3 WVa reporters who condemned interview of ex-coal CEO Don Blankenship fired

Source: Associated Press

3 WVa reporters who condemned interview of ex-coal CEO fired

By JOHN RABY
December 13, 2022

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Three reporters from a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper in West Virginia say they have been fired after publicly criticizing an interview conducted by their company president with a former coal executive who was convicted of a safety violation in connection with the worst U.S. mine disaster in decades.

Charleston Gazette-Mail reporters Caity Coyne, Lacie Pierson and Ryan Quinn said Tuesday that they were fired due to their comments on Twitter about the video interview, now removed from the paper’s website, with former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship.

Quinn said no specific policy was cited. “The person who fired me said it was because I had publicly hurt the company on social media,” he said.

Pierson said she was told “it was insubordination that we committed on social media” and “that was something they couldn’t accept.”

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/twitter-inc-business-west-virginia-charleston-don-blankenship-9c16926c55e137ee7345e38f7fbf2ae9