by INFORUM
Popular KVLY anchor Michelle Turnberg on dismissal: ‘I’m sure they had good reasons’
June 24, 2010 at 5:00 pm in INFORUM
Michelle Turnberg’s mood was a mix of shock, sadness and optimism after learning her days as part of Fargo’s Valley News Live team were over. Continue Reading
You can boil down the current management of Hoak Media to one word, “inept”. There is no other word to describe a company that would handle a “dismissal” in this manner-especially for a person that is clearly extremely popular with viewers. Hoak’s handling of this issue essentially “gifts” viewer-ship, market share and ad revenue to WDAY and Fox. Maybe there were planning to change their name from Hoak to Joke Media and they thought this might be a great way to launch the new name?
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Thats because Mick looks uncomfortable and confused most of the time. He is a weirdo.
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This makes me very very sad
I loved watching her and Mick in the morning they were a great duo! They made a big mistake!
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We don’t know all the facts, so no one can say who is most to blame. Still due to past poor choices by this station I’ll take my chances and side with my instincts. Here forward I’ll watch channel 6 to try and be part of a group wishing to boycot TV11. One viewer at a time can make a difference.
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What a surprise and not a pleasant one! I really enjoyed her and Mick in the morning…too bad! I will miss her:(
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Let’s not forget that neither side is telling us what actually happened. Maybe she deserved to be let go for reasons having nothing to do with her on-air presence. Or maybe not. Maybe there were too many high salaries after the 4/11 merger and something finally had to give. Really, it’s their personal business so we may never know unless she decides to tell us.
Regardless, I’m sad to see her go and wish her the best.
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What in the world are you talking about?
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Obviously you’ve never been to the actual Bible Belt.
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This is sad news – I loved waking up to Michelle & Mick. I hope this ends up being a step up for her – on to bigger & better things!
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Michelle was a pleasant enough person, but I still say that in this visual media, when a woman newsperson starts showing their age they dismiss them. And yes it is a double standard for men vs. women.
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Are you serious? She is the best looking woman on that channel. some of the newscasters there are hideous.
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Well, yet another mistake by KVLY. It is pretty ridiculous there is not a reason given for her termination with the station. Hmmmm… Perhaps they do not have a one?? She was a superb anchor, ESPECIALLY for this area! As far as the other post, pertaining to age and visual appearance, Michelle was easier to listen too and look at then others, so I doubt that is an issue. If so, pooo on them. Wish you luck in your future endeavors! :O))
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If this is because of religious references, shame on KVLY. Turnberg’s view on religion are only a reflection of the people in the area they serve. And if they ever get rid of Mick Kjar I’ll NEVER watch them again!
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Me neither!!
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If Forum Communications were smart, they’d be having lunch with Michelle right now. Not exactly sure where she’d fit, but she’s too good to allow her to leave.
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Michelle did a good job at delivering the news as an anchor. She should have been given the opportunity to say goodbye to her viewers since she has been with the station for many years. I found it strange that she was let go immediately on a Thursday (why not Friday), so I’m sure there is more to the story then any of us need to know. While I thought Michelle did a fine job anchoring she didn’t have much chemistry with Mick, who really should stick to doing the farm reports and weather since he’s not very good at the off-the-cuff comments needed to be a morning personality (my opinion). I’m sure Michelle will find a new home very soon and I wish her good luck!
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I just became an exclusive Channel 6 viewer, after enjoying both channels’ broadcasts ever since we moved here.
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Well wherever she goes it’s going to be a big wake up call. I have friends who have worked with her at KVLY and she is the diva of the newsroom. Never talks to anyone and only shows up to do the shows and leaves…. about 3 hours of real work a day. We have to remember viewers only see so much, which was usually a very warm persona, but the real people behind the camera can be very different. Good luck to her in whatever she chooses to do but hopefully the attitude gets better.
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What a sad loss! I still haven’t gotten over losing Too Tall Tom! We have lost some great news anchors and journalists since the take over from Hoak media! I can only imagine it is a money thing and with this company located in Texas they really don’t have our best interest at heart. I wish Michelle the best of luck and would love to see her on another network.
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Ever since Hoke let go of Tom on Channel 11, I switched to Channel 6. I’ll stick with a locally owned station instead of some big media corp that believes it knows what’s best for Fargo. Some may not have liked Tom because of his goofy ways of doing the weather but that’s what I liked about him. Weather can be a boring subject but who else brings it alive like Tom and the “blast furnace” hot days, thunderstorms that are “muscular” and the almighty cold temperature of the doughnut! (the snowman too, hockey sticks etc.)
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North Dakota law definitely sides with the employer on this one. They do not have to give a reason for giving anyone the axe. Contract or not.
That’s the television business, North Dakota style for you. Here today, gone tomorrow. No matter how the ratings are. She must have had a contract. Most news anchors do. A contract can only be voided for cause. It’ll be interesting to find out if Hoak Media (KVLY/KXJB’s parent company) did in fact have cause to can Michelle Turnberg.
It’s more likely that Michelle walked out. It was a major demotion for her after the merger to make way for Robin Huebner and for Michelle to get the early A.M. segments and the 12 noon broadcast on KXJB.
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I really enjoyed her broadcasts. I thought her and Mick were great together as the morning news team. I will be very sad to see her go.
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I like Lisa Budeau; she has a nice personality and does a good job.
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I think the comments Ms. Turnberg made about her dismissal show what a class act she is. Best of luck to a classy lady.
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This situation is just a case in point for why we need to overturn North Dakota’s stupid “right to work” law. A person who gets fired doesn’t even have the right to know why?
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Actually, the proper term is “Employment at Will” law. “Right to Work” means that if you are hired by a company which has union representation, you can neither be forced to join the union or have union dues involuntarily taken from your paycheck. That’s the common misconception between the two.
Unfortunately, unless the North Dakota Legislature changes the law, things will remain the same in this regard. An employer has no legal obligation to tell an employee why they are being canned. Under “employment at will” an employer can let an employee go at any time, with or without cause and with or without advance notice. On the other hand, an employee can quit and is not legally required to give the customary two weeks’ notice of their departure. Nor is the employee required to give a reason to their employer that they are leaving.
Some employers take “employment at will” to the extreme. They’ll can someone and then hide behind the law. Since the Legislature is mostly made up of sole proprietor business owners, they’re not about to shoot themselves in the foot by giving employees this sort of a right, now are they?
In order to get “employment at will” changed, I’m afraid it’s going to take an initiated measure campaign to get the law changed. That will take a group of 25 bold people who would be willing to put their names on the measure as sponsors. Then a minimum of 12,866 signatures on petitions are required to force the measure onto the ballot. Then the people have their say at the ballot box. Simple majority rules.
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I didn’t notice that. You might be correct, but the fact is that they didn’t tell her why. They don’t need a reason in North Dakota. In North Dakota the employees don’t matter.
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Michelle and Mick did not have chemistry and I agree with an earlier poster sometimes it was painful to listen to or watch the two of them interact. She wasn’t always the nicest to Mick (IMHO). Leaving on a Thursday seems odd to me — but whatever the reason I hope they can find someone who can help Mick out with his adlib skills because he does a good job at the farm reports & weather — two areas he obviously feels very comfortable and it shows.
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For those of you who do not actually know Michelle I am amazed at how you can slam her. She is not a diva and is quite a nice person. As for the eye rolling, good grief that is all about how the two of them interact. I watched BECAUSE of how they interacted, they DO like one another and DO get along. Please, don’t slam a person without knowing the truth. Amazing also how so many of you can form opinions when you claim to not even watch her and Mick on the air. Get a life!
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Wrinkles? Really? Have you watched any of the local news broadcasts? Next time, take a look at how old those anchors look compared to Michelle.
And by the way, none of the local stations broadcast HD from their studios. Only network programming is HD.
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The best match for interacting with Mick would be a Pelican. Michelle was great and a lot easier on the eyes than… the others.
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