This one deserved to be fired
Over the years, I've written about several bloggers who have been fired for blogging (Michael Hanscom, Ellen Simonetti, et al). In most cases, the bloggers crossed an invisible line and didn't know that they had crossed it (on occasion, the employer wouldn't even state what invisible line had been crossed).
However, take a look at this case:
As a longtime journalist you'd think he'd know better. He did not.
Michael Gee wrote on his blog at SportsJournalists.com about a young woman in a journalism class he was teaching at Boston University: “Of my six students, one (the smartest, wouldn't you know it?) is incredibly hot. If you've ever been to Israel, she's got the sloe eyes and bitchin' bod of the true Sabra. It was all I could do to remember the other five students. I sense danger."
Danger indeed. Gee, a former Boston Herald reporter, was fired by BU when his aroused language found its way to school officials....
Here's some more:
On July 5, Gee, according to his own post at www.sportsjournalists.com, had begun a stint as fill-in instructor for a summer communications/journalism course at BU....
“Bitchin bod”? “Sloe eyes”? “Danger”? – He wasn’t a sports columnist, he was a Harlequin Romance writer. No wonder he wrote for Oui at one time.
The thread, interestingly, has since been removed from sj.com. Gee, contacted by Scott’s Shots, would not comment publicly on the matter.
(For those wondering, sportsjournalists.com, in a nutshell, is a place where sports desk editors, as well as sportswriters and others, vent over how crummy this paper or that columnist is. It’s also a networking spot to get info on the latest openings and movement at papers across the country. Like most message boards, it serves a purpose and then serves the fellowship of the miserable even more. Point is – it’s well-read within the biz. Many posters use aliases, but Gee, who has been registered at the site since Sept. 4, 2004, uses his own, full name. Earlier this summer, Gee had even posted his resume in hopes of attracting work....
Even more perplexing was Gee’s response after at least one SJ poster gave this friendly advice: "Congrats on the gig and the proximity to a hottie, but be careful. Not with her, but with this site. She or your bosses could Google your name and the university at any point and find this thread."
Even that lucid warning didn’t seem to have an effect on Gee’s libido or his proud postings: "Dear Folks: I suppose I should be flattered that many of you think this gorgeous woman who's half my age would consider having sex with me. Which, if I have any news instincts, she won't. My problem is losing my focus when I meet her to-die-for eyes."...
Comments