HERE’S THE SCOOP:
- A Dallas Morning News education reporter, Meghan Mangrum, was fired for violating the paper’s social media policy after she used the word “bruh” to address the city’s mayor on Twitter.
- Mangrum’s use of the word came in response to a tweet from the mayor claiming that local media had “no interest” in reporting on a drop in violent crime, which multiple outlets had already covered.
- Mangrum, who is white, said her use of “bruh” was meant to convey frustration or disappointment and that she had used the term toward “all sorts of accounts” in the past.
Dallas Morning News education reporter Meghan Mangrum has been fired after using the word “bruh” to address the city’s mayor on Twitter, a move that violated the paper’s social media policy. Mangrum’s dismissal came just three days after the tweet, which came in response to a claim by Mayor Eric Johnson that local media had “no interest” in reporting on a drop in violent crime, a claim that multiple outlets, including the Dallas Morning News, had already covered.
Gotta love when folks let their inherent biases show. I get to be addressed as “bruh” by someone who writes for my daily local paper whom I’ve never met.🤷🏾♂️ https://t.co/FYmramSZQ6
— Mayor Eric L. Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) February 11, 2023
Mangrum’s use of “bruh” was criticized by the mayor and his chief of staff, with Johnson writing on Twitter, “Gotta love when folks let their inherent biases show. I get to be addressed as ‘bruh’ by someone who writes for my daily local paper whom I’ve never met.” Mangrum, who is white, said she had used the term toward “all sorts of accounts” in the past and that she would have used it regardless of the mayor’s race.
Mangrum’s dismissal has led to protests by the Dallas News Guild, and the union has filed a complaint on her behalf with the National Labor Relations Board. Mangrum said she is devastated by her firing and disappointed with management’s response, and she believes her ouster “is one alarming incident in a broader story of the challenges facing journalists” at the paper.
Source: huffpost.com
Wrongful termination, lots of money, fully reinstated with public written apology from the Mayor!
What is wrong with these scumbags? Never heard that term before, but it kinda sounds like “brother” which is a nice term???
Hope this Mayor gets his comeuppance and this wonderful journalist gets payment in full for her damages and wrongful termination.
I don’t believe she should have used a term like that to someone she has never met. She was just being too familiar with that term. She should have kept her work professional. It was not something she should have been fired for. Her boss REALLY over reacted.
She didn’t use the term. She was stating that she gets addressed by that. There was nothing unprofessional in her comment but the reaction from her boss was totally unprofessional. As for the ‘word’ ‘bruh’, it’s sad that the English language is devolving.
I agree that if she had never met him, and particularly in that he holds political office, she should have been more professional. Likewise, her overlords could have been much more professional with her, by giving her a warning, explaining protocols to her, or perhaps, at worst, suspending her for a short time. Firing her was way over the top, unless she used a MUCH worse word, or refused to mend her ways.
Her manager is fearfully pandering to the mayor’s whims and sensitivity.
Very subtle intimidation against free speech.
Lincoln used to be ridiculed, literally, as a “baboon” in the press. Thin skinned a bit.
it is sad someone can be fired for the use of any word. i would not use the word “bruh” because to me it has no meaning. nonetheless i defend the right of people to speak their minds without fear of intimidation and retribution. is it not better to know what those around us are thinking?