Penn Undergraduate Law Journal
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission
    • Masthead
    • Faculty Advisory Board
    • Partner Journals
    • Sponsors
  • Submissions
  • Full Issues
  • The Roundtable
    • Pre-Law Corner
  • Events
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Apply
    • FAQs
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission
    • Masthead
    • Faculty Advisory Board
    • Partner Journals
    • Sponsors
  • Submissions
  • Full Issues
  • The Roundtable
    • Pre-Law Corner
  • Events
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Apply
    • FAQs

The Roundtable


Welcome to the Roundtable, a forum for incisive commentary and analysis
on cases and developments in law and the legal system.


INTERESTED IN wRITING FOR tHE rOUNDTABLE?

Burlington v. Fox: The Case of a TV Anchor and the N-Word

7/7/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Warning: This post discusses epithets that may be offensive or disturbing to some readers.

By Dan Spinelli 

Dan Spinelli is a sophomore at the  University of Pennsylvania studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE).  

On June 23, 2007, longtime television anchor Tom Burlington walked into an editorial meeting along with eight other personnel. Burlington, a weekend anchor and reporter at Fox 29 — the Philadelphia affiliate of Fox News — joined his colleagues in a discussion of a segment regarding the “symbolic burial” of the n-word by the Philadelphia Council of the NAACP.[1] While discussing the story, Burlington — a white male — asked, “Does this mean we can finally say the word n-----?”

Nearly eight years after the meeting, Burlington, 53, argued in a federal racial discrimination suit that his use of that racial epithet cost him his job and his reputation. He sought damages from the station for firing him on July 12 of that year, weeks after the editorial meeting. Earlier this month, Burlington testified in federal district court in Philadelphia that he has been unable to acquire another job in broadcast journalism after being fired from Fox 29. “The hardest part is my children,” he said in court. “They’ll believe I’m a racist.”[2]
Testimony from his colleagues —both black and white — disputed the notion that Burlington was a racist. He even won prizes as a reporter for covering crimes committed against African-Americans in Texas, North Carolina and Camden, N.J.[3] So why did one seemingly off-the-cuff remark end Burlington’s career?

What exactly Burlington said in the meeting is disputed. He testified to only invoking the epithet one time — in the context of asking whether the full n-word should be used in that night’s broadcast — but in a note recorded by Anne Malone, a sensitivity trainer hired by Fox to meet with Burlington after the incident, he admitted using the word three times in rapid succession.[4] Burlington also used the full n-word repeatedly in apologies to colleagues after the meeting, many of whom were shocked that he continued to use the word.

Burlington claimed that he was only trying to make an intellectual point. “Using ‘the n-word’ just gives the word more power,” he said in court.[5] Many of Burlington’s colleagues did not agree. His co-anchor, Joyce Evans, who was not present at the 2007 meeting, was outraged when she heard about Burlington’s comment. In a later meeting with Burlington, she engaged him in a long and “heated” discussion about the politics of using the n-word.[6] During the conversation, Burlington made a distinction between his use of the word — in the context of a journalistic discussion — and other, pejorative uses of the term. Burlington denied implying anything malicious with this example; he simply wanted to draw a distinction.

Though Burlington had been disciplined with a suspension and referral to sensitivity training, the station ultimately chose to not renew his contract, and he was let go. From the station’s legal perspective, the reason for Burlington’s firing was clear: he had caused tension in the newsroom (evidenced by a staff photographer refusing to work with him after the 2007 meeting), brought negative publicity to the station through numerous articles about the incident in local newspapers and, according to general manager Mike Renda, incited concerns “for [Burlington’s] safety.”[7]

From Burlington’s perspective, the decision came from a racial double standard. Black employees, Burlington said, could use the n-word with impunity. One employee, anchor Dave Huddleston, even referred to an African-American when discussing a news story as “another dumb n-----.”[8] These individuals weren’t disciplined. Black employees, put under intense questioning by Burlington’s lawyer, Laura Mattiacci, said they were offended by Burlington’s non-pejorative use of the word, but admitted to listening to rap music where the epithet is used. Evans and Ameena Ali, the human resources manager at Fox 29, said they are offended by the word in all contexts. No one said that Burlington’s race played any role in their being personally offended, though Burlington testified that Evans told him he couldn’t say the n-word “because he was white.”[9]

Mattiacci framed the case in her closing argument around a singular rulebook applying to employees of all races in the workplace. This case, she said, “is not about whether a white person can say the N-word.”[10] The question, unspoken but acknowledged, was whether procedural rules matter in a world where substantive inequality is the norm. Could a black person’s use of the n-word really hurt the same way as when used by a white person? Intuition would say no, as would the recorded list of zero cases (as far as this writer can find) in which a black employee has been fired for saying the n-word.

That still doesn’t answer the legal question put to the jury: is it a racial double standard for punishing a white person for saying something black people also say? Well, structurally, yes…but does a racial double standard make sense for such a racially charged word?

The answer came a lot quicker than the eight-year odyssey of a trial. In less than three hours, an all-white jury returned the verdict: Burlington lost. Even on a preponderance of a doubt standard, far below the usual threshold of “beyond a reasonable doubt” used in most criminal cases, Fox 29 still won.[11]



[1] Thomas Burlington v. News Corporation, Fox Television Stations Inc., and Fox Television Stations of Philadelphia Inc. (E.D. PA 2010), www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/10d1325p.pdf.
[2] Sam Wood, "Ex-Fox29 Anchor in Court: My Daughters Will Think I'm a Racist," Philly.com, Philadelphia Media Networks, 8 June 2015.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Dan Spinelli, "Former TV Anchor Loses N-word Lawsuit," The Philadelphia Daily News, 16 June 2015.
[5] Sam Wood, “My Daughters Will Think I’m a Racist,” Philly.com.
[6] Dan Spinelli, "N-word Lawsuit Intensifies as Colleague Testifies," The Philadelphia Daily News, 11 June 2015: 3.
[7] Thomas Burlington v. News Corporation, Fox Television Stations Inc., and Fox Television Stations of Philadelphia Inc. (E.D. PA 2010), www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/10d1325p.pdf.
[8] Dan Spinelli, “Former TV Anchor Loses,” The Philadelphia Daily News.
[9] Thomas Burlington v. News Corporation, Fox Television Stations Inc., and Fox Television Stations of Philadelphia Inc. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 23 Dec. 2010.
[10] Dan Spinelli, “Former TV Anchor Loses,” The Philadelphia Daily News.
[11] Ibid.

Photo Credit: Flickr User flash.pro

The opinions and views expressed through this publication are the opinions of the designated authors and do not reflect the opinions or views of the Penn Undergraduate Law Journal, our staff, or our clients.




0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    Akshita Tiwary
    Alana Bess
    Alana Mattei
    Albert Manfredi
    Alexander Saeedy
    Alexandra Aaron
    Alexandra Kanan
    Alice Giannini
    Alicia Augustin
    Alicia Kysar
    Ally Kalishman
    Ally Margolis
    Alya Abbassian
    Anika Prakash
    Anna Schwartz
    Ashley Kim
    Astha Pandey
    Audrey Pan
    Benjamin Ng'aru
    Brónach Rafferty
    Bryce Klehm
    Cary Holley
    Christina Gunzenhauser
    Christine Mitchell
    Christopher Brown
    Clarissa Alvarez
    Cole Borlee
    Connor Gallagher
    Dan Spinelli
    Dan Zhang
    David Katz
    Davis Berlind
    Derek Willie
    Dhilan Lavu
    Edgar Palomino
    Edna Simbi
    Emma Davies
    Esther Lee
    Evelyn Bond
    Filzah Belal
    Frank Geng
    Gabriel Maliha
    Georgia Ray
    Graham Reynolds
    Habib Olapade
    Hailie Goldsmith
    Haley Son
    Harshit Rai
    Henry Lininger
    Hetal Doshi
    Iris Zhang
    Irtaza Ali
    Isabela Baghdady
    Ishita Chakrabarty
    Jack Burgess
    Jessica "Lulu" Lipman
    Joe Anderson
    Jonathan Lahdo
    Jonathan Stahl
    Joseph Squillaro
    Justin Yang
    Kaitlyn Rentala
    Kanishka Bhukya
    Katie Kaufman
    Kelly Liang
    Keshav Sharma
    Ketaki Gujar
    Lauren Pak
    Lavi Ben Dor
    Libby Rozbruch
    Lindsey Li
    Luis Bravo
    Lyndsey Reeve
    Madeline Decker
    Maja Cvjetanovic
    Maliha Farrooz
    Marco DiLeonardo
    Margaret Lu
    Matthew Caulfield
    Michael Keshmiri
    Mina Nur Basmaci
    Muskan Mumtaz
    Natalie Peelish
    Natasha Darlington
    Natasha Kang
    Nayeon Kim
    Nicholas Parsons
    Nicholas Williams
    Nicole Greenstein
    Nihal Sahu
    Omar Khoury
    Owen Voutsinas Klose
    Owen Voutsinas-Klose
    Pheby Liu
    Rachel Bina
    Rachel Gu
    Rachel Pomerantz
    Rebecca Heilweil
    Regina Salmons
    Sajan Srivastava
    Sandeep Suresh
    Sanjay Dureseti
    Sarah Simon
    Saranya Das Sharma
    Saranya Sharma
    Sasha Bryski
    Saxon Bryant
    Sean Foley
    Sebastian Bates
    Serena Camici
    Shahana Banerjee
    Shannon Alvino
    Shiven Sharma
    Siddarth Sethi
    Sneha Parthasarathy
    Sneha Sharma
    Sophie Lovering
    Steven Jacobson
    Suaida Firoze
    Suprateek Neogi
    Takane Shoji
    Tanner Bowen
    Taryn MacKinney
    Thomas Cribbins
    Todd Costa
    Tyler Larkworthy
    Vatsal Patel
    Vikram Balasubramanian
    Vishwajeet Deshmukh
    Wajeeha Ahmad
    Yeonhwa Lee

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

Picture
Picture
​