I Got Fired

Man, that truly sucks. After 18 years? I can't even imagine. And you say that other writers have done the same recently? Did anyone say why this was different?
I'd definitely look into a lawyer. If you are caught in the middle of a personal conflict, that's definitely something worth looking into.
I sure hope everything works out for you.

 

Sorry to hear that, hoo...
Lawyer up quickly and absolutely follow Cadet's advice about documenting the facts. Then see what happens when lawyer calls HR

 

I feel terrible for you.

Does your paper have a written policy on writing for other papers? Did you ask permission? If so, was this in writing? Did those who also worked for multiple papers ask permission to do so? Do those at your paper who work for other papers write about schools within your circ. area?

Best of luck to you.

 

Seems to me like having the other paper's writer giving your paper a weekly column is a pretty good precedent to the information-sharing arrangement between the papers.

Also, were you ever warned, either verbally or in writing, that you were not allowed to write for another paper?

Like Scorpio said, it probably will depend on the state you live in. But you could have a case. Good luck.

 

Does this mean that you wrote a story for a rival paper while in your office at work?

 

Sorry, dude.

 

I was using her laptop and forgot to change the logout before I posted.

 

Mizzou has said it in the past on these threads, and I think it needs repeating... get. everything. in. writing. Or else it'll come back to bite you in the ass.

In this climate, companies will do anything to toss someone out on their ass, especially when it'll save them a buck or 10 thousand. See what happened to the guy in Orlando last year.

OK, sorry for my diatribe.

Editorhoo, I've been in your shoes -- under far different circumstances. I wish you the best. Please PM if I can be of assistance to you. The worst part comes a couple weeks down the road, when everyone has "forgotten" about your situation, not in the immediate aftermath when people are calling to check in on you regularly.

I'm sure they already have the apology typed up.

 

Yeah, even if you didn't do it in the actual office, I am missing something. Where do people work for competing papers at the same time? I've never worked anywhere where this would be even remotely OK. 'hoo, I trust that your papers have some kind of understanding, I've just never heard of such a thing. Someone help me out here.

 

I just find it difficult to understand how this could go from zero to you're fired in the blink of an eye. A reprimand might have been in order, but a dismissal? Something's not right.

Not to suggest that editorhoo isn't telling us everything....it just seems very odd that the punishment would be so severe right off the bat.

Anyway, I am very sorry to hear your story, and I wish you well. Please keep us posted as to what you decide to do.

 

Firstly, I'm sorry this happened. Losing your job in this economy is an absolute doozy to have to digest. You'd hope that your record will get you another chance somewhere, even in these times.

To piggyback on what a few others have been saying: What is the policy when it comes to writing for competing newspapers? Is there one? You said there's a history of information-sharing between the two because of the column, but that may be a special circumstance. Up until a few years ago, the two largest papers in a state had a columnist write for both -- they were rivals in every conceivable way, and reporters for one paper were expressly forbidden to do anything with a byline for the other. But this columnist's arrangement had been established quite some time ago, when the culture was more genteel, so he was grandfathered in.

That's an important distinction, especially if they try to file an objection to your getting unemployment.

 

I've always had to sign contracts that prohibit me from double-dipping, so to speak. I thought that was pretty much the norm; if not actually signing, a verbal understanding to the rule.