‘You can’t publish that': Karen flies off the handle when newspaper publishes her name in print, demands newspaper remove it, boss hangs up on her

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Jun 3, 2023 10:00 AM EDT

Karens with a thin grasp of the law are especially tiresome to employees working who deal with it, and this includes reporters. In this case, OP was working at a small newspaper as a reporter. OP received a (surprise, surprise) complaint from a local Karen who was absolutely livid that her name was mentioned in an article OP wrote. To put things in perspective, OP mentioned Karen's name in passing, so it wasn't like OP quoted her, defamed her, or did anything else that may elicit such an angry response. Moreover, Karen was actually a publicly elected official, and there is such a thing as 'freedom of the press.' Karen should definitely look that one up.

It was literally OP's job to report to the public who is making education policy, but obviously, Karen's personal preference was more important than the public interest. Karen demanded to speak to OP's manager, and that's when she really flew off the handle. Luckily, OP's manager knew exactly how to handle this type of person and promptly laughed in her face, then hung up. Scroll down to read what happened next.

For more like this, here are some tenants who enacted some petty revenge on a landlord who refused to reimburse them for emergency repairs.

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/Fresh-Hedgehog1895 15 hours ago Karen is pi ed off because her name was printed in a newspaper without her permission s
    via u/Fresh-Hedgehog1895
  • 02
    Font - I work as a newspaper reporter for a small paper. I recently wrote an article mentioning the name of a new school board member. The article was not about her, did not quote her and was in no way, shape or form defaming or dishonest. Her name was simply mentioned in passing among several other names.
    via u/Fresh-Hedgehog1895
  • 03
    Font - She calls my desk and is livid. She tells me I have "absolutely no right" to publish her name without her express permission and threatens to sue if an apology is not published. She also demands to speak to the managing editor.
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  • 04
    Font - I happily oblige. Of course, she's informed by the editor in short order that she's holding an elected position and, as such, her existence and position are already in the public forum.
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  • 05
    Font - She's also informed that there's no legal obligation to notify people that their name will be published in a newspaper, and that's apparently when she really flew off the handle.
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  • 06
    Font - She told my boss that EVERY SINGLE PERSON, no matter who they are, should be made aware if their name is going to be published and that they should also have a chance to read the article before it goes to print.
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  • 07
    Font - My boss laughed at her and then hung up. Fɩ <you, Karen. If you don't want people to know who you are, then don't run for an elected position.
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  • 08
    Font - Swimming-Ad880 · 15 hr. ago Should've posted the apology "Our apologies to Karen McSh head, who didn't want her name to be published in our newspaper. Sorry Karen." Reply Share 1.1k
    via u/Swimming-Ad880
  • 09
    Font - IzzaPizza22 15 hr. ago. edited 10 hr. ago "Karen McS head, despite being a publicly elected official, seems to believe she should remain anonymous. We, at this newspaper, disagree. We believe that the public has a right to know who is making
    via u/IzzaPizza22
  • 10
    Font - education policy. We would also suggest that if she intends to drive our education system, she might seek an education in the responsibilities of her position, not just its powers." Reply Share 620
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  • 11
    Font - Alf-eats-cats 15 hr. ago All I can say is good luck to the school board. Can't even imagine what a sh show their meetings are going to be. 233 Reply Share
    via u/Alf-eats-cats
  • 12
    Organism - • 15 hr. ago Now you've got a story. As a public official, you can write about her in your paper and what she did! Bthe 149 Reply Share
    via u/Bthe
  • 13
    Font - SilentMaster · 15 hr. ago But did she give you permission to publish her name in the apology or would it have been, "We sincerely apologize to that one lady that called for that thing we talked about on the phone one day last week." 70 Reply Share
    via u/SilentMaster
  • 14
    Font - darthnick96 · 15 hr. ago It's baffling how many people don't understand what freedom of press means 429 Reply Share
    via u/darthnick96
  • 15
    Font - sjclynn 15 hr. ago . Sounds like Karen has earned special treatment. A little extra observation of what she says in public should be in order. What may have gone as simply, "a board member said", could now be, "Karen, a board member said ______ at the Tuesday meeting."
    via u/sjclynn
  • 16
    Font - You InsertUserName0510 14 hr. ago I hated publication day when I was a reporter. Every week was a slew of angry emails and phone calls over nothing. Keep your chin up, you're doing important work Reply Share 42
    via u/InsertUserName0510
  • 17
    Font - Fresh-Hedgehog1895 OP 14 hr. ago Cheers. I was hoping at least one reporter or former reporter would read this! You know the game, obviously!
    via u/Fresh-Hedgehog1895
  • 18
    Font - The number of people who think they can do this job better than you can in this industry is nothing short of amazing. Best story I heard was from a publisher who received an email from a teacher who was pearl- clutching over one typo and a single misuse of a comma in an edition.
    via u/Fresh-Hedgehog1895
  • 19
    Font - The publisher wrote back that his job is not to teach reporters how to spell or use punctuation; it's her job as a teacher and so he was placing this failure on her shoulders. LOL ↑ 62 Reply Share
    via u/Fresh-Hedgehog1895
  • 20
    Font - Tar-Nuine 14 hr. ago Somebody with a thin grasp of the law and an entitled behaviour running for Public Office? What could go wrong? Reply Share 16
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  • 21
    Font - PirateJohn75 · 15 hr. ago They should remove her name from the ballot since they didn't get her permission 21 Reply Share
    via u/PirateJohn75

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