Mark Whicker, what were you thinking?

I think Jack is being sarcastic.

 

I don't necessarily think he should be fired, but that assessment dismisses the whole thing way too lightly. Whicker did far more than just piss people off or give some people an excuse to bark for a week. He held the paper up to national ridicule, both for his insensitivity in writing the column, and his editors' incompetence in allowing it to see the light of day. That alone is plenty of reason for punitive action.

The Register has two issues to consider. One is practical -- will the paper lose a significant number of readers over this (unlikely), or alienate advertisers (Whicker made a reference to advertisers in his apology, which indicates some of them voiced their displeasure). In short, has he become a liability?

The second issue is whether they consider this to be so offensive that a simple "I'm sorry" isn't enough. Do they need to send the message both to readers and staff that this kind of massive screw up is just unacceptable, no matter who makes it? Even if it's true that no tangible harm was done to Jaycee or her family, that's a pretty low bar to set. The real question is when someone writes something so far below the paper's standards, is it acceptable to let him just go on about his business after a quick apology?

I probably wouldn't fire him, but I think an unpaid leave is in order. I just don't see how you can let his face appear under the paper's banner for a while.

 

I probably could agree with that as long as you don't mean some little two-week slap on the wrist. Let him think about it for six months.

Good post overall.

 

A month-long suspension is a lot more than a slap on the wrist.

 

An audience would hardly even notice somebody's gone for a month. People go on vacation for a month.

Six months.

 

Did you notice the word "unpaid" in there? The loss of a paycheck is more than just a "slap on the wrist."

Just ask folks who have been furloughed. It hurts.

 

I don't have to ask anyone. I know.

So I know he deserves more unpaid time than I get for doing nothing wrong.

 

Fair enough.

I would still say six months unpaid is more than an eye for an eye.

If you're not going to just flat-out fire the guy, six months is a tad on the ridiculous side.

 

I still do lean toward firing him, but just to show what I big hearted guy I am, I'll let him have a six month vacation if he'd prefer that.

 

No shit. Really? Fire the guy for writing a shitty column? I'm glad I dont work for some of you guys. Yes, it was putrid column and pretty damn embarrassing to the paper, but it'll blow over. I might be on board with a month suspension, but anything beyond that is just a knee-jerk reaction. I'm not that familiar with the guy, but I think his reputation has earned him a bit of leeway.

 

Sorry, but all this talk about firing him is ridiculous. Do any of the editors on that night get in on this firing talk, too?