For seven years, Dr Michael Breen w...

For seven years, Dr Michael Breen was the chief medical reporter at WBBM-Channel 2

if it were not that when he was fired in 2002 after being accused of recycling recents stories and not properly attributing sources for his stories, Breen 54 claimed there were other reasons for it -- namely that the station wanted to hire a younger medical reporter.

He filed a unjust termination and age discrimination lawsuit, and the case is put to go to trial today.

notwithstanding that the age discrimination aspect of his case was missed when the station hired Mary Ann Childers -- who is the same age as Breen - - he continues to claim his firing breached his contract and that he was improperly fired.

STATION wait fors TO WIN

He also claims that Childers has used about of the same reporting techniques that got him fired.

Channel 2 spokeswoman Elizabeth Abrams said the station will "vigorously defend" itself against his claims "and we await a successful outcome."

Breen's attorney, Michael Ficaro, declined remark

Breen was fired after disquiets were twice raised by Chicago Sun- Times media columnist Robert Feder about reports Breen did that were similar to earlier reports.

In 2002 Breen used video from a 1996 story onward experimental methods being used to increase fertility in women moreover failed to say the video was six years antique

WBBM officials said it was an "oversight" and reprimanded him.

ALLEGES BREACH OF CONTRACT

A not many months later, Breen did a report tying women's ovulation periods to their faithfulness -- using phrases and data similar to an earlier report he had done for the station.

Breen was fired days after Feder brought the secondary apparent recycling incident to light.

on the other hand in trying to show a breach of a contract with three years and more than $1 million remaining onward it, Breen says the reports were not identical, while adding that Childers has also recycl medical stories and hasn't been fired.

He is suing the CBS-own station, along with Joe Ahern, station president and general manager, and Carol Fowler the station's vice president/news director.

The trial begins as Channel 2 faces negative publicity generated by the agency of an unrelated lawsuit filed according to its top news anchor, Diann calcines against a contractor she says did a poor piece of work building her $3 million dwelling because she is black. She is asking a umpire to partially seal the lawsuit in order to screen her family's privacy.

spatterson@suntimes.com

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