Topic: WorldNetDaily
Bob Unruh uses a Dec. 4 WorldNetDaily article to pull off yet another one-source wonder, this time on the lawsuit filed by a woman who claims she was fired from her job as a university human resources administrator because she wrote a letter to the editor criticizing gay rights.
Unruh quoted only representatives of the law firm representing the woman, the right-wing American Freedom Law Center. While he quotes the AFLC bashing a ruling dismissing the woman's lawsuit, at no point does he quote, or even link to, the ruling itself.
Thus, Unruh has free rein to frame the lawsuit as the woman being fired for "expressing an opinion that conflicts with the institution’s adopted political perspective" and not telling the rest of the story.
Meanwhile, actual journalists at the Toledo Blade quoted from the ruling dismissing the lawsuit:
" … The balance of [Ms. Dixon's] interest in making a comment of public concern is clearly outweighed by the University's interest as her employer in carrying out its own objectives. Therefore, [Ms. Dixon] has failed to establish that her speech was protected," the judge wrote. "[Ms. Dixon] also claims that she was fired for violating an impermissibly vague speech policy. However, the damage she did to her ability to perform her job and to the University provide ample justification for her termination."
In other words, the woman's attack on gay rights raised questions about her ability to perform her human resources fairly and without bias, threatening the university's reputation and justifying its decision to terminate her.
Unruh, of course, mentions nothing about this aspect of the case -- he's clearly too sympathetic to the woman's side to tell the full truth.
