Our RSS feeds
LATEST JOBS:
resize text: decrease text sizereset text size increase text size

Online Journalism News

Weblogs lead to sacking of journalists

Weblogs have spelled big trouble for two US journalists, who both lost their jobs because of what they wrote on their personal web sites.

Houston Chronicle reporter Steve Olafson was fired when his bosses found out that he was criticising local politicians on his site. Mr Olafson wrote about the same politicians for his job on the Chronicle.

Los Angeles radio reporter Ron Fineman claimed he lost his job because he posted a fellow staff member's email on his site which was critical of KCBS TV - owned by the same company that employed him.

In Mr Olafson's case, a competing newspaper revealed his identity to his editors. He was writing for his 'Brazosport News' site under the name Banjo Jones. According to www.houstonpress.com, he called local politician Buster Jones “the state senator with the Hair Club For Men wig”.

When a local city council had problems complying with the Open Meetings Act, the headline was 'Angleton Council: Shining Beacon of Open Government or Taliban-like Nest of Lawbreakers?'

The site also criticised The Chronicle for running the Playboy-Enron story on the front page and noted that its Washington columnist, Cragg Hines, had made news by purchasing a fur lap robe at an auction. ‘It's good to know the Chronicle's man in Washington is sniffing out the important stories we buy his paper for,’ wrote Mr Olafson.

"I started doing it just as a creative outlet," said Mr Olafson, who adds that no more than 20 per cent of the site dealt with political matters.

He said he thought the sacking was an overreaction, adding: “I didn't seriously compromise my ability to be a Chronicle reporter in Houston or in Brazoria County.”

Kelly Hawes, the managing editor of The Facts, whose columns Mr Olafson had ridiculed, said the paper outed the Web columnist because Mr Olafson had gathered information as a journalist and then used it “to take anonymous potshots”.

Source: Click here

Tags (click tag to find related articles; click icon for feed):
united states | the chronicle | taliban | los angeles | washington | personal web sites | houston | houston chronicle | the facts | enron | beacon of open government | shining beacon | open government | hair club for men | angleton council | steve olafson | ron fineman | cragg hines | kelly hawes | buster jones | brazoria county | the playboy | kcbs |

Sign up here for our free, daily email newsletter to get all the latest stories, jobs, tips and more.

Got a story? Email our news team: Laura Oliver; Judith Townend or telephone +44 (0)1273 384290. You can also follow us on Twitter: @journalismnews / @LauraOliver / @JTownend.

Comments

No comments

You must be registered in order to post a comment. Click here to register or login below if you are already registered:

    

Forgotten your password? Please click here



JOB OF THE WEEK

Online content producer

With experience writing online and working to daily deadlines as well as money/finance expertise for Which? ...more

Freelancers for hire

...see all

DISPLAY ADVERTISING

image

Target our journalism community of 16,800 subscribers and 140k+ visitors monthly. Call Chris on 01273 384291

Advertisements

How fast is your broadband?

Broadband Speed

Test your speed now

Click for
broadband for business deals from Broadband Genie


Everyday Sale

everydaysale.co.uk - your voucher codes experts