In one July 2012 memo, Dennison ordered Flanagan to undergo employee counseling or lose his job for creating a “hostile work environment,” which officials said Flanagan completed.įlanagan was fired in February 2013 for poor news judgment and poor relationships with his colleagues, according to the station.Īnother memo detailed his stormy exit from the TV station, which prompted managers to call police to escort him out.
In internal memos made public as part of the lawsuit, the station’s then-news director, Dan Dennison, detailed several episodes in which Flanagan had used hostile dialogue and body language with co-workers, especially photographers. The case was dismissed.įlanagan had been hired in March 2012 as a WDBJ reporter after several years out of the industry, and worked at the station less than a year. After Flanagan shot himself but before he died at a hospital, the station’s manager admitted on camera Wednesday that he wasn’t sure whether he wanted Flanagan to live or die.įlanagan’s stint at the station was tumultuous, according to court records from a discrimination lawsuit he filed against it in 2014. Sobs have been heard off-set as staffers processed their emotions on-air. Reporters have reported about co-workers, while live shots have been canceled out of an abundance of caution. The station has carried on under extraordinary circumstances.
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Locally, the shooting tested the emotional and professional limits of WDBJ, where both victims were in romantic relationships with other staff members. With its front-page story, the Los Angeles Times published one freeze-frame image of Flanagan’s hand pointing a gun at the reporter.
Others decided to republish the images, including the New York Daily News, which covered its Thursday front page with three freeze frames showing the moment Flanagan opened fire on a visibly shocked Parker.
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Some news outlets declined to show the full videos. Almost every element of Flanagan’s attack, which seemed maximized for public shock value, posed a challenge to journalism itself.Īcross the nation, Flanagan’s shooting and social media posts launched debates over whether media outlets should amplify the thoughts and actions that a killer specifically wanted the public to see.