hopelessly devoted to deconstructing popular culture and conventional wisdom, one blog at a time

Published Thursday, December 23, 2004 by seanlmccarthy | E-mail this post

BLOGGING RULE 1a: Don't bitch about your current employer. And don't think that using an anonymous blog will cover your arse. That should be the lesson learned from the case of Daniel P. Finney, whose newspaper -- the St. Louis Post-Dispatch -- suspended him after learning of his blog that took potshots at his bosses, his co-workers and even his own newspaper stories. The story came about after the city's alt-weekly highlighted the blog a week ago as St. Louis local blog o' the week. In short order, the paper ID'd the culprit and suspended him. Based on sample posts cited in this week's update, along with related comments and posts found using cache versions of "crazyrolandthompson" (the blog itself has disappeared), I don't blame the paper. Reporters should be able to blog in their off-time, or even whilst on the clock so long as it's approved/promoted by the paper. But when you bring down the reputation of your company as well as your own credibility as a reporter, that's a boo-boo you cannot simply kiss and make better.

Related story in Editor & Publisher.