Rick Sanchez Talks Too Much

Rick Sanchez, a CNN daytime anchor, was fired last week for going off on Jon Stewart and people like him. He did this in a radio interview. Jon Stewart came up because Stewart has repeatedly mocked Sanchez on The Daily Show. As Sanchez continued to talk, it became obvious that “the people like Stewart” were Jews. I’m not sure Sanchez said anything that was really anti-Semitic, but he did take a shot or two at Jews during the interview.

It’s axiomatic that a TV anchor can’t do that. Though Sanchez often made derogatory comments on the air about the government, Wall Street, and other institutions, he never made derogatory comments about classes of people until the radio interview. His firing isn’t just about political correctness. What he said in the radio interview has legal implications, since he went after a protected class. While Sanchez is in a protected class himself, being a Cuban-American, that didn’t give him license to bash other protected classes.

The firing of Sanchez was an easy call. But forget derogatory comments about protected classes. It’s important that your key employees know they can’t spout off about whatever they want to, even if they’re not at work at the time. Some may argue that you can’t fire an employee for off-duty conduct. That may be of concern if the fired employee works on an assembly line. A key employee who is one of the public faces of an employer is held to a different standard.

Make sure your key employees and executives are well aware that they can’t say something that implicates the employer without having the employer’s permission. I don’t think there’s much training on this point. There should be.

1. 

   ACU Frank says:

   October 5, 2010 at 5:22 pm

   I liked watching Sanchez, and I have agreed with many of the positions he’s taken in the past – obviously, the position that led to his firing is NOT one. But there’s no denying that a lot of the entertainment value came from his ‘loose cannon’ approach. It’s very likely what got him the job, the recognition, and the ratings. When you build a career on that, it is inevitable that you’ll see it end this way.

   While his remarks about Stewart were distasteful, it isn’t the first time he’s presented a difficult HR decision to his bosses. In 1990, he struck a pedestrian while driving and left the scene of the accident. The victim was paralyzed and later died; Sanchez pleaded no contest to drunk driving charges. That situation didn’t put a dent in his employability, probably because his rating didn’t take a hit either.
2. 

   John Phillips says:

   October 5, 2010 at 10:12 pm

   Frank,

   As always, thanks for your comment. I usually agree with you but can’t this time, not that it really matters.

   I didn’t know about the driving incident, so that didn’t heretofore cloud my opinion of Sanchez. I have never liked him. I can’t tell you exactly why, but he’s always rubbed me the wrong way. It’s very hard for me to watch and listen to him, so I haven’t very often.

   Since his kind of loose cannon journalism draws a lot of viewers, as you suggest, I suspect that Sanchez will land on his feet.

   You make a good point about someone like Sanchez finally being derailed by what has made him popular to some people. Sanchez may have known what he was doing during his radio interview — maybe not. There are executives who stick their feet in their mouths and don’t have a clue they’ve done it.

   Thanks again for your comment.

   John
3. 

   Laura McDonald says:

   October 8, 2010 at 4:10 pm

   I never liked Rick Sanchez either – give me Wolf Blitzer any day. Sanchez always came across as too smug and went off on tangents – annoying. Here’s hoping CNN comes up with a better afternoon host.
4. 

   John Phillips says:

   October 8, 2010 at 4:39 pm

   Laura,

   Thanks much for your comment. I’m glad someone agrees with me. You described him perfectly. Of course, there’s always room for disagreement on this kind of thing.

   Thanks again.

   John