I remember that one. She should have been fired for sheer stupidity.

I blame stegasaurs for my mishaps.

I was out of town using hotel WiFi. Must have been 3 NSA agents checking my postings.

This has happened to me too, but I couldn't resist having some fun.

How many times is this going to post. LOL.

Its just the evil face and results of any type of social engineering.

Uh-huh.

Yep.

That's true.

I agree.

A lot of kids are stuck in these communities and want out. How best to achieve that? We'll never know cause we aren't allowed to talk about it.

Well said. She was on outraging all of us to reach out and say something to encourage our youth. You never know when you'll change their path for the better. The positive part of this story is getting lost unfortunately.

It's as if they are saying certain topics are off limits. I have thought it would be a good idea for another station to do an in depth look at this but I'm guessing they are afraid to touch this.

Many have. I'm curious to see what happens next. She has won many awards and is locally popular. I'm guessing another station will pick her up soon.

I have been away for a couple of days but when I get back I hope some more information is available. The anchor in question is locally popular and has won numerous awards. I'm thinking something else will come out soon.

Thanks JA. I have talked to some people locally about this and while I think it was a bad decision the station had the right to fire her. The post should have served as a starting point for serious dicussions about what is going wrong in some of our local communities but it has devolved into a discussion about her firing and Facebook posts. You said it better than I have. I hope someone realizes it's a discussion we need to have but I doubt it will happen.

Within the limits of any voluntary employment contract, an employer should be "allowed to" fire anyone for any reason, just an employee should be "allowed" to leave employment for any reason. Simply because all valid relationships between people are voluntary.

But similar reasons mean that other people can protest - peacefully.

A young woman obtained a job with a local daycare. Within a couple days of starting her new job, she posted (on Facebook, I think) that she couldn't stand kids and hated dealing with them.
Her employer fired her on her second day. Were they wrong???

Honestly, I agree with Mamaemma in that an employer has the right to fire an employee for any reason...Facebook post, or otherwise.

Good to hear from you, OA

Hello richrobinson,
As an employer, I feel it is my right to fire anyone for any reason. I believe as you do that all employment should be at will. That said: I also feel this was a poor decision and viewers/the market place, should inform the station of the fact.
Regards,
O.A.

Hello Mamaemma,
Well said. We are living in a world gone mad.
Regards,
O.A.

"There are protected groups, but that's under employment law not the first amendment which is quoted far more broadly than it applies."

I hold an MBA and as part of the curriculum, we had to study these exact cases and the rationale for them. The questions I raise are the very same questions from our course materials and included lengthy discussions of court decisions regarding the matter. The very employment laws cited are based on First Amendment protections, I can assure you. Whether or not they are "overly broad" is entirely a matter of perspective, which is why I asked the question: would you then turn businesses into religions?

"subject to laws regarding discrimination against people based on the group they are in"

But that is the entire issue at hand: whether or not their freedom to associate with a thought contrary to that of the company takes precedence or must be subordinate to that of the company. According to current legal precedent, the only time the company's interests supercede those of the employee are when an employee is acting as an agent of the company and their actions or statements paint the company specifically in a bad light.

"if they are readily identifiable as being associated with your business, they can do damage by public postings that conflict with your business mission"

But here you are conceding that agent status is important. Does a private Facebook posting constitute a positional statement #1 on behalf of the company and #2 in contravention to its established position (even if it is no position at all)? Both conditions must be met to override freedom of expression.