Iowa Capital Dispatch recently shared a story about a TV news director and anchor who was fired for getting too involved in politics.
According to the Dispatch, reports said Melanie Standiford was fired from KNOP-TV in North Platte, Nebraska after collecting signatures on a petition calling for her hometown to become a sanctuary city for the unborn. She reportedly collected the petitions at her church.
When her bosses found out about it from a newspaper story, they fired her immediately, saying news personnel “are not permitted, at any time and regardless of beliefs, to actively engage in any political activity for any candidate, party or ballot initiative.”
This is Rajvee Subramanian’s final regular appearance on the program. We’re thankful for his contributions and wish him the best of luck.
Shop Talk is a weekly panel discussion about journalism issues. This week’s program featured Will Buss, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and advises the student editors at the Western Courier, the students at student radio station The Dog, and the WIU chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; Rajvee Subramanian, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University; and TSPR News Director Rich Egger.
