Survivor Contestant Savannah Louie Isn’t The Only Person Accusing Her Former Station Of Being Toxic

by

On the latest episode of Survivor, contestant Savannah Louie shared a difficult experience from her previous job as a reporter. She explained that when she started at the news station, her colleagues essentially ignored her. They were upset she had been hired over someone else, so while they worked with her on-air, they refused to speak to her personally unless it was necessary for a news segment.

Savannah, a contestant on the upcoming season of Survivor, revealed a deeply upsetting experience to a fellow player and discussed it in detail with the show’s cameras. She explained that the event was so traumatic it affected her hormones and caused lasting damage to her reproductive health.

She didn’t say which news station she referred to, but as expected, fans of Survivor quickly researched her work history, trying to figure out which job she was discussing. She then used Instagram Stories to say she stood by every place she’d worked – except for KSDK.

Louie worked at the NBC station in St. Louis, Missouri for two years, from 2019 to 2021, and she’s not alone in having issues there. Recently, two well-known on-air personalities were fired after disagreements with management. I also spoke with several current and former employees who described the work environment at KSDK as deeply negative. One person said their time there was “miserable” and the culture “unhealthy,” while others criticized excessive and illogical decisions from corporate management.

Two well-known on-air personalities experienced public departures from their jobs earlier this year. In April, Anthony Slaughter, a weatherman who had worked at KSDK for eight years, was fired. He later shared with STL Magazine that the firing happened abruptly during a very short meeting. The issue stemmed from disagreements with management, who wanted him to use the phrase “Weather Impact” more often to promote a new station branding initiative.

After he was fired, he publicly stated that he’d been given an increasingly heavy workload and was asked to re-record all his segments for the app, creating a different version than what viewers saw on television. Station directors apparently believed he reacted negatively to these changes, and they ultimately decided to pursue a different approach.

Last month, veteran news anchor Rene Knott left the station after more than twenty years. This followed a human resources investigation into reports that he had threatened violence. According to those reports, Knott was being reassigned from the morning news to the 5 PM slot, but evening staff protested. They told management he had said he might bring an AK-47 to work and had expressed a desire to harm a colleague. He also allegedly mentioned concerns about potentially having CTE.

In an interview with STL Magazine, Knott stated he’s never handled a firearm and has a spotless 21-year employment record. He explained his discussions about CTE stemmed from concerns as a former college football player about potential long-term health issues. While he acknowledged making aggressive comments, he insisted they were meant as jokes and were being misinterpreted. However, colleagues reportedly didn’t see them as jokes and believed he might have been stressed about a potential schedule change and declining viewership numbers.

People with long histories at KSDK, who didn’t want to be named, consistently told me about pressure from management. They described being told to produce more and more online content, which created tension and shifted how things worked in the newsroom. They also said management made it clear that no one’s job was secure, from new hires to veteran on-air personalities.

I constantly heard words like “mean” and “grudge” when talking to people at the station. One former employee shared a story about someone deliberately damaging equipment because they were upset with how a news story was filmed. There was a feeling that this negative environment might be connected to the station’s declining ratings compared to other local channels in St. Louis.

Everyone I spoke with had at least heard about co-workers being mean to Louie, even if they didn’t witness it themselves. They also all told some version of the same story, which was similar to what the Survivor contestant shared on the show. The staff was convinced an internal candidate was going to get hired for the position that later went to Louie, but instead, corporate and/ or management decided to go in a different direction and bring in outside talent. Opinions varied as to whether that was the right decision or the wrong decision, but there was a consensus that the decision led to an immediate unpleasantness when Louie arrived.

The TV industry is challenging, particularly for local news stations in recent years. As more people turn to streaming and online sources for news, stations have faced layoffs, firings, and pressure to improve ratings. Recently, there’s been a lot of discussion specifically about the situation at KSDK.

Louie has repeatedly asked her fans not to harass her old workplace or colleagues, explaining they didn’t choose to be involved in the public attention surrounding her situation. However, due to the recent, widely-publicized job losses at the station, she isn’t the sole reason it’s been in the news this year.

Louie is currently a central figure on Survivor. Many viewers consider her the star of Survivor 49, and sources say she’ll be back for the highly anticipated Survivor 50. It’s uncertain if this experience will lead to new opportunities for her in journalism, reality television, or another field, but her popularity on the show suggests she’ll have plenty of choices.

Read More

2025-11-18 19:18