From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
In a story written by former Anniston Star reporter Eddie Burkhalter, several former employees accused former Star publisher and current board chairman of Consolidated Publishing Company, H. Brandt Ayers, of spanking them. The story was published by the Alabama Political Reporter.
Ayers served as publisher of the Star from 1969 until 2016.
One of the accusers is former Anniston Star and Birmingham News reporter Veronica Kennedy. She is the wife of Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Joey Kennedy who currently works for the Alabama Political Reporter and previously worked for The Birmingham News.
Veronica Kennedy alleged that Ayers struck her 18 times with a metal rod in February of 1975.
The incident involving Veronica Kennedy was witnessed and corroborated by former Anniston Star reporter Mike Stamler. Several other alleged incidents involving additional female employees were supported by numerous people who said they were aware of the encounters at the time they took place several decades ago.
Burkhalter reported that when Ayers was contacted by email regarding the accusations, he responded, “I have no memory of the alleged incidents.”
Consolidated Publishing Company owns six newspapers, including The St. Clair Times, The Anniston Star, The Daily Home, The Cleburne News, The Jacksonville News, and The Piedmont Journal.
According to a separate column by Joey Kennedy, Eddie Burkhalter quit his job at The Anniston Star on November 21 after being told to drop the story.
A column by Star managing editor Ben Cunnigham denied that account of Burkhalter’s departure.
“What I’d have said, had anyone asked, is this: Eddie left The Star suddenly in November, not long after pointing me to Kennedy’s first column on his wife’s experience,” Cunnigham wrote. “Only Eddie can say why he made that decision, but he did so after defying and then refusing to listen to editors who were trying to direct his reporting.”
Several hours after the story was reported by Alabama Political Reporter, The Anniston Star reported a similar story regarding the Ayers allegations.
“As a very young man with more authority than judgment, I did some things I regret,” Ayers said in the statement to The Anniston Star. “At my advanced age I wish I could relive those days again, knowing the seriousness of my position and with the accumulated judgment that goes with age.”
You can read the full story from Alabama Political Reporter here.
Read Joey Kennedy’s column about Eddie Burkhalter here.
Updated at 5:21 p.m. with Ayers’ comment to The Anniston Star.
6 Comments
William Kennedy
I learned as a small boy to keep my hands to myself. Pity some folks didn’t.
Danny Evans
And a big, big liberal newspaper guy whom I’m sure was very critical of Roy Moore and his antics. Hypocrite!
Stacie Myrex
He would be missing front teeth, if he would have tried it!
Gail Smith Wright
Assault, pure and simple. Why did the employees stand for that kind of abuse?
Pamela Whittington Shepard
Why would any employee allow that to happen?
Wes Gwin
I am thrilled to say after checking my genealogy that Harry Brandt Ayres of Anniston is not a descendant of my 15,000 person Outline Descendant Chart of my Double 6th Great-Grandfather Abraham Ayres, the 3rd great-grandfather of both of my Great-Grandparents Benford.
He is probably related to that bunch who live in Gadsden, Alabama. Ahh Hah Hah Hah Hah Hah !!!!!!
Possibly all of that ink from printing The Anniston Star all of those years produced intoxicating highs that made him act goofy around his female employees.