# Tv reporter's blog gets her fired. Right or Wrong? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 30, 2013, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892 "2013-07-30T09:37:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/21 "2013-07-30T14:35:12Z")
She sounds stupid, unprofessional, and short-sighted. None of these things are good qualities in a journalist so I have a hard time seeing why she deserves to keep her job. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/22 "2013-07-30T14:39:23Z")
I should have taken item 10 more seriously. I thought she was stealth bragging/trying to be funny. Real Life: it seems unlikely that shes ever investigated any story so complicated that looking through someones mail would be helpful. Our local tv station has a so called investigative reporter. Mostly it’s consumer affairs. A roofing contractor that took the deposit and never did the work. A bad car sold at a used car lot. The “reporting” mostly requires a stand up camera shot in front of the business. “_This person has refused our interview requests. He ripped off this person… blah blah._” Sometimes the person even gets their money back. Crooks and shady servicemen hate cameras. 😉 I hope this reporter wasn’t serious about looking through other people’s mail. As others said, that’s a felony. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/23 "2013-07-30T14:47:02Z")
Wow, what a dunce she is. She certainly has the freedom to express her opinions. And the station has the freedom to fire her. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/24 "2013-07-30T14:50:39Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > And number 9, " If you ramble and I deem you unnecessary for my story, I’ll stop recording but let you think otherwise" doesn’t make her look professional either. I would hesitate to be interviewed by her if I knew she was going to do that. Why? Someone who’s rambling isn’t going to get their whole statement broadcast. We know that a lot of any given TV interview gets edited, especially for time constraints. A reporter can interview a local city administrator for 20 minutes on a given story (let’s say budget cuts, and how they are affecting the local zoo), but edit the video/audio down to a twenty second sound bite for the nightly news broadcast. However, the reporter doesn’t want to alienate & lose their journalistic source of info into city hall, so the reporter is not going to tell that administrator to zip it. So what difference does it make if she records something uninteresting or not? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/25 "2013-07-30T14:52:40Z")
Here’s a follow up article. The Blaze’s reporter posted a link on twitter. MLees: I agree. Cutting off an interview is just rude. It’s better to just let the camera roll and edit later. Which was exactly the point of item 9. The tv reporter was being snarky in her blog. [http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/07/29/ive-gone-bra-less-during-a-live-broadcast-reporter-of-the-year-nominee-fired-over-candid-blog-post-on-her-personal-website/](http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/07/29/ive-gone-bra-less-during-a-live-broadcast-reporter-of-the-year-nominee-fired-over-candid-blog-post-on-her-personal-website/) > [@](#): > > Still, Allen said she forged on. After working at a number of stations, she arrived at WAAY back in 2011 and, by her own accord, made a splash. > > Now, she has to figure out how to support her son — a feat that could prove difficult, as Allen claims the station told her that her non-compete clause will prevent her from working for competitors in the area. Despite their alleged refusal to allow her to seek nearby employment, she said they did pledge to provide a reference. > > Allen is hoping to get out of her contract and stay in Huntsville, as she contends that her “options are limited” — at least at the moment. Noting that her son is her first priority and that his father and grandparents are in Atlanta, she doesn’t, at present, have the ability to simply move to another market. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/26 "2013-07-30T14:52:42Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > This list is pretty awful. I wouldn’t want someone who did/said/thought this stuff to work for my news organization, especially as a “face” of the news org. I’d fire her in a minute just for poor character. Agreed. She was looking for a reaction, but she didn’t get the reaction she was looking for, and now she’s upset. Lesson learned: _shut the fuck up_. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/27 "2013-07-30T14:57:19Z")
If your son is your first priority you take your stupid blog down when asked. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/28 "2013-07-30T15:06:15Z")
I’m fairly sure I could publish some “confessions” about my job that would probably get me fired. I think almost everyone could. Most of us aren’t clueless enough to do it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/29 "2013-07-30T15:07:05Z")
It seems people are confusing the reporter’s snark and attitude (abundant here at The Dope) with a serious post. It’s a good thing we use pseudonyms here. Really, the tv reporter should have blogged anonymously too. It would have been the smart choice. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/30 "2013-07-30T15:15:06Z")
I don’t disagree with her being fired at all. How many people are lined up in the wings wanting her job? When you are easily replaceable you should work to make sure you stay beyond reproach in the eyes of your employers. She hates old people? Who makes up a hefty portion of the audience for TV news? Several other posters have already pointed out that stealing mail is a crime. Admitting to it online is misguided at best. Putting it back doesn’t make it okay, and the station can’t just let it go I followed a twitter link to an interview in which she said this: “They handed me a copy of the blog post. The very first thing out of my mouth was, ‘This is my personal blog — this is my personal space,” she said. She’s a nitwit. They didn’t dig though her trash or steal it from her mail, which she shouldn’t object to. The INTERNET is not your personal space. Her blog and photos on it clearly identify her as a WAAY reporter. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/31 "2013-07-30T15:19:37Z")
If I blogged about my job, I would be fired in no time. And probably arrested due to the nature of my work. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/32 "2013-07-30T15:24:25Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Why? Someone who’s rambling isn’t going to get their whole statement broadcast. > > We know that a lot of any given TV interview gets edited, especially for time constraints. A reporter can interview a local city administrator for 20 minutes on a given story (let’s say budget cuts, and how they are affecting the local zoo), but edit the video/audio down to a twenty second sound bite for the nightly news broadcast. > > However, the reporter doesn’t want to alienate & lose their journalistic source of info into city hall, so the reporter is not going to tell that administrator to zip it. > > So what difference does it make if she records something uninteresting or not? It’s not a terrible faux pas. And as a viewer it wouldn’t bother me, but I was just imagining that possible interviewees might be bothered. For one thing, people are often excited about being on the news. I’ve known people who have been on the local news for various things, and they’ll always be proud and tell friends and family to turn on channel whatever and watch the news at 6. It would be kinda embarrassing to tell people you’ll be on the news, and it turns out that you were cut. I understand that things are edited for time, and even if your interview was interesting and provided valuable information, that you still might not be in the broadcast. But if the reporter knows immediately that you’re not going to be on air, it seems more polite to me to just say up front “thank you for your time, but I don’t think this is quite what I need for the show.” It seems patronizing to me, but it’s not the worst offense. I don’t know, maybe most reporters do the same thing, they just haven’t admitted it publicly in a blog. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/33 "2013-07-30T15:28:28Z")
It’s admitting to a federal felony (stealing mail) that did it for me. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/34 "2013-07-30T15:37:09Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. I’ve gone bra-less during a live broadcast and no one was the wiser. > > 2. My best sources are the ones who secretly have a crush on me. > > 3. I’m frightened of old people and I refuse to do stories involving them or the places they reside. > > 4. Happy, fluffy, rainbow stories about good things make me depressed. > > 5. I’ve taken naps in the news car. > > 6. If you ramble and I deem you unnecessary for my story, I’ll stop recording but let you think otherwise. > > 7. I’ve stolen mail and then put it back. (maybe) These are the items that make her appear vapid or unprofessional. I’m not in the industry, but I assume that as a reporter, you are expected to appear as someone who is professional, respected and trustworthy (at least until your ratings are high enough that no one cares). “You” are essentially the product. When you post things that make you appear like you don’t take your work seriously, it also might effect how your audience perceives you. Because of that, media people get a lot less leeway than, say, an accountant or computer programmer when it comes to posting on social media. > [@aceplace57](#): > > It’s amazing that a profession that touts the First Amendment can be so narrow minded. The First Amendment ensures freedom of speech from government control. It does not ensure freedom of consequences over what you say. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/35 "2013-07-30T15:37:53Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > Several other posters have already pointed out that stealing mail is a crime. Admitting to it online is misguided at best. Putting it back doesn’t make it okay, and the station can’t just let it go > > I followed a twitter link to an interview in which she said this: > > “They handed me a copy of the blog post. The very first thing out of my mouth was, ‘This is my personal blog — this is my personal space,” she said. ISTM that other people’s mail is much more their personal space than someone’s blog. But she brags (more or less) about invading one while complaining about invasions of the other. “The rules apply to everybody else”, as usual. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/36 "2013-07-30T15:38:06Z")
More tidbits [coming to the surface.](http://gawker.com/fired-bra-less-reporter-shea-allen-she-was-a-ticking-961336969) Gawkercom, so take it for what it’s worth. As a member of a new organization, you really have to not BE the news. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/37 "2013-07-30T15:39:17Z")
Kind of a clueless tard, but quite attractive. She’ll do just fine in life. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/38 "2013-07-30T15:46:04Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > 1. She has small breasts. > > > [@](#): > > > > May be relevant > > 1. She’s unprofessional. > > > [@](#): > > > > Irrelevant she’s pretty . > > 1. She’s delusional. > > > [@](#): > > > > Irrelevant she’s pretty . > > 1. She has bad grammar. > > > [@](#): > > > > Irrelevant she’s pretty . > > 1. She lacks confidence. > > > [@](#): > > > > Irrelevant she’s pretty . > > 1. She’s prejudiced. > > > [@](#): > > > > Irrelevant she’s pretty . > > 1. She has mental problems. > > > [@](#): > > > > Irrelevant she’s pretty . > > 1. She has a sleeping disorder. > > > [@](#): > > > > Irrelevant she’s pretty . > > 1. She’s an asshole. > > > [@](#): > > > > Irrelevant she’s pretty > > . > 10. She’s a nosy cleptomaniac. > > > [@](#): > > > > Irrelevant she’s pretty . > > I’m fine with most of those, but I’d sack her for number 1. I see your point(s). ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/39 "2013-07-30T16:19:02Z")
I wish I could figure out how to get the name of the TV station ( WAAY ) into some witty comment about her… ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/40 "2013-07-30T16:24:34Z")
It stands for WAAY embarrassed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892.md?page=3)