So these are more or less my final thoughts on the topic.
The latest information I'm hearing is that Ms. Golder was a Luicci hire. Tom is, as we know, Sr. Director of Digital Media and while he's a good man and bleeds Scarlet, I think any missteps with regard to vetting the new hire's social media accounts can be laid at his doorstep and chalked up to a learning experience.
Tom rolls up to Kevin, who rolls up to Julie. To the extent that Macy's social media may have caused concern among Rutgers fans, I think the Athletic Department as a whole needs to look at its oversight policies with regard to hiring and make sure that the proper governance is in place. I can tell you with all certainty that prior to her being hired, there were conversations at least on some level regarding the fact that Rutgers fans have no love for anything Penn State.
The current claim is that Macy's position is essentially an unpaid internship. Taryn was also unpaid. The difference was that Taryn was a Rutgers student and so the whole concept of "internship", along with the various conditions that go along with that, were faithfully satisfied.
It's my opinion that going forward, the position of RVision reporter should be filled from within the Rutgers community. We boast of our Communications program and so we should back up those claims by ensuring that on-air internships be offered only to qualified students who show the requisite skills and promise.
The claim that Macy was "the most qualified person who would accept the job for free" fails, on its face. Taryn Hatcher moved from her unpaid internship to the Big 10 Network and is now a television sports reporter in Hawaii. There isn't a single student in the program who wouldn't look at her success and want to emulate it. If the suggestion is, as has been implied, that none of them are qualified, then we either need to redouble our teaching efforts within the Communications program or scrap the whole thing and give its funding to the Olympic sports.
Finally, I think that the so-called "professionals" need to think back on all the events surrounding this dialog and focus on what could have been done better. The suppression of debate on this topic can, I believe, be wholly attributed to a certain kinship and loyalty among "journalists" who perceived that one of their own was being unfairly attacked and circled the wagons in her defense.
This is, in my opinion, pure weak sauce. A true, professional journalist's responsibilities lie with the truth, first and foremost. Truth with regard to their subject matter and truth with regard to their audience. Controversies happen. When they do, it should be the responsibility of every journalist to foster the debate which leads, ultimately to the truth - and in turn, to conflict resolution.
It should NOT be "let's make everybody shut up so this goes away". That's something we expect from Trenton - it's not something we expect from Piscataway.
Finally, I wish Macy Golder all the luck and success that she earns and deserves. I hope she represents Rutgers faithfully and well in the time she spends with us and I hope that she holds no ill will toward the fact that, at the end of the day, Penn State still sucks. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: