Longtime Metro Detroit radio reporter Karen Dinkins has been fired after wearing a pro-Barack Obama T-shirt while covering a rally for the presidential candidate Sunday at the Detroit Public Library.
I find myself feeling rather cynical regarding this statement from station management…
Georgeann Herbert, WWJ’s director of programming, said in a statement that Dinkins compromised the station’s objectivity by wearing the T-shirt.
“(The station) believes that our credibility with our listeners rests on the independence of our newsroom staff,” the statement said. “WWJ does not favor any candidate, party or issue.
“While we encourage employees to exercise their rights as citizens, we expect them to be on guard against any actual or perceived conflict of interest when covering news stories,” the statement said.
That IS the way it should be.
