Aug 23
Reporter Threatens Bloggers Lively Hood
A fellow blogger friend of mine by the name of Travis who runs the blog howtokillpeople.com recently had an article written about him in a local newspaper. This article that was written now threatens his lively hood. He can possibly lose his job and any future jobs that he could be considered for. The article in questions is here It’s a slanderous article that obviously doesn’t see the tongue in cheek humor that is Travis blog. Please do Travis and FREEDOM OF SPEECH a favor and email/call the reporter that wrote the article and give him a piece of your mind! This reporter is probably a George Bush fan too!
Thomas Peele is an investigative reporter. Reach him at tpeele@bayareanewsgroup.com or 925-977-8463.
you can Digg the article here
Thanks,
Gregg
14 Comments so far
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You are so political!! You love being fired because of your blog!!!
You clikc on the link and you have to sign in. I’m not signing up for that. Why can’t people just read free stuff on the internet?
I read the article without logging in…
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews
/ci_6692434?nclick_check=1
This might be the updated one… But you can comment on it.
This is the original one:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/
news/ci_6692311
Sorry - I don’t know how to link!!
I read the article without logging in…
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_6692434?nclick_check=1
This might be the updated one… But you can comment on it.
This is the original one:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_6692311
Sorry - I don’t know how to link!!
You can delete the comment with the broken up links - thanks.
OK so I just read the article in question and hear is my 2 cents. Freedom of speech, yes. I’m all for it. Maybe some of the statments were taken out of context, but in a small part of his mind, he had to think it might get him in trouble for writing things about his boss or the governor. He does have his right to write anything he freely chooses, but he shouldn’t have commented on things so close to home. He took a risk and a chance and got caught. Do I think he should be fired, no. I do however think he should think twice before he goes off writing about things that could and would get him fired from his job.
Shoot the bastard that wrote the article.. what business is it of his.. the military would have kept it quite and he would have been punished for the slanderous comments and then would have been it… this jackass has made a mountain out of a mole hill… lets face it what did the man actaually do… called a few people names and threaten to do what we all want to to ‘the big guy’ not that he’s that big anyway. he broke a militrary law not a civil one.. ther are some things that people need to know.. the fact that some guy in the military is pissed at some people and called them names isn’t one of these things that we need to know. would you want your boss to find out what your calling him or her behind their back.. nope.. i certainly wouldn’t… this reporter is a glory hound and needs to have his press pass revoked and i hope he stubs his toe really badly.
what.. i comment and then everybody stops
Holy crap, that’s fucked up. Since we’re talking about the military here, I really hope that the -worst- that happens is Travis loses his job. I hope even something like this doesn’t dissuade him from blogging, though I suppose the pending military complications could do just that.
I’m all in favor of Travis’s freedom of speech.. and the reporter’s freedom of speech (even if it’s a huge scumbag move). I’m sorry that Travis was placed on leave but rule #1 of blogging is “don’t write about your job”.
If my boss read an article on my site that bashed our company, I would expect to be fired.
* Travis didn’t register his site via proxy. So much for anonymity. That’s how the reporter found him.
frreedom of speech , if the data is correct and if he is a journalist he can’t be fired and will not be fired.
attention whoring.
well that my be so but i’m having a good time bashing his ass
Fuck I hope I don’t come off as some self-righteous know-it-all, but here goes:
#1 - Wormbrain said “and the reporter’s freedom of speech ”
Freedom of speech is a terrific right that we all get to enjoy, even those of us who are scumbag reporters. However, freedom of speech does not mean you have the right to contextually misrepresent someone and write/say things that are patently false. That’s where this reporter has run afoul. He lifted select quotes from Travis’ blog and used them to paint an obvious lie about the intent/message within Travis’ blog. Then he used a very public forum such as the Contra Costa Times and the Associated Press wire to pass off that lie as truth.
Freedom of speech does not give any of us the right to willfully smear one another. If you are going to make an assertion about someone, especially in writing, you had better be prepared to furnish evidence of your claims about that person or face prosecution. Writing sensationalist crap that has no basis in fact is more than simply unethical. It is illegal. It is libel.
#2 - The military doesn’t exercise absolute control over members. The Uniform Code of Military Justice only applies to commissioned officers and lesser ranked members of the military while they are in uniform. For instance, Travis is restricted from joining a protest in his dress blues, but would be more than free to say, blog about some policy on his blog so long as he did not identify himself as a member or spokesperson for the military.
#3 - Wormbrain wrote “#1 of blogging is “don’t write about your job”.
The closest Travis came to blogging about work were obscure references to driving “The Big Guy” every once in a great while.
Travis’ blog had been investigated before and each time the military came down on his side, concluding that his references were obscure enough to preclude any kind of direct recognition. He never mentioned his surname, military affiliation, rank or names of his colleagues or commanding officer. Travis had adhered to military guidelines regarding his blog in every way.
#4 - If anything else, the prior investigations of Travis’ blog and subsequent conclusions are enough for him to launch a defence of his position in a court of law. The military had already set a precedent of having determined that Travis did not violate the codes, policies, or laws governing his position.
#5 - I am a big, fat, know-it-all, douchebag who will shut up now. Thanks for tolerating this diatribe Gregg and Wormbrain. I really wasn’t trying to be a jerk to your readers, but Travis is a friend and there are a few facts that beg to be told in this situation.
cool… thanks
Queen, you’re not a douche for speaking your mind. I myself feel like a douche for playing devil’s advocate.
All we’re doing is offering our opinions and perspectives.
I hope Gregg will be posting a follow up to this post as I really want to know how this plays out.