| A couple months ago, Detroit City Council president and former journalist Charles Pugh reinvented rules of journalism by getting a reporter fired for quoting him without asking if his comments were on the record. Apparently, the Freep's shameful gutlessness in firing Steve Neavling over it made Pugh believe that a mere word from him could get anyone fired. A paragraph that if written about any normal person would cause them to flush with shame. Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh got into an argument through social networks this past weekend.
Yikes! ... followed by this: Michigan State University student and Automotive News intern Josh Sidorowicz agreed and tweeted, "Wow, love this little piece. ..."
In other words, the president of the Detroit City Council got into a public argument over the weekend with someone's intern ... and lost. In fact, Pugh did just that. He tweeted the following at Automotive News' account: "I'd appreciate a word to your intern Josh Sidorowicz about his offensive posts to my page. It doesn't represent you well."
...snip... Automotive News would not make Sidorowicz available. However, Local 4 has confirmed he did not lose his internship as a result of the City Council president's concerns.
This is a reminder for all you media types out there that the things you do reverberate far beyond just your little world. When one outlet reacts with abject cowardice, public officials think they can walk all over the entire institution. If you don't have the stones to stick up for your profession, please get out of the biz and leave it to the adults. |
