On Friday we noted that Steve Walsh, a radio reporter in Missouri, had posted the following to his Twitter profile:
Taking to his personal blog today, Walsh announced that his employment had “come to an end” because of the controversy surrounding his offensive Tweet (emphasis added):
For almost a decade I had the pleasure of serving as a political reporter and news anchor covering stories in Jefferson City and beyond. But that “assignment” as we call it in the radio business has come to an end.
Truth be told, it didn't come as a surprise as I had been told that a cascade of complaints regarding something I had tweeted on my personal Twitter account had led to some difficult moments for folks at my company. My news director went so far as to tell me, on Friday, that there was a good chance I might have to go. And it came to pass.
[...]
Yup, it was a joke. But the left wing blogosphere got hold of it and went nuts. It was an attempt at humor, but clearly I had struck a nerve - causing considerable angst among the folks at Fired Up! Missouri here in the Show-Me State and Media Matters on the national level. I forgot a cardinal rule - never poke fun at someone's religion. My humor led to a backlash from those for whom global warming - or climate change as it is called when the weather turns cold - is a sacred religious belief. The furor has yet to die down.
So, the bottom line here is that I am out of work. It's interesting that I poke fun at the religion of global warming the same week MSNBC's Chris Matthews says of President Obama following the State of the Union Address, “I forgot he was black tonight.” And Matthews is still rolling along. Very interesting, indeed!
I want it made clear I hold no animosity toward my former employer and the employees. In fact, I regret having put the company in this position. I will miss the place after almost a decade. But I have made friends, through the job, who will remain friends for a lifetime. Jobs come and go but friends are to be treasured.
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