Posted on 02/23/2024 4:52:40 AM PST by Red Badger
As we reported, Catherine Herridge was fired from CBS during a bloodbath of them cutting hundreds of employees.
Her firing got the most attention because of her excellence in reporting and the suggestion that it was more than just a layoff when it came to her being let go, just after she'd been reporting on the Hur Report. That suspicion grew louder when it was learned that CBS had also seized Herridge's files, computers, and records, which included her "privileged sources."
According to George Washington law professor Jonathan Turley:
"The timing of Herridge’s termination immediately raised suspicions in Washington. She was pursuing stories that were unwelcomed by the Biden White House and many Democratic powerhouses, including the Hur reporton Joe Biden’s diminished mental capacity, the Biden corruption scandal and the Hunter Biden laptop. She continued to pursue these stories despite reports of pushback from CBS executives, including CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews."
This concerned many that this could "chill" reporting and sources providing information to reporters. Some like Turley and journalist Brit Hume said they had never heard of anything like this before.
Catherine Herridge has now posted an important update from SAG-Aftra, which covers broadcast journalists as well as actors. They posted a statement ripping CBS' actions and coming to her defense, demanding that CBS return her files and records to her. They indicated there was progress because of outreach from CBS and they hoped to resolve the question soon.
SAG-AFTRA strongly condemns CBS News' decision to seize Catherine Herridge's reporter notes and research from her office, including confidential source information. This action is deeply concerning to the union because it sets a dangerous precedent for all media professionals and threatens the very foundation of the First Amendment.
It is completely inappropriate for an employer to lay off a reporter and take the very unusual step of retaining and searching the reporter's files, inclusive of confidential source identification and information. From a First Amendment standpoint, a media corporation with a commitment to journalism calling a reporter’s research and confidential source reporting "proprietary information" is both shocking and absurd.
The retention of a media professional's reporting materials by their former employer is a serious break with traditional practices which supports the immediate return of reporting materials. We urge CBS to return this material to Catherine in support of the most basic of First Amendment principles. We are encouraged by recent outreach by CBS News to SAG-AFTRA on this matter, and we are hopeful that it will be resolved shortly.
Hopefully, she gets her files back, and good for SAG-Aftra for standing up for her.
Unfortunately, the horse may be outside the barn already. If the point was to root through the files to find out information, they have already had that opportunity. And would Herridge get all of it back or would some stuff be missing? Even if she gets it back, every journalist out there has to be concerned now about such actions.
People blasted CBS' actions and offered Herridge their support, praising her work.
Sounds like the media just got “infringed”. Welcome to the party, pals!
I do.
Being in sales, my client relationships are important to how I make my living.
Under the law, in the normal course of my work, my job is relationships and the clients belong to my employer and myself.
That’s why I have been required to sign a non-compete or NDA for that kind of information because it would end my career the second I left an employer
If that’s the case, then she has a legal standing. Without anything in writing, the files belong to CBS.
I wish her luck on this, but regardless of what public opinion or social media thinks, the legal aspects should take precedent. However we are living in an alternate world, where even if her contract says records belong to her, she may be SOL.
A person is sent to jail for “outing” a CIA operative, but nothing happens when CBS “outs” the sources that are going after the administration.
Well, this has not changed my mind about CBS. I still think CBS is a POS, lying lib political rag.
“One thumb drive and this would have been a moot point.................”
That is not the point! The point is that there is information on confidential sources. That trust is now lost. Who would agree to speak “off the record” with a reporter if you can expect your name to be broadcast or released.
I hope she downloaded her files onto a thumbdrive.
Red Badger wrote:
“
I worked for a company once that had an intellectual property clause that basically said “ANYTHING YOU INVENT WHILE EMPLOYED, NO MATTER WHAT, IS OURS.”
Even if it had absolutely nothing to do with their business......................
“
Same here; I worked in the defense industry all my life.
Every defense company I worked for had that kind of clause, and I remember thinking “if I design a better mousetrap, they want to own THAT, when their products are fighter jets and tanks ??!!??
Needless to say, I was too busy working and going to school to get my degree, to have time to design anything.
CBS owns all that data.
All of it.
I asked about the clause to and HR person.
He said basically it just means they get the right of first refusal. If it’s something outside of the company’s purview they wouldn’t want it.
But I was thinking, this is a conglomerate, just because this division doesn’t make that kind of stuff, doesn’t mean the other divisions don’t.............
Unintentionally hilarious.
She is so well-regarded that even she likely never imagined this could ever occur. And even if she did, it is impossible to imagine she could clear her entire work PC every single day and keep all of her files on her person at all times.
I find your argument specious. Give the capacity of portable storage media, not to mention multiple cloud options, it is not difficult to perform incremental backups daily. Given the importance and potential impacts of this information, it would be negligent to not have the files independently backed up.
Yeah; that'll sure never inexplicably lose your data!
That is not going to stop them if they think you have them.
Fascist
Deep state doesn’t follow the Constitution.
They love wars...let’s give them one.
She’ll get them back alright. After they have copied every single word in her files. Watch for DOJ arresting people very soon for unauthorized releases of information.
The government KGB officers have already learned who the sources are, and are now planning retaliatory strikes against these people.
CBS will do what the Government KGB agents tell them to do.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.