'I was on disability and they fired me,' longtime WBFO reporter Mike Desmond says [The Buffalo News, N.Y.]
May 26—Mike Desmond has covered local news for more than half a century, primarily as a newspaper and radio reporter.
He covered the
He also took a 39-second video in 2020 that went viral and drew millions of views of a then 75-year-old
Now the 78-year-old Desmond is back in the news because of how his run at
After 34 years working at the public radio station, Desmond said he was told he was out of a job in March while he was on disability for three months after an accident off the job in a local restaurant.
And he said he found out he was let go by his health insurance provider.
Desmond's side of the story is the only one available because a WBFO spokesperson emailed twice that the organization doesn't comment on personnel matters.
The spokesperson made the comment a second time after being reminded that WBFO is part of a public broadcasting company, Buffalo Toronto Public Media, supported by its listeners — and viewers of
Desmond, who went on disability in December, said in his familiar and distinctive voice that he is still healing from his injuries after the fall at the restaurant.
"I was on disability and they fired me," he said. "I was in pretty bad shape for a while. I mean, I had broken bones in my back and so forth."
He added that he was injured off the job and was told by his lawyer,
He said his last day working his night and weekend shifts was
And no one told him why he was let go.
"They don't have to," said Desmond. "
Desmond, who also worked at the Courier Express for 12 years, at newspapers in
He received his normal pay until he was dismissed and then was given accumulated vacation time but didn't receive any severance.
Desmond said he didn't learn of his firing from anyone at Buffalo Toronto Public Media.
"I got a letter or an email from
He then contacted a person in human resources at WBFO.
"I called him up and said, 'Is that what happened?' And I got a letter ... a couple of days later which basically said I was gone.
"I was planning on going back to work when the doctors let me go back to work, but they chose not to do that."
How did he feel about the way he was told he was fired after 34 years at the station?
"I mean I would have appreciated a nice letter from
He has received some calls from former colleagues to see how he was doing and had some phone conversations with people in the human resources department.
He said he hasn't listened to the station since he was let go. He could certainly be forgiven for being angry about finding out through an email from his health insurance provider that he no longer had a job at a place where he had worked so long.
"Certainly," said Desmond. "But there's no point."
"I was fortunate to oversee a newsroom filled with incredibly hardworking professionals," said Meyer. "Mike was hands-down the hardest working in the group. And he was a walking encyclopedia on all things
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