Two More Reporters Have Their Constitutional Rights Violated
Salon.com carries news today of another disciplinary action taken against reporters who dared exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights to free speech and freedom of association.
The latest case involves the suspension of reporters Chuck Laszewski and Rick Linsk of the Knight Ridder-owned St. Paul Pioneer Press who attended, on their own time, the recent "Vote for Change" concert at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul.
I've blogged about this chilling and increasingly common big media management practice before.
Suspensions and firings of this sort do more than just deprive an entire class of workers of their most basic rights. They also deprive our society of the robust debate and participation that distinguishes a free society from a totalitarian one.
If the boss of a media business can suspend or fire an employee for attending a political concert on their own time, how safe is your job?
Here is an excerpt from the Salon story:
The St. Paul Pioneer Press suspended investigative reporters Chuck Laszewski and Rick Linsk for three days each after they attended the Oct. 5 "Vote for Change" concert by Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M. and other artists at Xcel Energy Center. The Newspaper Guild is contesting the unpaid suspensions. Pioneer Press Editor Vicki Gowler wrote in a Sept. 27 memo to staff that the paper's ethics policy bars them from activities that would conflict with their employment, including "concerts that are held as political fundraisers." Several other newspapers had issued similar warnings to reporters."
To learn more about my objections to this line of reasoning click here.
In the meantime, will the last working person with their freedoms left intact please remember to turn out the lights on our democracy?
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Comments
I'm glad to see that this story is being picked up nationally, it's a joke and a complete abuse of company power. I can't wait until my father wins on at least three points in arbitration. Know that there is not a more honest, or ethical person then my father and Mr. Linsk. There is nothing ethically wrong with enjoying a good Rock n' Roll concert. My father and Rick have already atteneded three prior springsteen concerts and this was just a case of wanting to see him again, nothing else. Infact Rick and his wife took me to my first concert ever which happened to be Springsteen two years back, and my father attended also. The thing that has hurt both these fine men the most during this debacle is the attack on the journalistic integrity. They both have an unembelished record throughout their whole tenure with the paper and are appauled by having their ethics questioned and vilified like this. I urge you to keep up the good work on your writings, I enjoy thorughly reading them. And I apology for the horrendous spelling, it was never my strong suit.
-Rick
Posted by: Rick Laszewski at October 22, 2004 12:04 AM
Well, it's happened again at the same newspaper, the Pioneer Press in St. Paul, MN.
The management has suspended copy editor Tim Mahoney for participating in the Sept. 24 peace rally in Washington D.C. They said it was a violation of their code of ethics and threatened to fire him if he did any such thing again.
Mahoney is a Vietnam veteran. He is a part timer at the paper. He went to the peace rally with members of his church, St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis. It is a so-called "Peace and Justice" Catholic church, and many of its members work toward non-violent conflict resolution and social justice. At the rally, Mahoney did nothing to call attention to himself or his association with the newspaper. Pioneer Press management found out he had gone by happenstance.
Isn't it bad enough that we have a big brother government, must we now have our personal lives overseen by our employers?
Posted by: anonymous at October 21, 2005 12:00 PM
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