Was Jen Patterson Fired For Dating Nick Boynton? (updated)

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2010/10/jen-patterson-out-at-comcast-sportsnet-chicago.html


Yesterday the Tribune reported that Comcast Sportsnet Chicago fired Jen Patterson. Now Deadspin and others are reporting that the reason for the firing is because Jen is dating Blackhawk Nick Boynton, a romance that became public recently.
If true, is this fair?
Jen, formerly of Monsters in the Morning, never hide her devotion of the Blackhawks. As long as she can remain unbiased in her reporting on the Blackhawks (or have her cover sports other than hockey), is this fair?

Here's Robert Feder (TV & Media Critic) blogging about the Jen Patterson firing.



■I believe it was the late Richard Hainey, the crusty former editor of Chicago Today and a beloved professor at Medill, who taught us the adage: “You can’t cover the circus if you sleep with the elephants.” It’s advice worth recalling after the firing last week of Jen Patterson, an on-air contributor and rising star at Comcast SportsNet Chicago. It came after other female sports reporters privately voiced dismay about Patterson dating Nick Boynton, a defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks. By the time Sun-Times gossip columnist Bill Zwecker reported seeing them out on the town as “a nice cozy item,” Comcast SportsNet took action. I have no idea what Patterson’s relationship was with Boynton or if other issues may have led to her departure. Neither side is commenting beyond a “wish her well” statement from her former bosses. But journalists everywhere — especially those in the volatile sports media world — would be wise to heed the lesson.

http://blogs.vocalo.org/feder/2010/10/blackhawks-romance-puts-reporting-career-on-ice/39982