Journalists and social media: a volatile employment mix

McIntyre, an SBS soccer reporter, attracted nationwide fury after posting a series of hostile anti-Anzac tweets on Anzac Day which cast a slur on the Anzacs and Australia's involvement in the world wars.

His Tweets included "Remembering the summary execution, widespread rape and theft committed by these 'brave' Anzacs in Egypt, Palestine and Japan" and "Not forgetting that the largest single-day terrorist attacks in history were committed by this nation & their allies in Hiroshima & Nagasaki."

SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid and Director of Sport Ken Shipp were reported as saying McIntyre had breached the station's Code of Conduct and social media policy.

In a statement they said: "Late on Anzac Day, sports presenter Scott McIntyre made highly inappropriate and disrespectful comments via his twitter account which have caused his on-air position at SBS to become untenable.

"Mr McIntyre's actions have breached the SBS Code of Conduct and social media policy and as a result, SBS has taken decisive action to terminate Mr McIntyre's position at SBS, with immediate effect.

"At SBS, employees on and off air are encouraged to participate in social media, however maintaining the integrity of the network and audience trust is vital. It is unfortunate that on this very important occasion, Mr McIntyre's comments have compromised both".

Rather than go quietly, McIntyre has since launched legal action, suing SBS for discrimination. His lawsuit alleges that SBS breached its policies, including its Code of Conduct and did not follow due process when it dismissed him.

McIntyre's legal people are invoking Section 351 of the Fair Work Act which protects employees from adverse action by their employer (including sacking) if they express political opinion.

Are journalists therefore protected? And if not, should they be?

The history of journalism is signposted with examples of crusading reporters whose forcefully expressed views went beyond mere words on a page. Scott McIntyre could pause in his Anzac Day rant and consider that journalists Keith Murdoch and Ellis Ashmead- Bartlett were instrumental in influencing Britain to abandon its ill-fated Gallipoli campaign in 1915.

Decades later American reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein became media superstars for their coverage of the Watergate scandal in America which ultimately brought down President Nixon in August 1974.

Social media has revolutionised modern mass media communications and journalists have embraced social media with a passion that sometimes blurs the lines between objective reporting and pushing their own opinions on every issue in the news.