# 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:** 3
**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, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/41 "2013-07-30T16:30:19Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > So what difference does it make if she records something uninteresting or not? The difference is bragging about it online. Any experienced news source (and most others as well) realize that not all of their words are golden enough to make it onto the news. However, she’s just put regular and potential news sources on notice that it’s quite possible she’ll just pretend to be interviewing them but really finds them boring. Who’s going to want to talk to a “reporter” so weighed down by contempt for her interviewees? > [@Clueless Cathy](#): > > “I feel what I do in my personal space is protected by the First Amendment,” she said. This level of ignorance alone is sufficient cause for termination. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/42 "2013-07-30T16:30:21Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > #10 she confessed to a federal crime. Too stupid to be employed in the media. > [18 U.S. Code § 1708 - Theft or receipt of stolen mail matter gen­erally | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute](http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1708) this - /thread - ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/43 "2013-07-30T16:43:38Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > If I blogged about my job, I would be fired in no time. And probably arrested due to the nature of my work. I’ve been pretty darn careful not to talk in identifying ways about any current job I have here, when I’m relatively anonymous. And I’ve had corporate IT management jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/44 "2013-07-30T16:47:26Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > It’s admitting to a federal felony (stealing mail) that did it for me. Yup. That and reposting the list after being told to take it down, which would count as insubordination. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/45 "2013-07-30T16:58:20Z")
The overall view seems to be that appearances are more important than knowledge of the events. An ignorant reporter that looks good will advance past a less photogenic reporter who knows the facts. If you think reporting should be more about information than good looks, you don’t like this trend. Of course, Shea Allen didn’t create this atmosphere in TV journalism - she’s just living in it. As far as her bosses are concerned, her real crime was letting the secret out and revealing how the producers of TV news put a higher value on good looks than information. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/46 "2013-07-30T17:25:18Z")
If I wanted to say things online without worrying about repercussions in the real world, I’d post them using a pseudonym. **Knead** (news flash: not my real name) ---
**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, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/47 "2013-07-30T17:36:50Z")
I was looking at her posted stories on WAAY-31’s web site. She did some good, solid news articles. Heres just one example. She also did some feel good, fluff stories that every reporter gets stuck with. Shea shared how much she loves fluff news stories in her blog. 😉 She recently was nominated for [two AP Southeast awards](http://www.firstpost.com/topic/place/alabama-2013-alabama-ap-awards-reporter-of-the-year-video-2lAULHPTPdg-508-9.html), including a reporter of the year nomination. > [@](#): > > Tonight at 10 on WAAY 31 FirstNews: WAAY 31’s investigative reporter Shea Allen takes a look at the growing case backlog in Limestone County. ---
**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, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/48 "2013-07-30T17:50:16Z")
Your unflagging perseverance is admirable, good Sir Knight. Truly, fortune smiled upon Milady when she was put in your charge. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/49 "2013-07-30T17:51:33Z")
She deserved to be fired. Not just because she wrote a blog, but because she wrote a nasty blog that revealed a great deal of unprofessional attitudes and behavior. Why is that some people are still confused and outraged, out of ignorance, that what they say and put into writing in their private life can _absolutely_ have an effect on their professional life? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/50 "2013-07-30T18:05:25Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > (news flash: … Excellent. I voted she deserved to be fired, but I didn’t agree with the “how dare…” part. She’s just not too bright about the consequences of the internet. Simply another young person all wrapped up in the gossamer fame and flimsy import of social media, methinks. ---
**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, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/51 "2013-07-30T18:07:42Z")
Me and Don Quixote tilting at those windmills. 😛😃 > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Your unflagging perseverance is admirable, good Sir Knight. Truly, fortune smiled upon Milady when she was put in your charge. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/52 "2013-07-30T18:23:46Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > If your son is your first priority you take your stupid blog down when asked. She wasn’t asked to take down her blog. She was fired outright. Not that I disagree with that. The station had every right to fire her. But it wasn’t because she refused to take down her blog when asked. It was merely for the contents in her blog. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/53 "2013-07-30T18:48:53Z")
OMG! The TV station hired someone who wasn’t content to be just a cog in their machine! Off with her head! We will be reminded endlessly that the TV station was legally able to fire her, by people who have substituted morality for the law, however. ---
**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, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/54 "2013-07-30T18:56:34Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > She wasn’t asked to take down her blog. She was fired outright. Not that I disagree with that. The station had every right to fire her. But it wasn’t because she refused to take down her blog when asked. It was merely for the contents in her blog. That’s not what the story said. They asked her to take it down, she did, then a few hours later put it back up with “no apologies” added in. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/55 "2013-07-30T18:57:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I was looking at her posted stories on WAAY-31’s web site. She did some good, solid news articles. Heres just one example. She also did some feel good, fluff stories that every reporter gets stuck with. Shea shared how much she loves fluff news stories in her blog. 😉 > > She recently was nominated for [two AP Southeast awards](http://www.firstpost.com/topic/place/alabama-2013-alabama-ap-awards-reporter-of-the-year-video-2lAULHPTPdg-508-9.html), including a reporter of the year nomination. She was also arrested during her tenure and apparently suspended for three days for saying fuck on air. Any ONE of those three things for an on air personality would be enough to get shown the door. ---
**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, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/56 "2013-07-30T18:58:39Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > OMG! The TV station hired someone who wasn’t content to be just a cog in their machine! Off with her head! > > We will be reminded endlessly that the TV station was legally able to fire her, by people who have substituted morality for the law, however. I fail to see how morality plays into it at all. She admitted to a serious crime, she insulted a large segment of people who watch the news and everything else she said made her look ignorant and unprofessional. The TV station was more than legally able to fire her, it was justifiable and absolutely right in doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/57 "2013-07-30T19:08:34Z")
I will not look at anything that involves The Daily Mail; but from the list given I think she has a great sense of humour. Her erstwhile employers are dreary little saddos. Maybe that’s getting to be a prerequisite in 21st century corporate America. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/58 "2013-07-30T19:12:19Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > That’s not what the story said. They asked her to take it down, she did, then a few hours later put it back up with “no apologies” added in. No. > [@](#): > > “I was never told to take it down,” she said of the blog post, adding that she believes that, given her past work, she should have been given another chance. “I feel that my performance has been way above par and that I had earned the right of a second change — or even 10 chances.” > > … > > Following her dismissal, the reporter removed the blog post, saying that she didn’t want to harm her co-workers and those she respected at the station. Later, though, Allen had a change-of-heart. [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/) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/59 "2013-07-30T19:41:16Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > We will be reminded endlessly that the TV station was legally able to fire her, by people who have substituted morality for the law, however. So have you just decided to ignore the dozens of people who have posted that she admitted to committing a federal crime? “Morality” has nothing to do with it. With this list, her credibility as a reporter is shot, so she was justly fired, in my opinion. The visit from the feds in the next few days is just the icing. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/60 "2013-07-30T19:42:19Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > I will not look at anything that involves The Daily Mail; but from the list given I think she has a great sense of humour. > > Her erstwhile employers are dreary little saddos. Maybe that’s getting to be a prerequisite in 21st century corporate America. No “getting to be” about it … it is. Just look at the responses in this thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892.md?page=4)