20 MAR 05: DEFEATING THE GENERAL

Instant Message to the person who wrote on a message board that I'm "not playing with a full deck": Maybe I'm not - but by cutting and pasting this blog on that board without even a link, you're not playing with a full grasp of copyright law.

Large amounts of this blog wound up on the Medialine message board this past week, as we covered the pregnancy discrimination suit against the owners of WRBL. As we posted here Saturday night, Melissa Schultz Miller prevailed on two out of three claims against Media General. But the jury declined to order the company knocked down to Colonel.

The six-man, six-woman federal jury concluded WRBL's former managers committed pregnancy discrimination against Miller in 2002. Miller lives in Huntsville now - and anyone who cuts in front of her in a department store line had better have a good lawyer.

The jury also decided WRBL retaliated against Miller, by not allowing her to become a reporter. This was even though videotapes of her TV work were described as "weak" by her co-workers. You almost wonder if the jurors went home, watched Megan Bradley reporting at 11:00 p.m. and drew a different conclusion.

Media General prevailed on one of the three claims - as the federal jury decided a move to produce the overnight shift was NOT retaliation against Miller. After all, we only heard Miller's side of that story in court. We never heard from the rats supposedly crawling around the newsroom.

BLOG EXCLUSIVE, DAY 6: Plaintiff's attorney Maxine Hardy tells your blog when the jury announced its verdict Friday night, "we all started crying." The defense tried to portray Miller as a crying whiner -- so at least part of its case was accurate.

Hardy cleared up some fuzzy points for me about the lawsuit. She said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated Miller's discrimination claim, and ran out of legal time without reaching a conclusion. The E.E.O.C. had only six months -- and there are inmates at Guantanamo Bay who've been waiting six times longer than that.

The lead attorney for Media General declined to talk to the blog during jury deliberations. But we did meet WRBL News Director Cyle Mims, who sat in the courtroom for part of Friday's closing arguments. He seems like a smart man. He must be, because he never took a single note about the case for the newscasts.

True confession: after sitting in court practically all week hearing testimony, the federal jury's verdict surprised me. I guessed there was a two-thirds chance Miller's plea would be rejected in full. But then again, I figured Alabama would win at least one game in the NCAA basketball tournament....

(Judge Clay Land instructed the jury NOT to let sympathy sway its decision. But imagine how long and loudly Miller would have cried, had she lost.)

The plaintiff's case had several holes in it, and defense attorneys didn't really seize on all of them. For instance:

+ Miller said she left business cards saying "Producer-Reporter" on them at WRBL when she quit, and they vanished. The defense never asked why a budding reporter didn't carry a few cards around with her. Didn't she realize news can break out anywhere at any time?

+ Miller claimed former WRBL News Director Mark Wildman made fun of her pregnancy weight gain "in front of the entire newsroom." Yet no witness ever came forward to confirm that - at least so I could borrow those one-liners for future blog entries.

+ Miller concluded from a February 2003 e-mail she was being moved permanently to the overnight shift. Yet her initial message asked only about schedule plans for the following week. One week on overnights admittedly can seem permanent, somewhere around 3:00 a.m. Wednesday....

There also was an issue bubbling under the surface which no one in the trial wanted to touch. Roslyn Giles and Anne-Marie Gregory also became pregnant while at WRBL, as Miller did - but unlike Miller, they were married when it happened. Many people in Columbus still have a "you made your bed, now lie in it" mentality about that.

If Miller's case actually was weak near the close, the closing arguments by her two attorneys came to her rescue. Gwen Newsom-Bunn and Maxine Hardy made some fascinating comments to the jury, to gain their support:

+ Miller was "a strong-willed woman put in a job to control strong-willed, ego-driven people." Come to think of it, we've never had a female Speaker of the House....

+ "Ms. Miller has complained to everybody in America about pregnancy discrimination." Amazing - and until late Friday, her attorneys and I seemed to be the only ones paying attention to her.

+ "Having a baby is just murder on your body." So how was Anna-Marie Gregory able to report on the air at WRBL on the day she had her child? [True!]

+ "Why would [defense witness] Dale Cox fly all the way here from Fort Smith, Arkansas?" The plaintiff's attorneys ought to know - because he originally was on THEIR list of possible witnesses. [True!]

+ Birmingham TV reporter Jon Paepcke was declared a WRBL "good ol' boy," after joking on the witness stand about admiring Roslyn Giles for getting "two vacations" while she's on maternity leave. "What planet does that guy live on?" Newsom-Bunn asked the jury. Maybe one with a better sense of humor....

+ Media General was accused of trying to dodge lawsuits by having news department personnel sign generic contracts. "I don't think that's the law in this country," Newsom-Bunn argued. So does Michael Vick's contract specify he can only play quarterback?

Lead defense attorney King Tower tried his best to argue Media General's case. In his closing argument, he told the jury about TV reporters: "They do have egos. It's important for them to look good." I'm not sure how this explains Bob Schieffer anchoring the CBS Evening News right now.

Tower came to Dale Cox's defense as well, saying the former WTVM News Director "doesn't have a dog in this fight." When you hear attorneys on both sides use a phrase like that, you know it's a trial in the South.

I have yet to talk to the jury about how it reached its decision - and it's NOT required to explain to anyone. But I'm guessing jurors became suspicious about the disappearance of a "new hire" document detailing Melissa Schultz Miller's job title. Someone should have asked how many paper shredders are in the WRBL offices.

Now let's step outside the courthouse, and consider other items from a delightful weekend:

+ Hundreds of motorcycle riders attended a "Rally for the Troops" near Veterans Parkway, while dozens of airplanes were displayed during "Thunder in the Valley" at the Columbus Airport. So where was the show for those of us in between - the one with all sorts of minivans?

+ Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million to settle a case involving illegal immigrants working at its stores. One of those stores was in Valley - but the way mills are closing, those job openings should be easy to fill.

+ Auburn University held its "A-Day" spring football scrimmage. The final score: Blue 9, White 0 - and civil rights protesters stopping the game to demand a boycott 0.

+ I finally was able to watch a Georgia Championship Wrestling telecast on TV-66. It's an old-fashioned fun hour of action - but someone should remind announcers Dan Masters and Jerry Oates they're at the wrestling matches, not a golf tournament.

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: We'll offer more reflections and follow-up on the WRBL case in the coming days -- including hopefully the views of a juror. We've now practically concluded our jokes for the day, but you're welcome to keep reading for a mix of humor and personal thoughts.)

BUT SERIOUSLY.... "Is that your daughter?" a girl who looked about 10 years old asked me after church.

"No," I answered about the young woman who plays piano during our congregation's services. "She's that man's daughter," I gestured a few feet away. "I don't have any children."

"Do you have a wife?" the girl probed further.

"No, I don't."

"Have you ever had a wife?"

"No." Little did I realize this girl was preparing me for a federal jury trial.

"Would you like to have a wife?" Now this was getting touchy.

"I wouldn't mind - but I think you're a little young for me."

"I already have a boyfriend." Ouch. I can't even rob a cradle successfully.

This conversation occurred last weekend - on the day of the Living Church of God shooting spree near Milwaukee. I mentioned then how this group is similar to the one I attend. But it's occurring to me there's another similarity -- between the shooter and myself.

Terry Ratzmann was 44, single, and reportedly became depressed because he couldn't find a wife in his denomination. I'm only two years older, but I'm single and also searching [15 Feb]. I'm nowhere near the desperation point where I'd consider buying a gun - but the Bible-based pressure by my denomination to walk perfectly in every way can get me a down a bit as well.

Saturday marked our group's first meeting since the murders near Milwaukee. I sang the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul," which brought at least one person in the room to tears. (I could see it as I sang.) Perhaps it's good that I did a solo, because I wondered if single people such as I would be under closer scrutiny.

The mood at church was surprisingly ordinary - and in my walking around the hall, the deadly event of one week before wasn't mentioned much.

"You've got room in your briefcase," I overheard a man telling a church elder. "You might have to start packing heat in it!" he said with a laugh. Perhaps this was the man's way of coping with the grief of what happened But for me, it felt too soon to move on.

The Pastor said during announcement time he saw nothing to gain by detailing the events near Milwaukee. But he said one likely lesson is to be attuned to what's happening around you. I'm not sure the congregation truly grasped that lesson. I chose to keep quiet and a touch "occupied," to see what other brethren would do - and perhaps half of them made an effort to shake my hand, even after I sang.

The Pastor offered another lesson, and did something unusual. "When he's reloading, that's the time to act," he said - then he came out from behind the pulpit, picked up an empty folding chair in the front row and pretended to throw it down the center aisle. It was a remarkable sight, for a minister who takes Pentecostal preachers to task.

"You've got four prongs," the Pastor continued as he pointed the legs of the folding chair down the aisle. "You want to take him out." It occurred to me this minister hadn't quoted the verse about "turning the other cheek" in a long time.

"Even if it's a paper cup, throw it at him," he went on. "If you're going to go, go on your terms." That's a remarkable statement, since God doesn't allow a lot of people to do that -- for instance, when death comes in a highway collision or because of a stroke.

The Pastor didn't offer many Bible verses of comfort. He left me to sing a solo about that. Then came back for a sermon on being forgiven by God. I ended the service feeling better - but still wondering if this congregation that a friend has called "redneck" really is in a mood to change its colors.

COMING MONDAY: Where Blaine Stewart went after he testified in court.... and why....

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