Firing bloggers part IV — more bad examples

OK, I thought I was done with this series, having beaten the topic to death in parts I, II, and III.

But no, today along comes Pamela Jones of the award-winning blog Groklaw with a tip to a story of another fired Blogger right here in my backyard.

Why didn’t I read about it in my local paper? Because the local paper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was the employer in question, and apparently didn’t find its own HR decision newsworthy.

Instead, coverage was picked up in the “alternative” free weekly, the Riverfront Times (RFT), which had been responsible for “outing” the employee-blogger — who had been making a half-hearted effort at anonymity.

The RFT story is:

“Blogger’s Remorse; Daniel P. Finney’s blog sealed his fate with the Post-Dispatch. What now?” (by BEN WESTHOFF). See also Editor & Publisher: “St. Louis Post-Dispatch’ Blogger Outed, Suspended”

The blog that led to the blogger’s resignation “contained unflattering remarks” about the Post-Dispatch and story subjects.

“Neither the Post nor Finney would discuss the details of the resignation, but Finney says that the paper did not pressure him.”

Oh no? Then why’d he do it — after being suspended?

Since the union was involved in the resignation, it appears some kind of settlement was negotiated. Perhaps saying he was not pressured was part of the deal, to protect the paper’s image as a good respecter of the First Amendment. (Of course, firing him wouldn’t have violated the First Amendment per se, as only government can do that; but it would perhaps look to be contrary to the spirit of the Amendment.)

Plus, my view as a reader of many years is that the paper always likes to look like a friend of labor. (A very good paper on the whole, by the way.)

“I think he made a very courageous decision to resign,” says Post director of industrial relations Mike Hammett, who was directly involved in Finney’s case.

What’s courageous about it? What were the alternatives? Your blog or your job — was that the choice presented? Doesn’t look like it to me, because he gave up both: part of the deal seems to have been wiping all traces of the blog from cyberspace (well, perhaps a more skilled searcher could find it, but I gave up; it’s certainly gone from blogspot.com).

In this type of situation resignation is usually the best choice, with termination the alternative (I don’t know that to be the case here, but experience — and common sense — tells me it’s likely). “Courageous?”

The blogger had an interesting — and foolish — perspective on what is required to avoid conflicts between blogging and work. He used a pseudonym, and he says; “I was an honorable person, and I . . . I would have never used company equipment to write that blog or to conduct any personal business.” That’s the least of the issues when employees blog.

It seems he disclosed where he worked, and certainly included St. Louis in the blog title. We only have one major paper, so if he wrote about working for a major paper, bingo, his cover’s blown, pseudonym or not, at least to the point that the paper started a serious effort to ID him.

How did his posts offend the Post? You can read one excerpt in the first RFT article. Additionally, he “often included the topics of his articles before they appeared in the paper.”

He says: “When I typed it, . . . I was thinking that I’m a private citizen; these are my private feelings. But as a journalist, I should have been smarter.”

In my employee-blogger taxonomy laid out in part III, this guy is basically a type 3 — anonymous, but discussing work-related matters.

Clearly this can be problematic, particularly if the employer is readily identifiable and/or cover is blown — both true in this case, as in those discussed in part I.

As wisely and concisely summarized in The National Debate, discussing this story:

How many Jessica Cutler’s do you need before you realize that blogging anonymously while revealing intimate details about yourself is the same as NOT blogging anonymously….and if your employer has a problem with your blog you are going to have a problem with your employer.

Don’t get the Jessica Cutler reference? Yet another fired blogger. Great and detailed story on her and the social implications of her blog-publicized sex life in the Washington Post.

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