Emails of UTC Chancellor reveals motivations behind firing of WUTC reporter

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – The Associated Press obtained emails through the freedom of information act from UTC Chancellor Steven angle on the firing of WUTC radio reporter Jacqui Helbert.

She has maintained that she was fired because lawmakers threatened to cut funding for the university if they didn’t.

And the emails show that was indeed a concern of the Chancellor.

In one Angle said that NOT firing Helbert would be “gambling with the future” of WUTC-FM.

Angle also called for station manager Michael Martin “to keep quiet and toe the line” on the termination decision.

We asked UTC for comment on the emails, and they referred us to the UT System.

They sent us this excerpt from Chancellor Angle in this week’s UTC newsletter:

“Some of you have asked about a situation at WUTC. The decision to terminate a part-time WUTC employee was based on my concerns about credibility, transparency and upholding ethical standards in the process of news gathering. The failure of a WUTC reporter to readily identify herself as such, to state her affiliation with the radio station, and to acknowledge that she was working for WUTC to report on a high school group’s legislative day on Capitol Hill is the source of concerns on which the decision is based.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will not dictate WUTC’s coverage or content, but it will require anyone employed as a reporter to acknowledge that clearly with potential sources and in the news gathering process. As a public institution, UT Chattanooga is accountable to the public and must hold itself to the highest standards of ethics and integrity.”

Helbert joined a high school student group meeting with Tennessee lawmakers on the bathroom bill.

They were dismayed to find that she used comments they made to the group in a radio story, saying she did not identify herself as a reporter.

Helbert says she was wearing a press pass and had a large microphone and earphones on the entire time.

WUTC removed her story from their website and fired her for a breech of journalistic standards.

Helbert has since filed suit to get her job back.