Did you know that the most-read story at Crossing Broad over the last 30 days is “Jamie Apody Mystery Employment Status Update“? You do now.

It’s funny, because a lot of people respond to these kinds of posts and say “who gives a shit,” or “let’s get it back to the Eagles,” or something along those lines, but it turns out that a long-tenured Action News sports reporter totally dropping off the face of the Earth has piqued a lot of interest. You should never underestimate 6 ABC’s popularity and place in the Philadelphia region.

That said, I’ve sniffed around on this topic and discovered mostly half-stories and crumb trails. But as a two-week follow up, let’s begin with some bulleted notes:

  1. Jamie’s work email is still bouncing back. “I am currently taking a leave of absence from my 6abc sports casting duties and will not be responding to emails related to my work at 6abc.” I could not get the message to appear in my inboxes, so I had to use a proxy for confirmation. They may have just blocked all of my emails, which is an affront to journalism.
  2. Action News never responded to our request for comment. Even when they do, they just say “we don’t comment on personnel matters,” so it’s more of a formality than anything.
  3. When I called the news desk two weeks ago, an assignment editor told me that Apody “was on vacation,” which obviously was not true. I tried again this week and was told she was on a “leave of absence,” so at some point the language coming from the desk started matching the emailed auto-reply.
  4. Jamie’s bio remains posted on the WPVI website.
  5. Action News is still mentioned in her Twitter and Facebook bios. Her IG profile doesn’t mention ABC specifically, but it shows her holding an Action News mic + flag.

I went through her social media accounts (some real Big J stuff here), and there’s nothing remarkable. It’s mostly family and holiday-related posts, with middle-aged white women on Facebook asking her where she is, and when she’s coming back.

Apody is, however, responding to the occasional tweet, with a couple of emojis here:

And then somebody on a burner account (7 followers, 0 following), insinuates that he knows what she did last summer:

Now to be completely honest, I’m struggling with this one. Pulling information out of Action News is harder than getting a college president to answer a yes or no question in front of Congress. I’ve heard 4,000 different stories and various conspiracy theories.

However, I do have three things to share:

First, multiple sources told us that Action News was not allowed to interview Nick Castellanos during this Phillies season. Even if a reporter was not present, camera folks did not film any kind of scrum he was involved in. That was direct fallout from the Apody vs. Matt Gelb vs. Castellanos vs. Jim Salisbury fatal four-way from 2022, the HEAVILY-EDITED VIDEO WARS that I broke down last summer.

Second, Apody’s last appearance at NovaCare, we’re told, was the Wednesday before the first Dallas Cowboys game, so November 1st. Apparently Action News was planning to do some live shots that never happened, and it was mentioned that she went back to the station with a photographer instead. This is an angle we continue to “effort,” but hypothetically, if a work day was cut short like that, it would suggest some kind of HR thing, would it not? Maybe that sheds some light on why nobody is talking. I’m spitballing a bit on this one, but whenever human resources or lawyers get involved, then it normally comes with the requisite radio silence. And sometimes if you’re at the end of a contract, or you have accrued vacation or personal days, you just sort of chill out until a specific date, use up those days, collect a paycheck, and then depart. This is also typical if your employer lays you off and gives you a severance agreement to sign, i.e. “if you want this money you have to keep your mouth shut.”

Third, one of the things that was reiterated to me by several people is that Jim Gardner was one of Apody’s biggest supporters at Action News. Widespread is the belief that once Gardner retired, Apody would be exposed, and her contract might not be renewed. Now, that’s something that’s almost impossible to prove, short of developing mind-reading technology to forcibly use on WPVI brass, but the concept itself is not foreign. Angelo Cataldi, for example, was able to leverage his standing to bring back Cindy Webster as a consultant after her Audacy job was eliminated during the pandemic. That’s a relevant and recent example.

For now, that’s about it. It’s very strange! And look, if lawyers are involved or there’s some HR shit going on, then it explains why they can’t talk or won’t talk. Regardless, it’s incredibly goofy that this has now happened twice at Action News in two years (Jeff Skversky). And when you build your information-sharing brand on trust and rapport, and create a strong bond with loyal viewers, you understand why those people would be really annoyed when one of their favorite personalities just totally disappears without explanation.

The people demand answers! Power to the people!

EDIT –

Thank you to the person on CB’s Facebook page who pointed out that Jamie responded to someone on November 23rd, saying this: