Posted by Stupidity on July 10, 2007 at 10:01:38:
Amy Jacobson, a reporter for WMAQ-Channel 5, is in hot water with her bosses for going swimming on her day off with the estranged husband of a missing Plainfield woman.
Dressed in a two-piece swimsuit, Jacobson brought her two young sons, ages 3 and 2, with her Friday when she swam in the backyard pool of Craig Stebic.
Lisa Stebic vanished from the southwest suburban home April 30. She and her husband, parents of two children, were in the midst of a divorce.
When Jacobson informed her bosses of the pool party, insiders said, they told her she had used poor judgment and had "crossed the line" of journalistic ethics.
The incident was captured on videotape by a photographer from WBBM-Channel 2 who was shooting from a neighbor's yard. As of Monday, the CBS-owned station had chosen not to air it.
Sources said Jacobson told her bosses that she was on her way to the East Bank Club in River North to go swimming with her sons Friday when she received a call from Craig Stebic's sister, asking her to come to his house to talk about the case.
Jacobson immediately was taken off the Stebic story and was told to hire a lawyer. She did not return calls Monday.
Channel 5 officials declined to comment, saying through a spokeswoman that "the matter is under review." Their options range from a formal reprimand to suspension to termination.
Jacobson, a native of northwest suburban Mount Prospect, joined NBC-owned Channel 5 in 1996.