Balta Out At WTTW Amid Firestorm Over Social Media Posts

CHICAGO — Hugo Balta is out at WTTW-Channel 11. The news director at the public television station since February 2020 was placed on administrative leave last week following complaints by staff over social media posts expressing his personal views as first reported by Media Moves. The decision to permanently part ways with Balta was made official Tuesday.

"After a year of high-impact news coverage and a clear focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, the intolerance I've encountered over the last seven days saddens me and has inevitably led to my separation from WTTW," Balta said in a statement emailed to Patch.

Patch has reached out to WTTW for comment on the decision.

Prior to joining WTTW, Balta, 50, was a senior producer at MSNBC and has also worked at ESPN, Telemundo, WCBS-TV New York and WTVJ-TV in Miami. In addition to his duties as news director, he was also the executive producer of "Chicago Tonight" and the host of the weekly, "Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices" at WTTW. Balta has served twice as the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Balta was placed on administrative leave after three anchors at "Chicago Tonight" expressed concerns to management over social media posts, reports Robert Feder. Among the complaints, according to Feder, are Instagram videos showing Balta doing bare-chested push-ups and dancing in his boxers, as well as tweets and Facebook posts where he expresses political views supporting liberal candidates and causes.

WTTW maintains guidelines to be followed by editorial staff members through a News Standards page on its website, including policy on the use of social media and potential conflicts of interests. Under the latter, it states, among other things, "staff will not disclose their political views on any social media."

"I can only hope that at such a critical time due to COVID-19, racial reckoning following the death of George Floyd, and divisive presidential election — I have been able to lead the news team in shedding light on the inequities plaguing Chicago's diverse communities and bring much-needed fair and accurate coverage by a local newsroom," Balta said.