A BROADCAST JOURNALIST in Chicago was fired after being videotaped at the home of a man in the news. And the reporter was in a bikini in the video.Trying to build a relationship that might lead to an on camera interview, reporter Amy Jacobson visited the home of Craig Stebic, whose wife had gone missing. Rumors floated that Stebic was responsible for making his wife disappear.
Jacobson hung out with Stebic and his children at the family pool. Jacobson wore a bikini.
"I know I didn’t do anything improper," Jacobson tells Chicago magazine. "And that’s what I live with: knowing that my heart was in the right place and that it was for the cause of the story."
Her station fired her. She has a lawsuit pending.
Did she do anything wrong?
12 comments:
HELL NO! This Barry Levine tactic seems to be the only way to get a story these days. The one thing that make this ok is he was suspected of killing his wife. If she was able to get in close with him so soon after the disappearance that may have spoke volumes to a jury. I see however the stations predicament. That is a reflection on them and if she was not fired.. can you say LAWSUIT. Either way yo go girl and you and your Leviniesgue tactics will get you a beter job.
I completely agree with Rich. And on another note, it was a bikini. She wasn't naked for crying out loud!
I don't think she did anything wrong. Journalists try to get in close with their subjects all the time to get a more inclusive story. So the fact that they were in a pool setting and she wore a bikini makes it worse? If she wore a one-piece would it have made it any better? The fact that she got fired for that is ridiculous.
I'm not to sure about this. Wearing a bikini is improper in some ocassions and this is one of them. Even though she wasn't in an office setting, as a journalist trying to get a story, she should be wearing proper attire at all times.
This is definitely wrong, and her station was completely justified in firing her. The is a certain level of professionalism that goes along with being a journalist and this goes WAY below what is appropriate.
Principles of journalism #4: Journalists must maintain an independence from those they cover.
I'm pretty sure that hanging out in a bikini at the house of the guy you're reporting doesn't follow that principle.
This was not worth firing someone over. It's not like Jacobson was being filmed in a porno or anything! It would be inappropriate to run the story showing her in her bikini, but if she was just hanging out with the family in this attire, it's nothing to fire her over. If her newscast company had a big problem with this, they should have just discussed the matter and warned her not to do it next time before firing her right away.
I agree with Grace. The problem shouldn't be with what she was wearing-- she was going swimming--you don't wear a business suit to the pool!
If this is investigative reporting, she should be praised for her passion and commitment to the story.
I don't think that she did anything wrong. She was merely spending time with the family of the subjects of the story at their pool - a situation that practically requires some sort of swimwear. She did not deserve to lose her job over that. If a male reporter were covering the same story and he was hanging out with the Stebic family at their pool and appeared on air in swim trunks would he be fired? Probably not.
-dana ricci
I understand she was trying to get close to the family for a cover, but hanging poolside in a bikini..? I`m sure she could understand why her station had to let her go.
i cant believe they fired her over this. "IF" this video is the only evidence they have against her then her lawsuit looks pretty good to me. Without any other information i find their firing of her unethical, and unwarranted.
i also don't think that she did some thing wrong because according to me that was the good way to find out about his wife. if he did do something wrong with his wife then she could get some information. her station just over reacted on the situation i think they should hire her back.
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