While she was still a working WAAL in Huntsville, Ala., Shea Allen occasionally took naps on the job and went braless on live broadcasts. She admitted to these minor transgressions—and seven others—in post to her personal blog called “Confessions of a Red-Headed Reporter.”
1. I’ve gone bra-less during a live broadcast and no one was the wiser.
2. My best sources are the ones who secretly have a crush on me.
3. I am better live when I have no script and no idea what I’m talking about.
4. I’ve mastered the ability to contort my body into a position that makes me appear much skinner [sic] in front of the camera than I actually am.
5. I hate the right side of my face.
6. I’m frightened of old people and I refuse to do stories involving them or the places they reside.
7. Happy, fluffy, rainbow stories about good things make me depressed.
8. I’ve taken naps in the news car.
9. If you ramble and I deem you unnecessary for my story, I’ll stop recording but let you think otherwise.
10. I’ve stolen mail and then put it back. (maybe)
It’s not exactly the stuff of The Newsroom, but apparently is was a little too candid for her bosses. After a stern warning from the higher-ups, Allen removed the post—only to reinstate it soon afterwards in the name of “free expression.”
She appended a preface this time:
This post was taken down because I was momentarily misguided about who I am and what I stand for. To clarify, I make no apologies for the following re-post. It’s funny, satirical and will likely offend some of the more conservative folks. But it isn’t fake and its a genuine look into my slightly twisted psyche.
Here’s the thing, I’ve vowed to always fight for the right of free expression. It’s allowed, no matter what the profession. I pride myself in having earned the respect of many because I make no apologies for the truth and hold nothing back. I don’t fight for things because they serve me, I fight for them because they are right. Sources trust me because I am an unadulterated version of the truth. I won’t ever bend just because its popular to do so and I’m not bending now.
She was summarily fired.
“If I’m going to take a stand on transparency, I gotta tell the whole story,” Allen wrote on Twitter.
H/T Gawker | Photo via Shea Allen/Twitter