BJelly

TV Journalists are not private citizens, and twitter is not a private medium of communication. All media organisations have social media policies and codes of conduct. He broke both, and deserved to take the consequences

Bjelly: The irony, a journalist gets fired for telling the truth.

So you're with Killarney. Australian Soldiers are ALL Rapists & Pillages. Is that like All moslems are Terrorists or is that somehow different?

Killarney, "Battling with Words" It's a good read for Feminists. Apparently she wants the Armed forces have got to go Gay, Greenie & Politically Correct & be able to dance with fairies. If you're not up to that then you can't join. Another Academic screwball.

Hi Rhian, I think we will have to agree to disagree on that one. I have a problem with employers having the right to fire people for such trifling offense. It wasn't always this way, and it seems to be getting worse. There also seems to be a double standard - ie Bolt and Jones etc.

Hi Jayb, no I don't think all soldiers rape and pillage - I am grateful for the sacrifices soldiers and their families make. I wish my government would send them into harms way only when necessary for our defense, instead of pre-emptive wars of aggression. I wish my government would take better care of returned veterans - the way we treat broken men and women is a disgrace. We need to remember the ANZACs as mortals not mythic creatures of virtue - they were fallible, we are fallible. War is hell. Lest we forget.

Rhian

Sorry. I should have clarified that I was making a 'springboard' reply to your comment (i.e. taking a small part of it to jump off onto another line of argument). I realised that your reference to homophobia and racism were just analogies, and not meant as direct moral equivalence.

I agree that McIntyre was unprofessional and (as with Charlie Hebdo) shouldn't be hailed as a martyr for free speech. However, had his lack of professionalism been offensive to Anzac's critics, there is no doubt that he would have kept his job - possibly even been promoted.

Hi Killarney

You say “there is no doubt that he would have kept his job - possibly even been promoted” if his tweets had offended Anzac’s critics. I doubt that. SBS is hardly a bastion of right wing militarism. A quick trawl of the web suggest to me that most people who have been dismissed for politically insensitive social media comments have offended against political correctness, for example by opposing gay marriage or posting racist jokes.

But it rather depends what kind of offense you have in mind, I suppose

Plantagenet, Anzac is over, thank goodness
The two drug mules are now over with, thank goodness
Kate has popped a baby, the first ever, we are not over it yet
What can be number four be of such world shattering news