So Andy Bitter is getting sued by his former employer the Roanoke Times over his twitter account. I have some thoughts on this and in my title the hash tag gives it away #FreeAndyBitter.
The account in question is @AndyBitterVT. This article from the Washington Post summarizes the lawsuit. Below is from that article.
The lawsuit is noteworthy in that it asserts an employer owns an employee’s social media account and controls both access and rights to its content. The Roanoke Times said in its filing that a previous beat writer started the account in 2010 and that it was then passed on to Bitter when he was hired in October 2011. Now that Bitter has left the Times, the paper wants access to the account back — along with the 27,200 followers that have accumulated since it was created in 2010.
I think it’s fair to say that the large majority of followers were from Andy Bitter. I am included among them. Should that account go to a new person, I would likely unfollow the account, and jump on board’s with Andy’s new one. That said – I feel like saying to the Roanoke Times – just drop it. From that same article, this sums my feelings on the matter.
Poynter’s McBride — who formerly served in an ombudsman role at ESPN — said that journalists have used Twitter accounts to make themselves more marketable, and indeed, many of the Athletic’s hires have brought sizable Twitter followings to the growing company.
“It’s hard enough to be a journalist these days. In the name of good journalism, I think journalists should own their own brand. It brings value to them as individuals,” McBride said. “There are so many journalists who are losing their jobs because the economy in journalism is so bad. It is an asset they can take with them that make them more employable. I’m not sure it’s an asset the company deserves to keep.”
The Roanoke Times has it’s own twitter account – @roanoketimes. Let it go guys, you’re not going to win this in court of public opinion.
BREAKING!! @MarkPacker has just offered the @roanoketimes $130,000 for the rights to his @twitter account. Friday, 10 am., deadline! #FreeAndyBitter @sblackburn26 @Sammy_Joey94 @ESPNUonSiriusXM #ACCThisMorning
— Wes Durham (@WesDurham) August 8, 2018
@roanoketimes Not convinced you thought your lawsuit with @AndyBitterVT through. Y’all are taking a beating on social media! #smh #FreeAndyBitter
— Dave Abernathy (@mdvtfan) August 8, 2018
@roanoketimes I’d strongly suggest that you back off of @AndyBitterVT or 25K of his 27K followers are very likely to not follow who ever replaces him. The account is Andy Bitter in our eyes, not Roanoke Times.
— Bob Vanderheyden (@bv1800) August 7, 2018
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