As iMediaEthics has reported, Carmen Aristegui was fired from her radio program after commenting on “rumor” that Mexican president Felipe Calderon is an alcoholic. She was rehired within a matter of weeks.
MexiData, the website for a consulting firm that offers news, noted that while there was criticism of her firing, there was also criticism that Aristegui “smeared’ the president.
An unnamed “career government official” reportedly explained:
“it is one thing to report on the dark-comedy in the Congress that was intended [to] tarnish the image of the President; it is another thing for a journalist to validate the accusation by adding her own demand that the President respond, and going to the extent of calling it a ‘serious’ one.”
Further, MexiData included some “observations” about the ending of Aristegui’s contract, which has since been reinstated. For example, MexiData wondered if Aristegui was required to remain politically objective as part of her employment. “Under such a constraint,” Aristegui’s comments “reasonably could be considered a breach of contract and a cause for termination.”