MATRONLY, DOWDY, AND SETTLED

Marny Stanier Midkiff, 43, who sued The Weather Channel for "job
discrimination" in December 2004, after being fired in 2003, has
settled the matter, voluntarily dismissing Civil Action 1:04-CV-03663
on April 26, 2006.

In a final "Stipulation of Dismissal with Prejudice," obtained by
NewsBlues from the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Georgia, a simple two sentence motion states: "This action
shall be dismissed in its entirety, with prejudice, with each party to
bear its own attorneys' fees and costs."

More than 145 motions were filed in the case. Some experts estimate
that Midkiff's legal bill may have easily exceeded $300,000. She was
represented by a small Atlanta law firm Buckley & Klein, LLP, which
specializes in employment law.

Her attorney was Monica Garcia, who was a little more than a year out
of law school when the case was filed.

The Weather Channel was fronted by Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, a huge
international law firm with offices in New York, Washington, London,
and Stockholm. It has 71 attorneys in its Atlanta office alone.

The lead attorney for The Weather Channel was William Boice, a partner
in the firm for 26 years, with extensive litigation experience in age,
race, and sex discrimination cases. In legal parlance, The Weather
Channel "muscled up," in part, to discourage similar cases in the future.

Neither Garcia nor Boice responded to email requests for comment.
However, legal experts suggest that TWC may have agreed to a
confidential financial settlement in order to avoid an embarrassing
jury trial, which appeared to be right around the corner.

Midkiff, a 16-year vet of TWC, accused her boss, Senior VP and General
Manager of Programming and Production Terry Connelly of firing her
after claiming that older on-camera staff was costing the network viewers.

Connelly openly spoke of female staffers as "matronly, dowdy and
nun-like." After the suit was filed, a videotape emerged that showed
Connelly at a company seminar openly ridiculing the wardrobe of a Fox
News anchor, saying it made her look old. "Do you want to look old?!"
Connelly shouts. He directed women to change their hairstyles to look
"younger." A young hire, Hillary Andrews, was told to bleach her hair
and eyebrows.

Connelly also ignored a company order to find other slots at TWC for
Midkiff and others whose jobs he wanted to eliminate. At the same
time, Connelly was looking to fill those slots with talent in their
20s and 30s.

Lois Craig, top dog in The Weather Channel's human resources
department, was "promptly terminated" after she told CEO Bill Burke
she feared plans to "young up" the network by firing Midkiff and
another female colleague violated discrimination laws.

Midkiff is now a Realtor in Georgia.

Terry Connelly remains with The Weather Channel.

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