Matthew Keys, a journalist who was fired by Reuters earlier today, is hitting back.
Earlier today, Keys told Politico that his police scanner tweets during the Boston Marathon bomber manhunt were one of the reasons Reuters cited for his termination.
He also stated, via Twitter, that he was not the only Reuters employee who tweeted that information:
@moorehn I tweeted names, sourced to dispatch audio, that later turned out to be incorrect. As did others who work for Thomson Reuters.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) April 22, 2013
Indeed, as Twitchy documented, countless journalists cited the same information as Keys during the Boston marathon manhunt (see here and here).
This evening, Keys noted that Reuters has in the past published at least two articles that relied on information from police scanners.
The first article cited by Keys states:
According to local media, a regional police scanner broadcast on Sunday asked area officers to look for a short, stocky woman with short dark hair, driving a dark blue pickup truck with an extended cab and a U.S. Navy emblem in the license-plate frame.
The other article states:
“A house completely demolished. Gas leak in the area,” said one comment broadcast on the suburban Arlington, Texas, police scanner, passed along by weather forecaster AccuWeather.
“Motor home blown sideways blocking the street. There is a person stuck inside,” another scanner broadcast said.
So when did citing information from police scanners become a firing offense?
Meanwhile, Keys says he is being harassed:
To journos looking for comment: I'm receiving threatening phone calls at the moment, so my phone is off. Please email instead.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) April 22, 2013
Update: Now being harassed via iMessage… – pic.twitter.com/M3IMdwL2BC
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) April 22, 2013
Related:
Reuters editor Matthew Keys defends himself on police scanner tweets
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