Terence Shepherd, former news director of KPBS, said in a lawsuit he was fired in February in retaliation for flagging a potential Federal Communications Commission (FCC) violation to senior management.
An email to KPBS staff on Feb. 11 announced Shepherd was no longer news director, a position he had held since August 2022.
In the lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court last month, Shepherd said his termination violated California’s whistleblower protection law.
Heather Milne, a KPBS spokesperson, declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
The lawsuit stems from the Sept. 17, 2025 broadcast of KPBS' daily television news show Evening Edition.
KPBS reporter Alexander Nguyen went live on the air from a protest at the Encinitas City Hall. Behind Nguyen, a protester held a "FUCK ICE" sign.
"Federal law prohibits obscene, indecent and profane content from being broadcast on the radio or TV," according to the FCC website.
The next day, Shepherd reported the issue to Evening Edition’s senior producer, Nguyen’s editor and KPBS Chief Content Officer Nancy Worlie, according to the complaint.
In his complaint, Shepherd said Nguyen "had apparently staged a protest scene" that appeared on air. And after investigating the incident, Shepherd recommended Nguyen be terminated, according to the complaint.
Worlie, the complaint said, "vehemently disagreed" with Shepherd and made clear to him that she thought he was "grossly overreacting."
Worlie also refused Shepherd’s...
"Saw people on Facebook, including doctors, warning that statins cause dementia. Then I googled it and found an NIH-listed study that says the opposite. It's so difficult to know what to do with o...