Longtime news anchor files suit against former employer

Hattiesburg, MS: A longtime Pine Belt news anchor who was fired in February, after 30 years on the job, has filed suit against her former employer, claiming she was a victim of age discrimination, retaliation, and emotional distress.

According to the federal lawsuit, 58 year old Miranda Beard was terminated in February 2016 by WDAM-TV and its owner, Raycom Media. The suit claims Beard was fired while an EEOC complaint was still pending against the station. According to the suit, Beard had filed an EEOC complaint in April 2015, alleging age and gender discrimination. The suit says the station committed age discrimination by replacing her with an attractive, much younger employee. Beard was a long time member of the Laurel School Board and in May assumed the role of President of the National School Board Association. According to the suit, agents for the station pressured and harassed her into resigning from the Laurel School Board in hopes she would quit her job instead. The suit asks for a trial by jury before federal judge Keith Starrett.