Update on fired Cincinnati biz reporter

CityBeat, the alternative newspaper in Cincinnati, writes about fired Cincinnati Enquirer business writer Jim McNair in its Wednesday edition.

He is talking to an attorney and no longer speaking to the media as a result.

Lew Moores wrote, “McNair’s letter of termination, he confirmed, said, ‘In light of recent complaints, our confidence that you could improve in this regard — to report in a fair and balanced manner — was severely shaken.'”

Later, Moores added, “‘Unfortunately, we cannot comment on personnel decisions,’ Hollis Towns, Enquirer executive editor, told CityBeat in an e-mail. But Towns did tell Editor & Publisher that the newspaper didn’t do it to appease advertisers. He told the magazine that allegation was ‘completely unfounded. We make news decisions that are completely independent.’

“Not everyone complained, of course. Mary Benfield, who lives in Pierce Township and is involved in a lawsuit with a homebuilder, says she appreciated stories McNair had done on shoddy home construction.

“‘He was working on poor house building,’ she says. ‘He made me feel like he was somebody speaking up for the common man. We just feel like nobody was hearing us out there, but he was listening. I think it’s terrible. We need him, we really do. You need somebody who’s willing to do investigative work and not just toe the corporate line.'”

Read more here.