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posted by on Tuesday March 28 2017, @08:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the landed-gentry-vs-5th-estate dept.

In a follow-up to the recent story here about the Tennessee Bill to Require Free Speech on Campus an NPR reporter has been fired in response to an unflattering story due to pressure by legislators on the University of Tennessee.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga fired a reporter this week at WUTC, the National Public Radio affiliate, after local lawmakers complained about how she reported on a state transgender bathroom bill.

Jacqui Helbert, 32, reported and produced the story for WUTC, which followed a group of Cleveland High School students as they traveled to the state capital March 7 to meet with Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, and Rep. Kevin Brooks, R-Cleveland, about the legislation.

The story aired on WUTC March 9 and 13, and was posted on the station's website. After it was posted, the lawmakers said Helbert failed to properly identify herself as a reporter during the meetings.

Helbert maintains she acted within journalistic ethics as she reported the story, and she never concealed her intentions or bulky radio equipment. She did not verbally identify herself as a journalist.

"It was glaringly obvious who I was," Helbert said, adding that her NPR press pass hung around her neck while at the capitol.

Helbert said she was wearing headphones and pointing a 22-inch large fuzzy microphone at the lawmakers as they spoke during the meeting.

Archive of the censored story is here.


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Thexalon on Wednesday March 29 2017, @12:23AM

    by Thexalon (636) on Wednesday March 29 2017, @12:23AM (#485579)

    And while it is true that NPR receives some funding from the government, it's not even close to a majority. Indeed, there's reason to think that an NPR without any government support whatsoever might be a more effective journalistic organization, precisely because the politicians couldn't call them in to complain about their content as easily.

    Don't believe me, just peruse NPR's financial statements [npr.org] (which have to be disclosed by law, just like any other 501(c)(3).

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
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