A reporter for a local Minneapolis station was fired Friday for wearing a MAGA hat while covering Trump's rally in the city the day before.
Star Tribune videojournalist Mark Vancleave spotted Jim Bunner, a multimedia journalist with KTTC wearing the hat outside Mayo Center while covering the same rally, snapped a picture, and put it on Twitter, as good reporters do.
Buzzfeed News reports:
“He violated our policy so he’s no longer with us,” Noel Sederstrom, news director for KTTC, told BuzzFeed News. “We don’t allow our people to wear campaign clothing while on assignment.”
Prohibiting reporters from wearing campaign clothing or pins, especially while on the job, is standard practice across the news industry. Many news outlets also recommend or warn their staff against making public political displays or statements in order to maintain objectivity. But on his social media accounts, Bunner was vocal about his political leanings. He once added an NRA banner to his profile picture. And in another post, he wrote, “You watch CNN to oogle Brooke, Kate, Erin, Brianna, Sunlen, and Poppy. Not for journalistic integrity.”
On the day of President Trump’s inauguration, he uploaded a picture of himself dancing in a newsroom in apparent celebration.
That video has since been removed from public view.
Jim Bunner shouldn't worry too much. I'm sure Breitbart News or the Daily Caller will find a place for him. There's always a safe space for someone to cry victim and put their hand out when they're wearing the right kind of hat.
