The latest example of the dangers of over-sharing on social media

Shea Allen's blog "No Apologies: Confessions of a red headed reporter"

Sometimes honesty isn’t always the best policy: Shea Allen, a reporter for ABC’s affiliate WAAY in Huntsville, Alabama, has been fired for 10 confessions she posted last week on her personal blog “No Apologies: Confessions of a Red Headed Reporter”, the Huntsville Times reports. Here’s the list that has gone viral:

1. I’ve gone bra-less during a live broadcast and no one was the wiser. 2. My best sources are the ones who secretly have a crush on me. 3. I am better live when I have no script and no idea what I’m talking about. 4. I’ve mastered the ability to contort my body into a position that makes me appear much skinner in front of the camera than I actually am. 5. I hate the right side of my face. 6. I’m frightened of old people and I refuse to do stories involving them or the places they reside. 7. Happy, fluffy, rainbow stories about good things make me depressed. 8. I’ve taken naps in the news car. 9. If you ramble and I deem you unnecessary for my story, I’ll stop recording but let you think otherwise. 10. I’ve stolen mail and then put it back. (maybe)

Allen told TODAY Tuesday morning that the post was supposed to be self-deprecating:

“I was thinking I was being snarky and funny…I certainly didn’t think it would come to this.”

While WAAY’s general manager refused to comment about “personnel” matters, Allen said she was appalled that something she did outside of the office would cause her to lose her job. As she put it to the Times:

“On the one hand, management wants you to exploit every social media site you possibly can, put as much content out there, drive to the web, drive to the web. And then on the other hand, I’ve done something in my personal time on the web, a personally designated space and I’ve been terminated for it.”

Her candid camera moments were not just limited to her blogspot site, however. Allen — who describes herself as a “full-time smarty pants” in her Twitter profile — griped about slow Friday news days in a video uploaded to YouTube in February:

“For all you college kids who really want to make a difference…this isn’t Katie Couric. This is me sitting in my car, waiting to do a story about nothing, and getting paid less than most McDonald’s managers.”

Co-workers reportedly have mixed reviews on Allen. In an article published Tuesday morning, Gawker says one called Allen a “ticking time bomb,” while others reportedly told the Blaze that she was hard-working and trustworthy, arguing that her dismissal violated “the First Amendment rights of all journalists.” In fact, while Allen removed the controversial blog post after she was let go, she decided to re-post for the sake of “free expression.”

But it looks like Allen may be ready to get back to work. On Monday night, she tweeted, “For God’s sake I just want to tell the news.”