Former CNN Anchor Charges Network With Age Discrimination

First it was Christine Craft. Now it's Marina Kolbe. Both women are former TV news anchors who filed federal lawsuits against their employers, citing their age as a reason why they were no longer welcome behind the anchor desk. (In Kolbe's case, ethnicity is also an issue; Kolbe is white, and she claims her employer wanted more on-air diversity.)

Craft filed her suit in 1981, and Kolbe in 2003. Craft's employer - KMBC in Kansas City, MO - is small potatoes compared to Kolbe's, media giant CNN.

Surprisingly, there's been little media coverage of Kolbe's case. Would this be an example of the pot refusing to call the kettle black?

According to The Daily Report, Kolbe's case is now in its second week and is being heard in Atlanta by U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper. (We trust he's no relation to CNN's Anderson Cooper.)

A former CNN International "floating" anchor, Kolbe was 42 when CNN refused to renew her contract. Kolbe's lawyer claims that the network then began hiring "spring chickens, young sexy people" with much less experience than his client. CNN says Kolbe's performance was at issue, not her age or skin color.

Will history repeat itself? Christine Craft lost her case after favorable rulings were overturned and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear her case. Kolbe should know shortly, as her own case is expected to wrap up this week.