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?
This level of ignorance alone is sufficient cause for termination.
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.
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.
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, including a reporter of the year nomination.
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?
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.
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.
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.
