Faith

TV Station Fires Anchor After He Fails to Disclose Connection to Atheist Group He Was Covering

Jason Volentine Fired From WXMI Over Ties to Freedom From Religion Foundation

Former WXMI anchor Jason Volentine (Image Credit: TVSpy)

Jason Volentine, a former anchor for WXMI, a television station in Michigan, found himself without employment after failing to tell his employers about a relationship he had with the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF). FFRF, an atheist activist group, is a non-profit that advocates for the separation of church and state, while fighting faith in the public square.

It wasn‘t Volentine’s relationship, in itself, that was problematic — it was the fact that he had covered the non-profit group, but had purportedly failed to tell his employers and viewers about the relationship beforehand. In July, Volentine did two stories about the FFRF‘s campaign to remove a cross from the City of Wyoming’s logo in Michigan, TVSpy reports.

After letting the anchor go, WXMI released the following statement about the incident, expressing “regret” to viewers and readers, alike:

Following our airing of the story about the city seal of Wyoming, it was brought to our attention that the reporter had a connection to the Freedom From Religion Foundation and failed to disclose it on air. While reviewing the incident we removed the article from our website and immediately removed the reporter from the story. Following our review of the incident we informed our viewers of the connection and the employee no longer works for WXMI. We take this very seriously and regret this unfortunate incident.

Volentine had been with the station since 2010. His byline was purportedly removed from one of his articles. While his second article was originally taken down, it is now live, once again, on the WXMI web site. A note has been placed at the end of the article, reading:

Since the storied aired, FOX 17 has learned the reporter on this story has a connection to the Freedom From Religion Foundation and failed to disclose it.  That employee was immediately removed from the story and no longer works for WXMI.  We regret this unfortunate incident.

It‘s unclear what the anchor’s relationship to the atheist non-profit was, as neither the station nor the FFRF have divulged his standing with the group. Following the incident, Volentine deleted his Facebook page and has not been reachable for comment.

(H/T: TVSpy)

Comments (31)

  • Lftcoaster
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 3:31am

    Congratulations WXMI for having some journalistic ethics.

    Report Post » Lftcoaster  
  • KICKILLEGALSOUT
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 3:01am

    More trojan horses from the Leftists hate groups trying to get themselves in positions of influence to drive and mislead the American people in their direction.

    Report Post » KICKILLEGALSOUT  
  • Jerry Frey
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 1:10am

    Are mythicisits also atheists?

    http://napoleonlive.info/judas-the-galilean/

    Report Post »  
  • kimosd1
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 8:58pm

    When I was growing up newspapers and the media had “Reporters”. Who, what, when, where, how and why. Just the facts, Mam. Now we have “Journalists”. Journalists think their responsibility is to “mold” opinion in the “proper direction”. See what a degree in Journalism gets you today ?

    Report Post » kimosd1  
  • Sara123
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 8:06pm

    I wonder if they fired the members of Joruno-list. Those were the “reporters” working for the Obama election, influencing coverage of the campaign and candidate accordingly.

    Much of the modern media think they are politicans running campaign commericals under the guise of “news.” They call it activist journalism and it is condoned in Journalism schools. Students are encouraged to push liberal causes and atheism is one of those causes. Pretty sick. But most Americans know what they are up to.

    Report Post »  
    • nowonuno
      Posted on August 6, 2012 at 8:43pm

      If they fired all of the atheists, there would be no one left to turn out the lights. Maybe they are just open about it. My guess is that they were stoked to find a leftist, non-atheist (oxymoron, I know) in media and he burned them. It is fun to watch them eat their own. He’ll probably end up on Fox as the next liberal punching bag. Can’t wait.

      Report Post »  
  • Bruce P.
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 7:55pm

    He was unethical and paid the price. He’ll win no sympathy from this atheist.

    Report Post » Bruce P.  
  • Calm Voice of Reason
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 7:37pm

    As an atheist myself, I admit that I am a little bummed by this. But, as someone who also hopes for more integrity in journalism, I agree with the decision of the news organization. In a time when companies like Fox News can “win” a Supreme Court ruling that news programs don’t have to tell the truth, seeing higher standards being upheld is a positive sign. I have no doubt that Mr. Volentine will see that what happened to him were necessary in order to uphold the high standards of Reason which the FFRF stand for.

    Report Post » Calm Voice of Reason  
  • 70S_KIDS_FIGHTING_SOCIALISM
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 7:12pm

    If everyone in the MSM was fired for not disclosing that they work for the Obama administration there wouldn’t be anybody left.

    Report Post » 70S_KIDS_FIGHTING_SOCIALISM  
  • JaredMark
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 7:07pm

    SHAME ON ALL OF YOU who are agreeing with this decision!

    All you have to do to understand how wrong this is, is to imagine the headline: “Catholic gets fired from job as reporter after covering local catholic group and failing to disclose he’s Catholic”.

    Admit it, you’d be up in arms, and IN AN OUTRAGE over such a thing!

    Just imagine it… “For the purposes of full disclosure, I am a Catholic as well.” Can you imagine such a requirement?

    Report Post »  
    • john koenig
      Posted on August 6, 2012 at 7:33pm

      He didn’t disclose it to his boss. That’s the issue. It‘s his boss’ call to send him out on the story.
      And as well, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is not a religion, it’s a legal advocacy group. If a reporter was affiliated to the NRA or Planned Parenthood and did a story on either one, they’d be subject to the same sanctions.

      Report Post » john koenig  
    • Bluzie
      Posted on August 6, 2012 at 8:27pm

      Sorry Jared, the point you‘re trying to make isn’t even close to what the story is. It‘s not that he is an atheist and didn’t say anything. It is that he was connected to the FFRF itself and did a couple stories on the foundation in a positive light and didn’t tell his employers and viewers that hey “I’ve worked for this foundation, I believe in their message, I promote their message.

      Now you might have some merit in your argument if you were Cardinal O’Connor and was working at the station, went out did a favorable report on the Catholic church and didn’t disclose his affiliation.

      Report Post »  
    • tzion
      Posted on August 7, 2012 at 9:19am

      If a news station wishes to be seen as objective they can’t have people reporting on groups they are a part of. Your Catholic comparison would also apply if the Catholic in question was part of the Catholic group or church he was reporting on. Convicted murderer Mumia Abu Jamal was fired from his job as a radio host when he couldn’t be objective about the MOVE organization. This is no different.

      Report Post »  
  • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 6:46pm

    Everytime Brian Williams covers Obama or the Dems does he disclose he is part of the Good Time Juicy Girl Boom Boom Club? We all know the Dems are money Whores and Brian Williams is not only a member, but he is the President.

    I am waiting to see how long this post is on before it gets censored. They don’t like the “Boom Boom” word on The Blaze.

    Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
  • bdandsl
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 6:40pm

    Honesty is always best.

    Report Post » bdandsl  
  • Ty Coon
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 6:39pm

    A heathen Liar ?! Say it ain’t so Joe !!! Come on weirdos, heathens have ruined our schools, and with OweBaMao Bin Lying, n office….all of America.

    Report Post »  
  • SunTzuYou
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 6:34pm

    If only every “journalist” got fired for not making a good faith disclosure about stories which they pretend to be impartial.

    Report Post »  
  • The_Cabrito_Goat
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 6:33pm

    A simple conflict of interests. If a news reporter gets “too close” to a source for her story, then it compromises the validity of her story.

    Report Post » The_Cabrito_Goat  
  • sawbuck
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 6:25pm

    Umm excuse me ..But why should it matter..? I’m a Christian…
    Dose a Christian have to go around with their faith on their sleeve ?
    No..! why should this guy ..? why does it matter.? A person already has a pretty good
    idea how they feel about these topics and if a person is indifferent to a story or supportive
    does it throw the story off that much…? I would think it would be more problematic ,
    If he was covering a Christian event instead.. I don’t know maybe its just me..
    Maybe I’m getting use to the way media is today.. anymore I take all stories with a
    grain of salt. I don’t care who the reporter is…If the story smells , I will research the story
    from another source.. I see problems with this ..
    Do Christians have to disclose their belief to their Networks..?
    I’m sure there has been Christian reporters that has done stories on Churches that
    targeted bars that were close to their church.. What’s the difference ..
    I’m not advocating Atheism …I’m just not wanting Christians to have to put their faith
    down on a resume or be fired for promoting a church event or defending the faith…
    Or does the media demand full discloser and only Atheist cover faith based events.
    This is two way street and still America.

    Report Post » sawbuck  
  • RJJinGadsden
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 6:14pm

    Management was probably upset that he failed to bring in a file folder full of applications for everybody else. I thought that such a membership was more or less a resume enhancer for these guys.

    Report Post » RJJinGadsden  
    • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
      Posted on August 6, 2012 at 7:02pm

      He must have let his Brotherhood of the Hypocrisy Club membership lapse; therefore, he wasn’t an official hypocrite, which is why they fired him. You can’t be a reporter and not be a hypocrite.

      Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
  • ehayes2006
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 6:03pm

    Good Riddance. :)

    Report Post »  
  • LeadNotFollow
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 5:59pm

    …
    The Godless are falling like dominoes.
    He was not truthful to his employer. Glad he was fired.

    Report Post »  
  • hayesstephen
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 5:54pm

    I hope this guy can make change, no wait, hamburger joints have cash registers tell the clerks how much the change is. Typical White Liberal Trash tactic. Lie suborn, cheat, defame, besmear,slander, libel, there is nothing to low for these creatures. Have fun working the mid-night to eight A.M. shift at the fast food mini mart ( now more commonly called a Target range.) Remember don’t wear a bulls eye on your shirt.

    Report Post »  
  • Fat Pappy
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 5:50pm

    Would the station taken the same action if he’d had been a Baptist doing a story about the them? There’s more to this than is being told here……

    Report Post »  
    • @leftfighter
      Posted on August 6, 2012 at 6:24pm

      Understand my position before you read my answer: I’m a Media professional with twelve years experience writing, reporting, and working behind the scenes (both as a videographer and in the control room).

      You’re talking apples and oranges. Ones’ Christian affiliation when covering a pro-Christian story isn‘t the same type contributing factor than ones’ Atheism is relating to what the public perceives as an group formed for the purpose of attacking religion. It’s a bit of a double standard regarding Christians, yes, but it’s understood that the majority in this nation are Christians (even if the majority of some communities aren’t). The disclaimer would be superfluous.

      It’s not an easy answer to understand, but it is what it is: If there are factors involved in the reporter‘s background that aren’t known or understood to be the case, it’s journalistic malpractice not to disclose them. If a Media operation has a shred of journalistic integrity, they are supposed to do exactly what they did here.

      Report Post » @leftfighter  
    • Kalshion
      Posted on August 6, 2012 at 6:55pm

      @Fat Pappy

      I’m actually inclined to believe that it was because this idiot decided NOT to reveal his affiliation. Believe it or not, as a journalist or anchor you ARE required to reveal those affililations so that a new article can remain as unbiased as possible. When you don’t reveal that, you are effectively being dishonest with your employer.

      This is serious, because the FFRF is a subversive organization whose only goal is to remove as much religion from everyday life as possible and the majority of your news outlets don’t want to deal with an organization such as this.

      However, your religious anchors ‘do’ reveal their afilliations with their employers, most do it because they have nothing to hide. This guy? Had something to hide, given what we know of the FFRF.

      Report Post »  
    • ModerationIsBest
      Posted on August 6, 2012 at 7:21pm

      If he was just an atheist and did a report on FFRF then it wouldn’t be an issue to do a story about them.

      If he was or had been a member of the FFRF and was doing a story on it, he should have disclosed the relationship.

      It’d be similar if a broadcaster who was a Christian did a story about a pro Christian group that they had ties to.

      If it was just a Christian doing a story on the group, that’s fine.

      If it was a Christian who had ties to the group and didn’t disclose it before their story, then it’s a problem.

      Report Post »  
  • quiltgal
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 5:48pm

    Good riddance to so-called journalists who fails to reveal their affiliations for possibly subversive purposes.

    Report Post »  
  • AvengerK
    Posted on August 6, 2012 at 5:41pm

    I have no problem with Volentine holding his personal beliefs in the atheist religion..I do however have problems with Volentine being an activist for his atheist faith and doing favorable stories on the activist group he’s a member of.

    Report Post »  

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