There’s mini-media storm brewing in Chicago, but you may have heard about because it started with a viral video and ended with, well … somewhat viral videos.
Susannah Collins is now the former "sideline" (side ice?) Chicago Blackhawks reporter for Comcast SportsNet Chicago and she was removed from her position due to the discovery of some of her past work by the brass of the Blackhawks.
How did this come to light?
It started with an innocent faux paus on her part during a recent telecast, which of course became fodder for the blogosphere and entertainment websites.
That led to massive web searches for her name (and presumably that full clip) which unearthed some webisodes from a show she co-hosted called Sports Nutz three years ago.
Those shows didn’t quite jibe with the image the Blackhawks want to maintain on the network they co-own with Comcast and the Chicago Bulls, White Sox and Cubs and they removed her.
This once again brings to light an issue I talk to college students all the time about: Whatever you put on the internet, stays on the internet, and someone will find it.
I think grade school and high school aged kids realize this, as their entire lives are being documented online in pregnancy blogs, birthing blogs, parenting blogs, Facebook updates and Tumblr accounts. Some 10-year-old out there has their entire life already documented online by their excited parents.
But for those in their 30s, and even college-aged kids, The Google is not your friend when it comes to "growing up." Our parents documented our lives with film and tape and CDs. We’re learning how to manage all this stuff, and quickly, but it’s something we’ve had to adjust to on the fly.
Most of us know to not put your high school kegger photos online, tweet the bong hit you took in your dorm, or Tumblr the half-naked selfies you took after your workout.
But Collins’ plight shows that you have to be smart in your work decisions, too.
Whether you want a career in media or not, remember to choose what you write, post, and record online. At some point, years down the road even, that early stuff will likely be found once again.
Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.
A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.
To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.
Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.
In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.
Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.
