Pickard's termination from WFMJ resulted in individuals criticizing the network on X, with advocates hoping to see her file a wrongful termination lawsuit.
A staffer at an Ohio NBC News affiliate was fired on Tuesday for posting an “unauthorized” meme on Facebook in support of "Straight Pride" during June's Pride month. WFMJ in Youngstown announced the employee's termination and released a public apology over the "concerning" incident.
Madonna Chism Pickard, who was the station's community relations director, posted a meme on her personal Facebook account earlier this month featuring a newlywed man and woman along with a caption that read: "Celebrate Straight Pride," "It's Natural, It Has Worked for Thousands of Years, And You Can Make Babies!"
Pickard, whose profile picture featured a company logo, quickly took the post down and apologized for offending viewers, according to Mahoning Matters. However, the damage was seemingly already done, and WFMJ released a statement condemning Pickard's actions.
"Dear WFMJ Viewers, Early this morning, WFMJ management was made aware of an unauthorized social media post by a WFMJ employee. That post has since been removed. WFMJ is conducting an investigation into the unauthorized post. We are concerned by this incident and are moving forward with a thorough investigation," the station wrote on Facebook on June 6.
On Tuesday, the station released a follow-up post and announced Pickard's termination.
"WFMJ has terminated the employment of our Community Relations Director following her unauthorized post on a company-linked social media site last week. WFMJ is committed to serving our entire community with the respect we believe all people deserve. We recognize we live in a diverse community with differing views on many topics, and we believe discussions of those views and reporting on them should be done in a respectful manner by all. We deeply regret that our Community Relations Director crossed the line," the station continued.
"We do not condone such actions and apologize to you, our viewers, for this unauthorized post," they concluded.
Pickard's termination resulted in individuals criticizing the network on X, with advocates hoping to see her file a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Powered by The Post Millennial CMS™ Comments
Join and support independent free thinkers!
We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.
Remind me next month
To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy
Comments