KSK Blogger Fired by WaPo

Michael Tunison, who I think wrote for the Post's Metro staff, apparently was fired after outing himself as one of the Kissing Suzy Kolber crew (he's Christmas Ape).

http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2008/04/update-ape-got-dooced.html

FishbowlDC probably didn't help his cause by spreading the word:

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/news_notes/postie_likes_to_post_solo_drunk_shots_82459.asp

Fishbowl also is reporting that he's been let go.

 

I knew when he outed himself over on KSK a few days ago that it wouldn't end well. Still, that sucks.

 

A number of SportsJournalists.commers love to bash bloggers, as if "blogging" was a monolith and all bloggers think, act and write the same way. And yet here's a trained professional journalist who managed -- at least for a while -- to write for one of the nation's best newspapers AND one of the Internet's raunchiest sports blogs.

Turns the "mom's basement" cliche on its ear a bit, no?

 

So it turns out he's just horribly stupid instead of unqualified. Gotcha.

 

I'm just waiting for Tom Petty to stop by and say the reason KSK is so successful is BECAUSE one of the writers is a "trained journalist."

Not entirely sure what he's "unqualified" for, but...um...he kind of worked for one of the largest newspapers in the country. He has also stated that he will be making the same (if not more) salary now that they sold their blog. So yeah, not having to deal with all you assholes every day and getting stuck as the real-life Veronica Corningstone...sucks horribly.

 

VJ said he was stupid, not unqualified.

 

Small Town....I apparently can't read today. Got to stop drinking.

 

It's sort of unclear to me how the Post was able to just up and fire him. It's a guild paper. Presumably he was in the guild. Seems like it would be fairly easy to grieve, unless he was violating the terms of his employment by writing for an outside source without getting approval. Even still, I'm not sure the Post could fire him that easily, especially if their reason was that he "appeared to be drunk in a picture on the internet."

 

In the same way that every fortune cookie is funnier when you add the phrase "in bed", the Guild approves all firings accurately accompanied by the clause "with a furry."

So "appeared to be drunk in a picture on the internet with a furry" meets all Guild standards for termination.

 

I'm guessing the WaPo's reasoning was he was doing outside work without the paper's knowledge or consent.

Sucks for Tunison, but I'm guessing he knew it was likely to happen once he outed himself.

 

I'm hearing now that he quit instead of going through the long process of being fired.

 

You don't get escorted out by security when you quit of your own choosing.