# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/141 "2013-07-31T15:38:26Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > You find yourself on increasingly tenuous ground. And you’ve been trying to walk on water since you first posted in this thread. It isn’t working. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/142 "2013-07-31T15:44:03Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > My problem now is that I won’t be able to concentrate on the news anymore. I’ll be too busy trying to determine the bralessness or otherwise of the female reporters. Just try not to think about the old anchor guy next to her who is not wearing pants under that desk. > [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Yes, because the old people who watch TV news read blogs. Mm-hmmmmm. I know many elderly people who are far more internet savvy than you. They also have abetter grasp of “freedom of speech” than you as well. > [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > No, I’m not. I’ve already said that I think she could have been fired for saying “Fuck” on air more than once. I am trying to establish the ideas that there should be boundaries on an employers’ ability to impose consequences on an employees’ free speech in their private life. None of this happened in her _private_ life. This happened on a\* public\* blog that clearly included information identifying her and her affiliation to the station. _That_ is what put the station’s reputation at risk and justifies her firing. Putting anything on the internet is NOT PRIVATE. It is the digital version of putting it on a billboard for all to see. The sooner people like this reporter and **Evil Captor** realize that, the better. ---
**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 31, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/143 "2013-07-31T15:44:17Z")
I agree publicly attacking your employer or his product is grounds for firing. The reporter’s blog was somewhat of a grey area to me. I thought she was poking fun at herself. But the thread comments made me realize that yes she did take it too far. Some of the comments made her employer and her profession look bad. It’s just disturbing to realize how easy it is for our bosses to snoop on our conversations. Most blogs are only read by a small group of friends. My personal twitter account has less than 40 followers. All of them are family, college friends, friends at my church etc. Blogs can go viral but most of the time they don’t. They are usually pretty boring unless you know the person. Who wants to look at someone elses vacation pictures? > [@leftfield6](#): > > So say that I work at the local Chicken B Us franchise. I stay quiet at work, not one to to ruffle feathers, so to speak. > > But after work I post on my “Misc. Ramblings From Leftfield6” blog that Chicken B Us is, IMHO, a shitty place to work. I post that I, and all of the other waitstaff, have utter contempt for the imbeciles that roll in here night after night. After work, the whole Chicken B Us waitstaff go out and drink till we are are completely fucked. I think one time we killed a horse, but not sure, it was foggy that night. I put all of this out there in the blogosphere, cause, you know I can and all. > > Local media picks up on my comments, runs the story, and Chicken B Us is faced with public outcry. Guess what, my career at CBU? Done. > > Back to real world here. Are you seriously saying that Chicken B Us shouldn’t be able to can my ass and make an example of me? Seriously? > > Not only should they, they HAVE to. You are free to say whatever you want. But actions have consequences, that’s just how it is. What utopian world do you live in where you can say whatever you want and there are no consequences? ---
**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 31, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/144 "2013-07-31T15:48:56Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > In her free time, she should be free to say whatever she likes about her job, her employer, whatever. Agree. And her employer should be free to fire her for any reason[sup]\*[/sup]. [sub][sup]\*[/sup]Unless it’s for an expressly forbidden reason, like gender, sexual orientation, etc.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/145 "2013-07-31T15:50:31Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > What? Cite Please. My daughter, her boyfriend, several nephews, all in their 20’s maintain two versions of Facebook. One with their real first and last names is kept clean and is for potential employers to see. Th e other is their “real” page and is under a slight pseudonym (using middle name as last name, for instance). ---
**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 31, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/146 "2013-07-31T15:51:32Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > So say that I work at the local Chicken B Us franchise. I stay quiet at work, not one to to ruffle feathers, so to speak. > > But after work I post on my “Misc. Ramblings From Leftfield6” blog that Chicken B Us is, IMHO, a shitty place to work. I post that I, and all of the other waitstaff, have utter contempt for the imbeciles that roll in here night after night. After work, the whole Chicken B Us waitstaff go out and drink till we are are completely fucked. I think one time we killed a horse, but not sure, it was foggy that night. I put all of this out there in the blogosphere, cause, you know I can and all. > > Local media picks up on my comments, runs the story, and Chicken B Us is faced with public outcry. Guess what, my career at CBU? Done. > > Back to real world here. Are you seriously saying that Chicken B Us shouldn’t be able to can my ass and make an example of me? Seriously? Seriously. > [@](#): > > Not only should they, they HAVE to. You are free to say whatever you want. But actions have consequences, that’s just how it is. What utopian world do you live in where you can say whatever you want and there are no consequences? I don’t live in a utopian world, I’m painfully aware of that. I live in an at-will firing state where employees can be fired for any reason, or no reason, except of course for reasons forbidden by federal discrimination laws. That’s why I post all my radical opinions under a pseudonym. Still, I think I SHOULD be able to post them under my real name, without having any worries about getting fired. And yeah, even drunken fast food employee blogs that diss their employer should be tolerated under the general understanding that a free and open discourse is a good thing, overall. Just as we now permit Nazis and other heinous types to publish their ideas, under the understanding that a free and open discourse is a good thing. ---
**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 31, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/147 "2013-07-31T15:54:11Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Agree. And her employer should be free to fire her for any reason[sup]\*[/sup]. > > [sub][sup]\*[/sup]Unless it’s for an expressly forbidden reason, like gender, sexual orientation, etc.[/sub] … or, IMHO, violating her free speech rights, which should be included in that list. ---
**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 31, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/148 "2013-07-31T15:54:53Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I take it you feel an employer could fire her for ANY of the scenarios I mentioned, then. Well, good to know. In a free society, an employer \*should \*have the freedom to hire whomever they want, and fire anyone for any reason (or no reason at all). Except, of course, if the firing is based on discrimination (age, religion, gender, etc.). ---
**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 31, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/149 "2013-07-31T15:57:46Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > … or, IMHO, violating her free speech rights, which should be included in that list. Her employer did not violate her freedom of speech. While employed, she was free to blog anything she wanted. Now that her employment has been terminated, she _still_ has the freedom to blog anything she wants. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/150 "2013-07-31T16:02:30Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > OK, he was talking on company time as a company representative. That’s not the important part of that story, though. Do you think that, if he’d given away trade secrets on his own time, and made it clear that he wasn’t speaking as a representative of the company, that would have made it all right? Remember that the secrets he gave away led indirectly to a lot of people losing their jobs. I agree with you that there are circumstances under which employees ought to be immune from firing for their private speech. Here are some examples: -A bartender tweets that she really likes a new cafe. The cafe is owned by the bar owner’s ex-husband, so the bar owner fires the bartender. Not cool. -A nurse blogs about the advantages of using generic prescriptions. The hospital where he works makes a greater profit off of branded drugs, and fires him for cutting into profits. Not cool. -A teacher believes that high-stakes testing is unethical and posts to that effect on Facebook. Her school district thinks that cuts into the team-building effort around testing and fires her. Not cool. But here are some examples in which discipline or firing for speech is all right: -A bartender posts about how she waters down drinks in order to encourage people to drink more and gets fired. That’s fine: her speech is going to discourage people from going to the bar, hurting her employer. -A nurse blogs about patients by name and gets fired. That’s fine: she’s violating confidentiality, even if she’s doing it on her own time, and that reflects poorly on her employer. -A teacher posts about how she doesn’t bother to grade papers any more, just gives kids the grades she thinks they deserve. She gets fired. Fine: she’s revealed that she’s a crappy teacher, and her principal has new information to that effect. In other words, if an employee is speaking in a way that hurts the employer’s bottom line, or violates codes of ethics, or reveals unwillingness or inability to do the job, that’s actionable. Other things, not so much. The reporter’s list contains a lot of revelations about unethical and incompetent behavior on the job, in my opinion, so firing her was ducky. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/151 "2013-07-31T16:06:43Z")
Should Paula Deen get her gig back? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/152 "2013-07-31T16:07:16Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It’s just disturbing to realize how easy it is for our bosses to snoop on our conversations. Most blogs are only read by a small group of friends. My personal twitter account has less than 40 followers. All of them are family, college friends, friends at my church etc. You are not a TV personality. ---
**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 31, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/153 "2013-07-31T16:13:24Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Nobody controlled anybody’s speech here! She said what she wanted to say. She typed it up, put her name on it, it went on the Internet for all to see. It stayed on the Internet - if it came down, she took it down. The whole world saw what she had to say. Nobody said “take that down or we’ll fire you.” Nobody said “We are going to force [blog site] to take down your blog.” > > What happened was her employer read it and said “Man, you are a shitty person. Not being a shitty person is high up on the skills we require for this job. I don’t think you qualify for this job anymore. You’re fired.” > > Her speech wasn’t touched. It still remained. All her employer did was react to it. > > If I came up to you and said “ **Evil Captor** , you are a shitty human being, and ugly too. I hate you so much, I should punch you in the face. What are you going to do about it? I mean, really, you stupid fucking asshole.” And then you punched _me_ in the face. Would that be restricting my right to free speech? No, that would be you reacting to my speech in the manner of your choice, and me feeling the consequences of my speech. I do not feel I have the right to punch you in the face, even for saying offensive and stupid things about me. And I do not think employers should have the right to fire people, even for saying stupid and offensive things about them. A free and open discourse is worth promoting and preserving. I’m vaguely surprised at all the support for controlling private speech via corporate strongarming here. This board is leaning WAAAAAAY to the right on this issue. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/154 "2013-07-31T16:15:56Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > This board is leaning WAAAAAAY to the right on this issue. Right. It isn’t you, it’s everyone else. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/155 "2013-07-31T16:18:29Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] If I came up to you and said “ **Evil Captor** , you are a shitty human being, and ugly too. I hate you so much, I should punch you in the face. What are you going to do about it? I mean, really, you stupid fucking asshole.” And then you punched _me_ in the face. Would that be restricting my right to free speech? No, that would be you reacting to my speech in the manner of your choice, and me feeling the consequences of my speech. [/QUOTE] Of course, he would then be subject to criminal and civil penalties for making you feel those consequences. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/156 "2013-07-31T16:19:27Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I do not feel I have the right to punch you in the face, even for saying offensive and stupid things about me. And I do not think employers should have the right to fire people, even for saying stupid and offensive things about them. A free and open discourse is worth promoting and preserving. I’m vaguely surprised at all the support for controlling private speech via corporate strongarming here. This board is leaning WAAAAAAY to the right on this issue. Yeah, it couldn’t possibly be your ridiculously childish opinion. ---
**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 31, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/157 "2013-07-31T16:45:10Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > This board is leaning WAAAAAAY to the right on this issue. Uh, this is not a right-left issue. This is a “living in reality” versus “living in fairyland” issue. We are leaning reality. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/158 "2013-07-31T16:48:01Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I just find it disturbing that any blogging or forum content has to be hidden behind pseudonyms. OMG our bosses are watching and they’ll fire us. Our bosses do not have to actively watch what we say on the internet, Google will do it for them. Just set up a Google Alert for what ever you want to track, such as when your company name is mentioned, and Google will send your boss an e-mail letting him know. No searching on your bosses part is needed, just set up an alert and sit back and wait. > **[Create an alert - Google Search Help](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/4815696?visit_id=638778897660846395-2714946361&hl=en&rd=3)** > > You can get emails when new results for a topic show up in Google Search. For example, you can get info about news, products, or mentions of your name. Create an alert Go to Google Alerts. In t I know someone who works for some organization somewhere, and if he mentions the name, a Google Alert will be sent to the Public Relations and Community Liaison officer. Someone is certain of this. Companies and organizations want to know when negative things are being said about them so the issue can be addressed early on. Many people who say stupid things about their jobs are unaware of the wide spread use of Google Alerts in this way. I do not now, nor have I ever, worked for anybody anywhere. Nothing to see here, move along. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/159 "2013-07-31T16:49:01Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > I know many elderly people who are far more internet savvy than you. They also have abetter grasp of “freedom of speech” than you as well. My _dog_ has a better grasp of freedom of speech. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892/160 "2013-07-31T16:59:26Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Uh, this is not a right-left issue. This is a “living in reality” versus “living in fairyland” issue. No kidding. I agree with **Crafter\_Man** , for shit’s sake. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-reporters-blog-gets-her-fired-right-or-wrong/664892.md?page=9)