It was supposed to be a warm send-off for longtime Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder. But instead, this week’s annual meeting of the Chicago chapter of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists turned ugly when veteran news anchor Warner Saunders unloaded three decades of frustration on the scribe.

In a prepared speech that left his colleagues stunned, Saunders painted Feder as a racist, claiming that Feder, “diminished the accomplishments of black talent while placing the spotlight on our deficiencies,” according to multiple sources present at the meeting.

Saunders went on to note that honoring Feder at the meeting during Black History Month was like inviting David Duke to, “serve as mohel at a circumcision.”

Saunders offered up a list of examples that he claimed demonstrated that Feder systematically targeted African-American media personalities for their perceived deficiencies. That list included names such as Lester Holt, Felicia Middlebrooks, and Diann Burns.

With his long television career coming to a close later this year, it’s clear that Saunders felt that this was his best opportunity to air his grievances with one of his biggest public critics.

It’s hard to know exactly what is going on inside of Saunders’ head. Maybe he sees the end of his career looming and felt like he needed to right a wrong. Maybe he felt like the honor that Feder was receiving shouldn’t have been given. Maybe he genuinely feels that Feder’s coverage had been unfair.

Regardless of Saunders’ state of mind, it was incredibly in appropriate for a man of his position and stature to behave like he did. His remarks were clearly premeditated. He timed his tirade to coincide with a meeting that would include dozens of prominent Chicago media personalities. He was trying humiliate Feder.

For someone as respected as Saunders, this kind of attack seems not only out of character but also completely misplaced. There may be a time and place to unleash your frustrations. A meeting of a broadcast union is not that time or place.

Did Saunders ever call Feder and share his sentiments about Feder’s coverage? Did Saunders ever talk with his fellow broadcasters and make an effort to check his feelings? Does Saunders realize that any criticism directed at him from Feder was not exclusive. During his decades of work at the Sun-Times, Feder was certainly an equal opportunity critic.

Just ask Steve Dahl, Jim Pastor, Joe Ahern, the Hollander brothers, Rover, Jay Mariotti — all white guys — about what it’s like to be on the business end of a scathing Feder column.

Saunders might not have liked the fact that, at times, Feder went after him or Middlebrooks or Burns. But in each of those instances, Feder’s criticism was warranted. In Saunders’ case, Feder pointed out, repeatedly, that the lead anchor of the NBC affiliates 10pm newscast was, essentially, AWOL for long stretches, with no explanation. Saunders was too prideful to cop to the fact that he was struggling with vocal chord problems. Instead, he’d disappear for weeks at a time, with no explanation. All along, Saunders left his television station and his colleagues in the lurch, just ask Mark Suppelsa, who should have ascended to the 10pm anchor chair in 2002 but was stuck behind the arrogant and increasingly incompetent.

Perhaps Saunders should have spent less time reading his news clippings and more time watching his doddering, incoherent, stumbling delivery on the Ch. 5’s newscasts.

UPDATE: Here’s the audio from Feder talking with Mancow & Cassidy on WLS (hat tip)

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