Fired 'Cincy Enquirer' Reporter Calls Ousting 'Appalling'

By: Joe Strupp Jim McNair, the veteran Cincinnati Enquirer business reporter who clams he was fired without explanation, says editors may have ousted him after being pressured by advertisers.

He also claims that the atmosphere at the paper remains hesitant about some aggressive business reporting, calling it a "lingering effect" of the infamous 1998 Chiquita series that ended with the paper paying the fruit company more than $10 million to settle a lawsuit.

"It has hovered over us like as shadow," McNair said about the Chiquita incident, in which reporter Michael Gallagher was fired for illegally obtaining voice mail messages for a report on the local company. "I think there are some lingering effects there."

But McNair was apparently warned in May that his actions were under scrutiny, according to his termination letter that cited the previous warning and stated, "In light of recent complaints, our confidence that you could improve in this regard - to report in a fair and balanced manner - was severely shaken."

Executive Editor Hollis Towns called allegations that the paper caved in to advertisers "completely unfounded. We make news decisions that are completely independent."

Towns would not comment specifically on the reason for McNair's firing, which occurred last Thursday, but said "it was a personnel decision and something that needed to be addressed?It wasn't made lightly, you never go into this type of situation without thinking things through."

McNair, 54, said he was fired last week after six years with the paper, but given no specific reasons for his departure. He received an e-mail letter from Enquirer Vice President of Human Resources Keith Bulling today.

The letter cited the previous warning that McNair had received in May, adding that "your employment was terminated based on a pattern of behavior." It went on to say, "specifically, you had exhibited disrespect for your editors and colleagues and had a lack of understanding about the goals and mission of the Enquirer. In light of recent complaints, our confidence that you could improve in this regard - to report in a fair and balanced manner - was severely shaken."

The firing of McNair, who has 23 years in business reporting, including 12 at The Miami Herald, has sparked a slew of Internet comments on the move, ranging from those who claim the paper caved to advertiser pressure to others who say that McNair may have deserved the ouster.

Towns said concerns by some that the firing represents a cutback in business coverage are unfounded. "We are very much committed to business and having a strong business section," the editor said. "We made some changes in the staff to aggressively cover business news. The notion we are not committed to business coverage is completely unfounded."

He added that McNair would likely be replaced. "We are aggressively recruiting a high-caliber reporter of the same pedigree," he said.

But McNair, who is married with three children, said he has pursued an aggressive approach to business coverage, citing stories such as an investigation into the billing practices of a local pharmaceutical company, and a 2006 series on shoddy homebuilding practices. He says the homebuilding stories had drawn complaints from homebuilding companies that advertised in the Enquirer, but resulted in no corrections, clarifications, or other examples of inaccurate reporting.

"My work speaks for itself," he says, adding that he is consulting an attorney for possible legal action. "I find all of this extremely confusing and appalling."