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Joan Lunden Alleges Early-Career Harassment by TV Boss in New Memoir

Her account underscores 1970s newsroom power imbalances, with per-story pay making blocked segments a financial threat.

Overview

  • Lunden’s book, Joan: Life Beyond the Script, published March 3, details the episode from her early years at WABC-TV.
  • She writes that a superior she calls “Ted” invited her to Fire Island, pressured her to share his bed, and she spent the night on a sofa.
  • According to the memoir, he then began killing her stories, reducing her airtime and income under the station’s compensation model.
  • Lunden says she consulted an agent and a lawyer, threatened a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit, and the behavior stopped with an apology.
  • The executive is not named, and coverage cites only Lunden’s account with no independent corroboration or public response reported.