Accelerated Media Distribution Cost US Official Job

Last week, former USDA official Shirley Sherrod was forced to resign from her position due to a video that surfaced via Fox News that depicted here given racist remarks at an NAACP luncheon in March. In the video she was telling an experience in which she was confronted with assisting a white farmer in keeping his farm. The video showed half of her comments as it related that she had to get over her personal biases as it relates race. Unfortunately, it was edited in a manner that it made Ms. Sherrod seem like a racist. As a result of the edited clip, Ms. Sherrod was forced to resign from her post on a Monday and was denounced from the NAACP because of her “disparaging” comments. The White House Administration encouraged her to step down from her position. However, on Tuesday it was realized that the video clip was only part of her speech and her words were taken out of context. Formal apologizes were given by her former superiors as well as the NAACP. By Wednesday, an offer was being made so that she would be able to get her job back. In three days Ms. Sherrod’s world was turned upside down. She went from having a job to being unemployed to being offered her job again. Due to the accelerated pace of the distribution of information through the Internet, hasty decisions were made. Actions such as these can significantly impact the image of an organization and cause them to be viewed negatively in the court of public opinion. What would you do in the same situation? Would you want your job back? Anitra Anderson