Comcast is apparently very unhappy with the fact that it was eliminated in the Final Four of this year's Worst Company in America contest. First, it goes and makes the ethically questionable move of hiring a still-active FCC commissioner, and now comes a report that the Kabletown Krew have pulled $18,000 in funding to a non-profit organization all because of a Tweet about that commissioner's hiring.
Seattle-based Reel Grrls is a nonprofit education program that introduces young women to the world of media production. Its summer camp program is funded with the help of an $18,000 donation from the folks at Comcast.
After the news broke the Meredith Atwell Baker would be jumping ship from her regulatory role to go lobby Capitol Hill about the merits of pay-per-view, a Reel Grrls employee Tweeted, "OMG! @FCC Commissioner Baker voted 2 approve Comcast/NBC merger & is now lving FCC for A JOB AT COMCAST?!?"
That was just too much for the thin-skinned types at Comcast. According to the Washington Post, a Kabletown VP wrote the following note to Reel Grrls:
I am frankly shocked that your organization is slamming us on Twitter... [the Tweet] has put me in an indefensible position with my bosses. I cannot continue to ask them to approve funding for Reel Grrls, knowing that the digital footprint your organization has created about Comcast is a negative one.
Of course, after the media got wind of this, Comcast changed its tune and decided that Reel Grrls deserves funding after all.
'We are pleased that the public debate on this issue has caused Comcast to reconsider this decision and hope to continue the discussion about how we can best ensure that corporations do not play a role in stifling free expression or limiting Americans' access to information,' says the executive director of Reel Grrls.
Tweet about FCC member's new job at Comcast sets off firestorm [Washington Post]
Thanks to Max for the tip!
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