Increasingly, reporters are told to increase their social media profile. Some news managers even measure “value” to the newsroom by the number of twitter followers a reporter has or the number of “likes” on her/his Facebook page. It all adds up to that reporter’s “IQ.” No, it’s not what you think. It has nothing to do with intelligence. The “I” in this “IQ” stands for influence. The more widespread that reporter’s presence on the web, the more it is assumed to be an indication of the writer’s worth to the audience. It certainly helps spread the news organization’s brand and enhances its prestige by being shared and re-tweeted, maybe even reposted on other news sites. It’s a win for the individual journalist and for the newsroom–except when the reporter writes something her bosses wish wouldn’t proliferate across social media.
That’s what happened this week when Shea Allen, a reporter at WAAY-TV in Huntsville, Alabama was fired for statements made, she says in jest, on her personal blog site, titled “Confessions of a Red Headed Reporter.” They included a revelation that she had “gone bra-less” for live shots without anyone being the wiser and that her “best sources are ones that are secretly attracted to me.” Those two revelations present the best of her judgment. It gets worse, with a “humorous” slight to “old people,” about whom she says she refuses to do stories because they “frighten” her. Oh, and there’s this: “I’m better live when I have no script and no idea what I’m talking about.” You can read the full list here:
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2013/07/huntsville_reporter_shea_allen.html
Allen, whose new-found notoriety landed her on the “Today Show” this morning, contends that her bosses are being hypocritical: “On the one hand, management wants you to exploit every social media site you possibly can, put as much content out there, drive to the web, drive to the web. And then on the other hand, I’ve done something in my personal time on the web, a personally designated space and I’ve been terminated for it.”
It’s worth noting, if you haven’t already guessed, that this was her first on-air television job. That’s not an excuse, but it is worth noting. As Lindsey Pollak, a career and workplace expert said on “Today,” that younger professionals “don’t have the same filter” about posting personal opinions and information on social media that people who started their careers before the advent of social media have.” That’s certainly a part of the discussion, but isn’t judgment (or the lack thereof) also an issue here? Professionals should have some inkling of appropriate behavior, both on and off the job, no matter what the job is. In a position that’s so public, it’s perhaps not unfair to expect an even higher degree of judgment.
But Shea Allen’s bosses don’t get a pass either. IF the generational argument has merit, does the station have a clearly defined social media policy that new employees are given (along with all other workplace policies) when they’re hired?
While some of what she wrote may have been ill-advised, context is important. It was on her personal, not station, blog. The point Ms. Allen makes regarding news outlets pushing their reporters to increase their social media profiles is another factor to be considered. So, too, is the question of freedom of speech–do reporters surrender it off the job because they are in the news business?
Finally, what about privacy issues? Though you are a “public” figure in your job, does management’s censure of you extend to activities you undertake on your own time in your “private” life? Some of these, of course, are legal questions; others, though, are ethical ones. Instead of being the subject of a one day, finger-pointing story, Shea Allen’s loss can be the starting point for a discussion–one from which other journalists can gain.