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A Miami news station director admonished staff in a memo to stop posting “foolish nonsense” to their social media accounts, which came back to light as an anchor’s bikini-clad posts sparked discussion of whether they violated the policy.
WPLG Vice President of News Bill Pohovey blasted his staff in an internal memo over influencer-like content that distracted from their journalistic mission, according to a report by FTVLive.
“I have emailed about this numerous times in the past, but we seem to be going in the wrong direction again,” Pohovey reportedly wrote.
The memo was released as a series of Instagram posts were made by WPLG anchor and reporter Jenise Fernandez to her verified personal account, in which she shared images of her recent trip to Fiji to her approximately 28,000 followers, the outlet reported. However, the memo was sent weeks ago, before the new pictures.
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The images appeared to show Fernandez wearing a fire-red bikini while climbing aboard a resort boat, with the caption, “Now I know what it feels like to be on @cloud9_fiji.”
According to Fernandez’s station biography, she has worked at the station since 2014 and was once crowned Miss Miami. She also previously placed fourth runner-up at the Miss Florida Pageant.
Another set of photos reportedly showed Fernandez wearing the same bikini as she leaned up against a floating bar at the resort — with an additional post showing her raising a shot glass to toast with two companions.
While some reports indicated the memo penned by Pohovey was circulated after the posts were made to Fernandez’s account, Pohovey disputed that in a statement to the New York Post.
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Pohovey told the outlet the memo “was not a response to one individual post [but rather] just a reminder of long-standing guidelines.”
In a follow-up statement, Pohovey added, “This had nothing to do with a current employee. As I said, the memo was sent out many months ago and is not new.”
He also told the New York Post that the photos didn’t violate his directive.
“The memo didn’t tell employees they couldn’t post vacation photos or other daily life activities on their personal social pages,” he said in an email to the Post. “We do live in Florida and people wear bikinis on the beach. These photos were tasteful and completely fine.”
The memo reportedly railed against current employees of the station, reminding them that their public persona should not detract from their roles as local journalists.
“Too many of our social media accounts are being used for foolish nonsense,” Pohovey wrote, according to FTVLive.
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“We don’t want dance videos with our staff. We don’t want fashion shows, outfits of the day, or other silly content that detracts from you as journalists,” he added.
Pohovey also reportedly told staff that they are not permitted to film social media content within the newsroom — a practice that has become commonplace in news outlets throughout the country.
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“We should never produce such content, and we should absolutely NEVER create such content inside the station, in our newsroom or studios, using our news set as the background,” Pohovey wrote.
The vice president reportedly said that staff members should consider applying the same rules to their personal social media accounts, while adding that, “Some of what I see is cringeworthy.”
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“People are losing trust in the news, and the nickname ‘fake news’ is beginning to stick. We’re seen as not serious and this unprofessional behavior only adds fuel to that fire,” he later added. “The likes and follows are not worth eroding your credibility and the credibility of this news organization.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Fernandez and Pohovey for comment.
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