Below is a statement issued Tuesday afternoon by a reporter who was at WXYZ from 2011-16. She appeared in Southfield with attorneys Geoffrey Fieger and Michael N. Hanna to discuss her just-filed federal civil rights lawsuit against the station and its owner.
By Tara Edwards
A little less than a year and a half ago, I was a reporter. I could have been on the other side, like you journalists are -- among you in a case just like this, covering this story and trying to do the best I could to always be fair in telling the news.
I had the privilege of working with and against some of the best journalists in the country.
"I am finally in a place where I feel strong enough to stand up."
And I have also had a chance over the years as a reporter to use my voice to help the voiceless, telling their truth when they did not have the power or means to do so. And those moments have been some of my proudest moments in my career.
So imagine how difficult it has been to have felt so helpless, hopeless and voiceless in my own nightmare for so long.
From the beginning, all I ever wanted was for my name to be cleared. All I ever wanted was for Mr. [Malcom] Maddox to admit the vile, vicious and nasty rumors were not true. The rumors continue to be prevalent at WXYZ to this day.
I would like to thanks the brave women of the Me Too movement who have come before me. You have given me the courage to speak out today. I used to think no one would ever believe my story.
To Rev. [W.J.] Rideout, I did not contact you. I did not ask you to do what you did [in a Dec. 5 media conference]. But thank you for giving me a voice when I did not think I was brave enough to do it myself. I am finally in a place where I feel strong enough to stand up.
For far too long, women who've been discriminated against or abused have been shamed into silence. No more.
This text is transcribed from an image tweeted by Detroit Free Press reporter Tresa Baldas.
