This undated photo shows former West Virginia Public Broadcasting reporter Amelia Ferrell Nicely. Knisely was fired from her WVPB job on December 20, 2022. That’s after she wrote about alleged disability abuse at her Virginia Department of Health and Human Services West. (Amelia Ferrell Nicely via AP)
This undated photo shows former West Virginia Public Broadcasting reporter Amelia Ferrell Nicely. Knisely was fired from her WVPB job on December 20, 2022. That’s after she wrote about alleged disability abuse at her Virginia Department of Health and Human Services West. (Amelia Ferrell Nicely via AP)
CHARLESTON, Virginia (AP) — A West Virginia journalist lost his job last month after reporting on alleged abuse of people with disabilities within the state agency that runs West Virginia’s foster care and psychiatric facilities. .
West Virginia Public Broadcasting reporter Amelia Ferrell Kneisley said her coverage on the Department of Health and Human Resources after the beleaguered agency’s leader “threatened to discredit” a publicly funded television and radio network. She later learned that the part-time position had been removed.
In a statement, Knisely’s news director said he told her the order came from WVPB Executive Director Butch Antolini, former communications director of Republican Governor Jim Justice. Antolini has been executive director since 2021, when his predecessor was ousted after Justice overhauled the agency’s board.
Justice has been accused of unsuccessfully trying to eliminate state funding to the WVPB in the past and appointing partisan operatives. on board. WVPB receives approximately $4 million annually in state funding.
Antolini declined to comment, but other officials denied any attempt to influence the report. West He said that Mr. Antolini told the board, “He has never been coerced or pressured by anyone.”
In a statement, Files said Knisely was not fired and remained on her WVPB payroll, but said her door keys and email were disabled.
Knisely’s resignation comes at a tumultuous time for the West Virginia media. Just days before she left her WVPB, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Charleston Gazette said her three reporters for her email had been fired after publicly criticizing her editorial decisions. It is by President Doug Skaff, who is the minority leader of the state House of Representatives. Skaff approved and led his video interview with Don Blankenship, a coal company executive convicted of safety violations related to one of the recent worst coal mine accidents in U.S. history. .
The departure leaves a reduced Capitol corps of reporters to cover the next legislative session, which begins Jan. 11.
Knisely’s story detailed alleged abuse of persons with disabilities under state care. This department cares for some of the most vulnerable residents of one of the poorest states in the United States.
Knisely’s departure from WVPB was first reported by The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. Last week, Republican Senate Speaker Craig Blair and Democratic Chairman Mike Pushkin called the circumstances surrounding her resignation “disturbing.”
Pushkin said Knisely’s coverage of the “obvious problems of DHHR” was “detailed, detailed and most importantly true”.
Blair wrote on Twitter on December 29, “There is a clear difference between disliking the media coverage and actively trying to silence it.”
Knisely was hired as a part-time reporter at WVPB in September. In November, she received a copy of an email from her then-director of DHHR, Bill Crouch, alleging inaccuracies in the article and asking for a “complete retraction.”
That never happened.
A week later, amid mounting criticism, Crouch announced his resignation.
Douglas confirmed to the Associated Press that he was instructed to tell Knisely to stop reporting about DHHR, and that Antolini instructed him to do so.
Regarding threats from DHHR officials to discredit WVPB, he said:
On December 15, Knisely filed a complaint with Human Resources for interference with her report.
Things came to a head later that day over Knisely’s press conference leading up to the 2023 Congressional session, according to emails obtained by the AP and first reported by The Parkersburg News and Sentinel..
Douglas initially informed legislative staff that Knisely would “play a significant role” in WVPB’s 2023 legislative coverage. But then the station’s chief operating officer didn’t send him her email, citing that she didn’t need her credentials.
It bothered Senate spokesperson Jack Bland, who asked Douglas about it in an email.
“I find it offensive and suspicious that someone interrupts that one of your reporters won’t have any assignments related to the session,” she wrote.
She added:
The next day, Douglas said he was dragged into Antolini’s office and told that “the relationship with Amelia has changed.” He said he didn’t appreciate the WVPB leadership being behind it, but “it’s out of my hands right now.”
“And you’re right, it feels terribly fishy,” he wrote.
Knisely said he was informed that the part-time position would be discontinued on December 20. By that time, her email and keycard had been deactivated.
Knisely announced on Twitter this week that he has been hired by Beckley-based newspaper The Register-Herald to cover the upcoming West Virginia Congress. Her coverage will include developments with the state’s Department of Health and Human Resources, she said.
