A REPORTER'S BLOG GETS HER FIRED...BUT IN THE LONG-RUN COULD MAKE HER A FORTUNE

     You've heard me talk about it before - and more than once - and you'll continue to hear me say it again and again and again.  We...and when I say we, I mean Americans...are citizens of a nation of RIGHTS.  So then why are we learning of more and more people who are having their rights violated?

     Despite the fact that we apparently have these "rights"...we must still watch our every word when it comes to what we say...or write... about anyone who may have an influence or an affect of any kind...on our lives.

     Watch what you say about your boss when discussing your employers on Facebook or in any other form of social media.  And be careful of what you chat about or bang out on the keyboard of your computer...in a blog or other Internet Web site...as you never know what the powers-that-be of your company might think are offensive towards others.  

     Employers will find a way to fire you...even though by law...without "just cause"...they really can't.  The following is a case in point.

     Until recently...the name...Shea Allen...was unknown to television viewers...except those in the Huntsville, Alabama area.  But now...the name... Shea Allen...has made national headlines.

     Allen was a special investigations reporter for WAAY-TV, Channel 31...the ABC affiliate in Huntsville.  I say "was"...because on Friday, July 26th, 2013... Allen was fired by the station's head honchos...after she posted a blog whereby she unveiled some personal "confessions."   

     Confessions Of A Red-Headed Reporter revealed a list of 10 secrets about Allen's job as a broadcast journalist.  And although Allen believed her blog was written in good fun...the station management didn't appreciate her comments...or find her remarks amusing in any way.  She was, therefore, given the ax three days after she published her thoughts on-line.

     After taking her blog off-line...which she was asked to do by her employer...Allen decided an hour later to re-launch it with a new title - No Apologies: Confessions Of A Red-Headed Reporter...and she stated that "This post was taken down because I was momentarily misguided about who I am and what I stand for.  To clarify, I make no apologies.  I've vowed to always fight for the right of free expression.  It's allowed...no matter what the profession."

     For those of you who didn't see Shea Allen's blog or read any part of her 10 confessions...the two-time Associated Press nominee admitted going "bra-less during a live broadcast"... "taking naps in the news car"...and "stop(ping) recording" when interviewing someone who is "rambling."  Allen also joked that she "hates the right side of her face" and that her "best sources are the ones who secretly have a crush" on her.  And she quipped that she is "better live" when she has "no script and no idea what (she's) talking about."  As for the most controversial of her one-liners, Allen poked fun at "old people" saying she is "frightened" of them and that she "refuses to do stories involving them or the places they reside."

     Allen feels her blog entries were meant to be "funny," "satirical" and "cynical"...and she never expected to lose her job for writing what she did.  She told Inside Edition that "Management has always asked us to put a slice of our personal life out there and that's all I was really trying to do."

     In an era where computer technology and social media give millions and millions of Americans the opportunity - for whatever their reason - to spill their guts out about everything from problems at their jobs to their most intimate of sexual fantasies...Shea Allen's termination from her place of employment is perhaps a warning to everyone...to be aware that "big brother" - whomever he may be - is always on the lookout.  That being said...why should any of us be fearful to speak our minds (within reason, of course) - verbally or in writing - when the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America thankfully gives us that "right?"  Yes...I used that word again.

     As for Shea Allen...she is protected by the same free speech clause as everybody else.  But the muckety-mucks at the television station...for which she was working...obviously can decide who they want to employ to represent them.  If Allen, however, has access to a strong attorney with knowledge of labor laws...she will probably be able to put up a good fight that she was dismissed without "just cause."  

     I don't agree with the television station's decision to fire Shea Allen...as her blog was not terribly offensive.  There was no bigotry...no racism...no profanity...nothing that should have really flipped the lids of the executives at WAAY-TV.  And except for possibly the insensitive remark about senior citizens, which could be perceived as crossing the line with regards to respect...and that probably deserved an apology...plus a mention that she has "stolen mail and then put it back... maybe" - which I've got to believe was stated with humor...Shea Allen's blog posting was not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.  Quite frankly...I think the station's overly conservative chieftains...over-reacted.

     Was Shea Allen wrong in posting at least some of her "confessions?"  I won't go as far to say that she was wrong.  As a journalist myself...I will say that publishing such comments is not something I would do on my blog...but Allen had the "right" to post her innermost feelings on her own personal Web site.  After all, she supposedly writes her blog entries on her own time...and she was not speaking on behalf of the television station.  Furthermore...Shea Allen said nothing illegal...nothing threatening...nothing that anyone could say was against the law.  The whole issue of her firing is ridiculous.

     If the station believed a heart to heart talk with Shea Allen was necessary...I could understand such action - even though I feel she had the "right" to express herself as she did.  But Allen is young and somewhat inexperienced and maybe a bit of mentoring would have been a more appropriate course to take.  However, as with many other issues in life... money talks.  And it seems apparent to me that Allen's former employer is merely throwing its weight around because the station's conservative viewers and conservative advertisers made a stink.  And without an audience and without sponsors...the business has no revenue.

     Whether Shea Allen has a legal case or not...and whether the television station involved settles with her out of court...or fights tooth and nail to not pay her a dime...I can assure you that Shea Allen is going to come out a winner in the end...and she'll wind up making a bundle of bucks.

     The likelihood is that Shea Allen will file a law suit against the company that owns WAAY-TV and...and although I'm not a lawyer...I think she stands a good chance that a jury will award her for being fired without "just cause"...or she'll get a better job at a bigger station - or perhaps with a cable network...or she'll write a book and sell millions of copies because - with the proper marketing - there are definitely people in this country (and elsewhere) who will buy it.  So anyway you look at it...Shea Allen will come out ahead...and on top.  Who knows?  Getting fired just might be the best thing that ever happened to Shea Allen.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy will make an effort to publish a new commentary every Sunday and Wednesday.  Unscheduled essays may appear, from time to time, on other days as well.
 

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