Whether the comments on Facebook were racially biased and whether the firing was fair aren’t the central issues, IMHO. The ignorance of a newscaster in thinking it’s acceptable to put her personal “thoughts” on a publicly viewed website and her idea that her opinions are relevant are the punishable errors here. When you have a job that is in the public eye, you should be hypervigilant about what you post. Better idea: get off Facebook!
How very white of her to paint with such a broad brush. Free to say whatever she wants, she isn’t going to jail. But, I don’t blame her employer for not putting up with talk like that. She represents the company, too. She is a public face of the company. And, if I were the station owner, I wouldn’t want anyone who publicizes thoughts like that working on behalf of my newscast. Newscasters are supposed to be unbiased.
Captain, what part of her comments were offensive? Sounds like she stated the truth and we both know she could have said that if she were a black person and she would not have been fired.
Well, to anyone who is at least a little racist, none of it is offensive. To me, the following is:
You needn’t be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of the killers…They are young black men, likely in their teens or in their early 20s. They have multiple siblings from multiple fathers and their mothers work multiple jobs. These boys have been in the system before. They’ve grown up there. They know the police. They’ve been arrested.”
It matters not if what she said eventually became true. Purely speculating from such a racist view is not tolerated by most employers. I’m sure she’ll land on her feet, maybe she’ll even end up on Faux News.
Here, this is equally offensive. An African American reporter speaking about a similar situation in a trailer park:
“You needn’t be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of what happened. A young, white father in a wife-beater missing a couple front teeth got drunk, ran out of beer, and was headed to the store for another 30 pack. He has multiple kids from multiple trailer-mamas. He doesn’t work. He has been in the system before. He grew up there. He knows the cops and the cops know him. He’s been arrested.”
SWFL Agent, that is offensive and unnecessary, and it’s more than likely true. I agree that she can’t say what she wants in her position and that her employer has every right to fire her for it. I also believe there is a 90% chance what she said is correct. It’s a sad state of affairs. Again, she could have said all those things and not been fired if she was black. She could have MURDERED the people she was talking about and there would have been no public outcry if she was black.
Being black would have allowed her to do and say all those things you claim she could have done? Really? I think no matter her skin color, she deserved to be fired for being just plain stupid! You have a high-profile job like she had in a major market, and you feel the need to state your opinion on a tragedy such as that? How foolish can you be?! Keep your opinions to yourself and just report the story!
One other thing: If she’s won 21 Emmys in her career she shouldn’t have any trouble finding another job. However, I can almost guarantee that her new employer will tell her to keep her opinions to herself (if she hasn’t figured out that already.)
It seems to me that this woman has been held in high regard within her industry profession given her tenure and awards and that this station simply took the easy way out and terminated her. We see it time and time again. Just fire people instead of having the conversation.
Based on what little I know about this situation, I expect her remarks are based on trends she has seen as someone who reports the news in her local area. All of us have tendencies to generalize regardless of the subject matter when we see or experience a situation over and over again. And as I read her comments she appears to be saying it with deep sadness and empathy to the situation.
And to some degree I would question what the station would have done [if anything] if she was of another creed or color and said this – but that is pure speculation. I am not sure I would want to hang my hat on that argument in order to get my job back; but rather my track record as a journalist and the context in which she made her remarks and that her employer did not appear to engage with her in terms of code of conduct and a warning prior to an immediate termination.
There is an irony in the situation. Statements like these are made by law enforcement and criminal profilers all the time. When made my ‘officials’, they are considered good investigative work and knowledgeable. Just my two cents…
Captain—Really newscasters are paid to be unbiased. Guess you have not watched much on CNN, Fox or MSNBC lately. Everyone of the national news outlets spin the story to fit the message they think the viewers want. Wake up man!
Whether the comments on Facebook were racially biased and whether the firing was fair aren’t the central issues, IMHO. The ignorance of a newscaster in thinking it’s acceptable to put her personal “thoughts” on a publicly viewed website and her idea that her opinions are relevant are the punishable errors here. When you have a job that is in the public eye, you should be hypervigilant about what you post. Better idea: get off Facebook!
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Captain, what part of her comments were offensive? Sounds like she stated the truth and we both know she could have said that if she were a black person and she would not have been fired.
Well, to anyone who is at least a little racist, none of it is offensive. To me, the following is:
You needn’t be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of the killers…They are young black men, likely in their teens or in their early 20s. They have multiple siblings from multiple fathers and their mothers work multiple jobs. These boys have been in the system before. They’ve grown up there. They know the police. They’ve been arrested.”
It matters not if what she said eventually became true. Purely speculating from such a racist view is not tolerated by most employers. I’m sure she’ll land on her feet, maybe she’ll even end up on Faux News.
Here, this is equally offensive. An African American reporter speaking about a similar situation in a trailer park:
“You needn’t be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of what happened. A young, white father in a wife-beater missing a couple front teeth got drunk, ran out of beer, and was headed to the store for another 30 pack. He has multiple kids from multiple trailer-mamas. He doesn’t work. He has been in the system before. He grew up there. He knows the cops and the cops know him. He’s been arrested.”
Get the point now?
No.
Perplexed, I would say the comment “multiple siblings from multiple fathers” was probably offensive & unnecessary.
SWFL Agent, that is offensive and unnecessary, and it’s more than likely true. I agree that she can’t say what she wants in her position and that her employer has every right to fire her for it. I also believe there is a 90% chance what she said is correct. It’s a sad state of affairs. Again, she could have said all those things and not been fired if she was black. She could have MURDERED the people she was talking about and there would have been no public outcry if she was black.
Being black would have allowed her to do and say all those things you claim she could have done? Really? I think no matter her skin color, she deserved to be fired for being just plain stupid! You have a high-profile job like she had in a major market, and you feel the need to state your opinion on a tragedy such as that? How foolish can you be?! Keep your opinions to yourself and just report the story!
One other thing: If she’s won 21 Emmys in her career she shouldn’t have any trouble finding another job. However, I can almost guarantee that her new employer will tell her to keep her opinions to herself (if she hasn’t figured out that already.)
Jesse Jackson has said similar things publicly, and there was no backlash. Also, I noticed that Larry Wilmore didn’t get fired for what he said.
It seems to me that this woman has been held in high regard within her industry profession given her tenure and awards and that this station simply took the easy way out and terminated her. We see it time and time again. Just fire people instead of having the conversation.
Based on what little I know about this situation, I expect her remarks are based on trends she has seen as someone who reports the news in her local area. All of us have tendencies to generalize regardless of the subject matter when we see or experience a situation over and over again. And as I read her comments she appears to be saying it with deep sadness and empathy to the situation.
And to some degree I would question what the station would have done [if anything] if she was of another creed or color and said this – but that is pure speculation. I am not sure I would want to hang my hat on that argument in order to get my job back; but rather my track record as a journalist and the context in which she made her remarks and that her employer did not appear to engage with her in terms of code of conduct and a warning prior to an immediate termination.
A warning would have been sufficient before terminating a 21 Emmy award winner. Obviously, she had done very good work up until then.
And she could have continued Emmy-award winning work for that station had she not decided show her true racist stripes.
There is an irony in the situation. Statements like these are made by law enforcement and criminal profilers all the time. When made my ‘officials’, they are considered good investigative work and knowledgeable. Just my two cents…
Investigators are paid to be biased. A newscaster is paid to be unbiased.
Captain—Really newscasters are paid to be unbiased. Guess you have not watched much on CNN, Fox or MSNBC lately. Everyone of the national news outlets spin the story to fit the message they think the viewers want. Wake up man!