Jacey Birch posted a series of revealing photos from the Electric Daisy Carnival in Orlando over the weekend, and the images quickly set off complaints inside WPLG. The Miami TV news anchor posed in a revealing outfit that exposed the sides of her breasts, putting her at odds with the standards her station had already spelled out for staff.
The reaction matters because WPLG Vice President of News Bill Pohovey had already sent a memo warning employees against social media posts that could chip away at their credibility. He wrote that the station was not looking for dance videos, fashion shows or other content that detracts from journalists, and said staff should remember they represent the station even when they are off the clock. FTVLive reported that at least 10 journalists sent it links to Birch’s posts, a sign that the photos moved fast through the news business and landed as a test of whether the station would enforce its own rules.
Pohovey’s memo had already become a talking point before Birch’s weekend posts. FTVLive said a WPLG newsroom insider said Birch had previously been warned about her social media activity, adding another layer to a story that is no longer just about one set of festival photos. The same memo had also drawn attention in a separate episode involving Jenise Fernandez, who posted photos from a Fiji vacation in a red bikini, and Pohovey later defended those pictures by saying the memo did not ban vacation photos and that the images were tasteful.
That leaves the sharpest question unresolved: whether WPLG will take any disciplinary action against Birch, and if so, how far it will go. FTVLive said it showed her photos to four television news directors, all of whom said they would have considered discipline up to and including termination. So far, the posts remain the clearest evidence that WPLG’s warning was real; what is missing is the answer to whether the station will apply it evenly.
