Arkansas radio personality fired for wearing Gators hat

[Chip R]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5469343

[westofyou]

People are stupid, and I'm not talking about the woman who got got canned.

[Boston Red]

Originally Posted by westofyou

People are stupid, and I'm not talking about the woman who got got canned.

Well, she's dumb, too. She lives in SEC country. She knows the deal.

[ThornWithin81]

The story is that it was raining as she left her house. She just grabbed the nearest hat she could find. It happened to be a Gators hat.

On the plus side, if she wants a job in Gator country I guarantee someone will hire her now. Probably making more than she made in Arkansas too.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by Boston Red

Well, she's dumb, too. She lives in SEC country. She knows the deal.

It's a logo on a hat, not a dogma.

[Boston Red]

Originally Posted by westofyou

It's a logo on a hat, not a dogma.

Might be true to you and me, but there are a lot of people in SEC country who would disagree. And she's a sports radio personality, so she would be acutely aware of that.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by westofyou

People are stupid, and I'm not talking about the woman who got got canned.

Yup. I read this last night and couldn't believe they fired her.

What she did was unprofessional. However, a slap on the wrist should suffice. Firing her is a bit extreme. The Radio station actually crossed the line by admitting 'We are very biased. We support the Razorbacks 100 percent.' Heck, it was the show of partiality that got her fired, so they shouldn't be doing the same thing.

[Boston Red]

Originally Posted by Brutus the Pimp

.The Radio station actually crossed the line by admitting 'We are very biased. We support the Razorbacks 100 percent.'

I'm not sure what's wrong with a radio station in Arkansas saying this. As long as they're being upfront about their biases and not pretending that they're journalists, I can't see any problem with this.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by Boston Red

I'm not sure what's wrong with a radio station in Arkansas saying this. As long as they're being upfront about their biases and not pretending that they're journalists, I can't see any problem with this.

If they're not pretending to be journalists, why did they have a credentialed reporter at a press conference? That's journalism.

The media is not supposed to show bias. That's one of the first rules of journalism. There's a big problem with it.

[Boston Red]

Originally Posted by Brutus the Pimp

If they're not pretending to be journalists, why did they have a credentialed reporter at a press conference? That's journalism.

The media is not supposed to show bias. That's one of the first rules of journalism. There's a big problem with it.

All these Scout and Rivals sites have credentialed reporters at press conferences. They're hardly hiding their biases. The Reds' announcers are part of the media. Are they not supposed to show bias towards the Reds? Should Marty B. be fired for excitedly shouting "This one belongs to the Reds" after a walkoff HR?

Media bias in certain situations is fine....as long as you're not trying to hide it.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by Boston Red

Might be true to you and me, but there are a lot of people in SEC country who would disagree. And she's a sports radio personality, so she would be acutely aware of that.

It's provincialism at its worse, I lived in college towns for a good portion of my life, I now live in an area devoid of year round pro sports, so I get the college rah, rah stuff... from college students that is.

Saw a guy on the way to work wearing a UW Huskies hat and a UO Ducks shirt.

Imagine if the woman had also had on a UT shirt.... she might have been stoned Taliban style.

[KronoRed]

Class acts.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by Boston Red

All these Scout and Rivals sites have credentialed reporters at press conferences. They're hardly hiding their biases. The Reds' announcers are part of the media. Are they not supposed to show bias towards the Reds? Should Marty B. be fired for excitedly shouting "This one belongs to the Reds" after a walkoff HR?

Media bias in certain situations is fine....as long as you're not trying to hide it.

Walter Cronkite must be turning in his grave at these free passes. Has journalism really gotten so bad we're now saying it's OK to be bias if you're not hiding it?

Journalists are supposed to be objective reporters of facts -- not cheerleaders. These are the ethics that are taught to journalists in school. Many Rivals and Scout "reporters" are not trained journalists. That's not to say they aren't good at what they do... but it doesn't make it right if they're there cheering on their team(s). Some of them--and believe me, I know a ton of them because I'm intimately familiar with the profession--are very good and come from newspaper and seasoned print backgrounds. But many are Web 2.0 beginners that haven't been properly educated on the ethics and expectations of the profession.

I promise you... this is not OK. This is the exact reason the two Cincinnati "journalists" were reportedly booted from the Denver locker room. Wearing a hat is as bad as asking for an autograph and firing someone, not for wearing a hat mind you, but for wearing the hat of another team is as bad as both.

I have a problem with radio broadcasters being slanted. Always have. But I know, unfortunately, that the stations know they're paying their broadcasters to reach a certain targeted audience. I suppose it's the exact reason the Rivals and Scout people often do what they do. But it doesn't justify it.

It's OK for this radio station to be geared toward Arkansas. That's their niche. That's their clientele. But it's not OK to be so bias that they expect their people to show bias too. That's crossing a big line.

[Boston Red]

Was it okay for Nuxhall to scream "Get out of here" when a Reds player hit a shot that looked like it might be a HR? Was he not part of the media? Was he not on a press pass? Was he not welcome at press conferences?

[Chip R]

If this reporter was doing this to get a reaction I could see whay she was fired. But it appeared to be an honest mistake. I sure hope anyone who is all right with this hasn't ever made a mistake at work.