was “regularly prioritized” for such help, she stated in courtroom papers which didn’t determine the colleagues by title.
“High profile assignments were consistently given to male reporters. For instance, despite Ms. Yonkunas’ significant contributions to the Gilgo Beach investigation, [the story was] assigned … to a male reporter, disregarding both her and her female colleague’s input,” she stated in courtroom papers.
Yonkunas stated her work had been persistently praised earlier than she spoke out — and that after she raised the difficulty of the disparities, she was placed on a 30-day efficiency enchancment plan and requested to do extra.
“It came out of left field,” stated Yonkunas, who was nominated for 4 Emmys this yr and received the celebrated award in 2016 whereas working for a community in Albany.
The College of Tampa-educated journalist stated she met the targets laid out for her within the efficiency enchancment plan and was blindsided by the demand she step into the lower-paying gig.
Her bosses claimed they didn’t need Yonkunas to go away however “made me feel like I was not good enough to be there,” she recalled.
“I was told I couldn’t return to the office until I made a decision [but] I was currently under a contract. I feared if I didn’t show up to work . . . it would be considered insubordination.”
She was promptly canned after displaying as much as work with out giving a solution on whether or not she’d take the lower-paying gig, Yonkunas stated.
“This was my dream job,” she stated. “I knew I wanted to plant roots here. This was it for me.”
“This case underscores the systemic gender-based discrimination that our client, Ms. Yonkunas, endured during her tenure at News 12,” stated her legal professional, Erik Bashian, whereas her different lawyer, Matthew Blit, known as the community’s actions “a calculated effort by the defendants to marginalize and ultimately force her out of her position.”
Yonkunas, who’s searching for unspecified damages, filed the lawsuit towards Altice USA and News12 in a bid to assist others going through discrimination, Yonkunas stated.
“I investigate stories. The last thing I want to be is the story,” she stated. “And now I find I have to stand up for what’s happening, to make sure this doesn’t happen to the other female reporters still working there.”
AlticeUSA stated it was conscious of the grievance however had but to be served the lawsuit.
News12, which additionally has not been served with the courtroom papers, slammed the allegations of gender discrimination as “entirely baseless.”
“News12 prides itself on providing an inclusive and equitable workplace where employees can thrive based on their skills, contributions, and merit,” the station stated in a press release, including of the allegations, “We will defend against them vigorously.”
