Drew Johnson, an opinion page editor for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, tweeted that he has been terminated from his job at the newspaper:
I just became the first person in the history of newspapers to be fired for writing a paper's most-read article.http://t.co/BPOTzihZoT
— Drew Johnson (@Drews_Views) August 1, 2013
Johnson’s Twitter bio now reflects the firing:
Johnson claims he was fired for this article, entitled “Take your jobs plan and shove it, Mr. President: Your policies have harmed Chattanooga enough.”
The firing purportedly revolved around the article’s headline along with an approval process the newspaper claims was not properly followed. Johnson claims the way the article was published was nothing out of the ordinary:
https://twitter.com/Derrall/status/362995977570893825
@Derrall We change headlines all the time at the last minute. I had a filler headline in that stunk and thought of that Johnny Paycheck song
— Drew Johnson (@Drews_Views) August 1, 2013
Johnson confirmed with another tweeter that his firing was over the headline:
@Drews_Views Over the headline? http://t.co/zaX81UU6eI Seriously?
— Bruce Ross (@530BruceRoss) August 1, 2013
@bross_RS Yessir
— Drew Johnson (@Drews_Views) August 1, 2013
The newspaper’s side of the story:
Chattanooga Times Free Press fires Free Press editorial writer after unapproved anti-Obama headline http://t.co/3NxgAWfG6L
— Kent Flanagan (@KentFlanagan) August 1, 2013
Did the fact that President Obama was in town the same day affect the paper’s decision to fire Johnson? From the paper’s explanation:
Recommended
Free Press editor Drew Johnson has been terminated after placing a headline on an editorial outside of normal editing procedures.
Johnson’s headline, “Take your jobs plan and shove it, Mr. President: Your policies have harmed Chattanooga enough,” appeared on the Free Press page Tuesday, the day President Barack Obama visited the city.
The headline was inappropriate for this newspaper.
The rest here.
@ChristiChat And this newspaper calls itself the Chattanooga Times FREE Press???
— Richard Scot Pearson (@RichardSPearson) August 1, 2013
Well, not that free apparently.
Drew Johnson, fired today over anti-Obama headline, will be on @RealNewsBlazeTV TONIGHT at 6pm ET. http://t.co/vloZjam6Gb WG
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) August 1, 2013