It’s been almost six months since Jamie Apody last appeared on channel 6, but THE BIG STORY on Action News is that we still have no clue what happened to her and people over there still aren’t talking. Readers continue to send me emails about this topic a few times each week, either because they’re big Jamie fans or cannot believe that for the second time in three years, a veteran sports anchor just dropped off the face of the Earth.

To recap, Apody totally vanished at some point in October. She was active through the Phillies’ playoff run and stopped appearing on the news at some point before the Eagles played the Cowboys at home on November 5th. Gabriella Galati, who joined Action News in the summer, has been handling the bulk of Jamie’s duties ever since.

When I called the station (incognito, real sleuth-like) and asked for her whereabouts, I was initially told that she was “on vacation.” However, we later discovered that her work email was kicking back an auto-reply that described this as a leave of absence:

“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.

If you need to contact me about a non-work-related matter please email; <personal email>.

For Action News Sports related matters please contact Mark Meany at <work email>. 

Thank you,

Jamie”

Five months later, this message continues to go out whenever an email is sent.

I made another round of calls and texts and DMs, and the only thing I confirmed is that Action News employees are being asked to keep their mouths shut. There’s been a collective gag order placed over the entire staff, so even getting a “no comment” is ultra-rare. This remains “an ongoing thing” is what I was told. Ongoing what? I’m told Jamie has a lawyer, and you don’t usually get a lawyer for a run-of-the-mill misunderstanding.

I mentioned a few months ago that we were told Apody and her photographer were recalled to Action News HQ from the Eagles’ NovaCare Complex, and a live shot scheduled for later in the day never took place. That suggests to me that there was some sort of abrupt managerial decision that preceded her disappearance. We were also told that Jim Gardner was a big Apody defender and her closest supporter at the station. Gardner, of course, retired, and is no longer there, so one of the conspiracy theories going around in Philadelphia media circles is that WPVI management used that opportunity to act, and reshuffle in the sports department. But that remains a conspiracy theory until we get sources to either prove or disprove it.

As of right now:

  1. Her biography remains posted on the 6 ABC website.
  2. She continues to post from her Twitter account, which contains WPVI/6 ABC in the bio.
  3. Action News remains in her Facebook bio.
  4. Instagram doesn’t mention ABC specifically, but it shows her holding an Action News microphone and mic flag.
  5. Jamie doesn’t respond to our DMs.
  6. The PR guy continues to ignore emails and phone calls.
  7. There is no public court record for either party, not for WPVI, “Apody,” or her married name, so no civil proceeding here, at least not filed into the system. The last thing I could find in PACER regarding Action News was a dismissed lawsuit filed by the target of a Nydia Han investigation. That was back in 2021. I’m not some legal expert, but there’s a lot of litigation that never makes it this far.
  8. There’s no medical issue. Jamie confirmed on Facebook that she is not sick and no family members are sick.
  9. The assignment editors at the news desk don’t say anything other than she’s on a “leave of absence” and that they don’t know when Jamie is coming back. My assessment is that they truly do not know anything, and they’re probably just giving out a canned line because that’s what management told them to do.
  10. Walter Perez has done a couple of sports segments recently.

One thing that people have mentioned to me, a frequent topic of emails, is that pre-recorded audio track that plays during the sign-off portion of the news. Jamie’s name is still being mentioned in those tracks, even though she’s not appearing on the air:

This is a procedural thing. Every show has a sign-off track and it’s just a method of reinforcing the talent names so that viewers identify them with the station. WPVI will continue to use that recording until this “ongoing” thing is resolved, because as typically stipulated in these kinds of disputes, you go about business as usual and follow contractual and legal mandates until the sleazy lawyers tell you you’re in the clear.

As far as social media, there’s little to see. Jamie will post some personal things, for example taking her kids to soccer, and then an army of middle-aged white women will respond with something like “looks like a great time, we miss you on TV!” Sometimes Jamie will reply with a very generic line of thanks or appreciation, like this:

There’s never anything specific about her situation, because she’s not allowed to talk about what’s happening. There have been one or two corrective replies, i.e. confirming on social media that it’s not a health issue, but that’s about it. I’m sure she’d love to talk, and tell everybody what’s going on, but when you’re embroiled in some shit (which is obviously the case here), you basically keep quiet, collect a paycheck, and don’t do anything to jeopardize the situation. Let the overpaid suits handle it. You just have comply with the “say nothing” approach. As long as Jamie is technically employed by Disney, and this thing drags on, she’s not going to talk and neither are they. These disputes typically involve contracts, non-disclosure agreements, union representation, etc – various layers that mandate keeping the status quo while putting the figurative lockdown on all involved parties.

Sometimes there are cases in television where talent might sit out while remaining under contract, and collect a check while being ordered not to speak. That’s typical in most buyout or severance situations, where the terms of the deal stipulate silence. If paired with a non-compete clause, talent will simply bide their time until they’re again able to speak, or to seek local, non-restricted employment. Again, I’m not sure if that’s what happened here, but it does take place in television and in other prominent media positions, so it’s totally plausible based on the radio silence we’re getting. When I worked at Eyewitness News, we lost three anchors in one day, and they were essentially put on ice while riding out their contracts and being paid to do nothing. One retired, one went back to their home state, and the third went to another Philly station.

I’ll be honest with you, my Action News sources aren’t great. I don’t know a ton of people over there. But you can usually use proxy sources instead, i.e. find someone who talked to someone. That said, this one is really being locked down tight. Fort Knox-esque. NOBODY is talking, and I do believe that a lot of their employees truly have no idea what’s going on. It’s impressive, the collective kibosh, but it’s also not a story that’s being widely pursued. We’re the only site that consistently reports on local media, and we’re not exactly exhausting all resources here to find the truth.

But we can, if the people want it. We can try some different things, go knock on some doors, get it back to old school, shoe leather journalism. On one hand, you’re trying to be respectful, and not blow up someone’s spot, especially if they’ve been ordered not to speak. And while this isn’t Watergate in terms of importance, it’s a fascinating story, and one that people continue to ask about.

What’s interesting to me, from a macro level, is that Action News has always exuded this family aura. They get people to buy in, to trust their news anchors and trust their reporting and stay loyal for decades at a time. But when a popular sports figure disappears without a trace (for the second time), what does that loyalty get you in return? It gets you nothing. No transparency, no communication, nada. What you get is jack and shit. And while everyone understands that you can’t talk about something that enters messy contract/lawyer territory, it’s the optics of news dissemination being a one-way street that really makes your eyes roll through the back of your head.

The truth is out there! Do we continue to search, or back off? You tell me. Hit me up at [email protected], or [email protected]. That’s my other email.