Phew! We had a bit of a scare there.
When you sign up to work at Mediaite, you don’t have to sign away years of your life as you must at Breitbart News. But until today, you had to sign some pretty peculiar documents about what you can and can’t say in public.
The Daily Caller‘s Mirror blog obtained documents that indicate as much. (See pictures below.)
A definite no-no: “Any information about Dan Abrams’ personal life, medical history and finances.”
Among the eight bullet points of legalese that an employee must agree to — basically stuff you can’t share, copy or destroy when you work at Mediaite or even after you leave — is this doozy:
7. “You recognize and appreciate that information about Dan Abrams’ personal and/or professional life may be of interest to outside sources. You agree not to disclose that information at any time during or after your employment.”
Except Abrams had no idea this document existed. He now thinks the rule is stupid and should be scrapped.
“I didn’t know that we did this,” he wrote to The Mirror by email. “I assume it was created in 2009 when a team of four was working out of my apartment, but I just don’t recall. It does seem pretty stupid (and basically unenforceable) so I’d welcome anyone who signed it to ignore the provision. Thanks for bringing to my attention.”
Parts of Abrams’ medical history are already out there.
As reported in a flattering Style profile for NYT, Abrams said he used to be guarded about discussing his testicular cancer.
“In 2003, I had testicular cancer, and I didn’t tell anyone about it — maybe five people,” Abrams explained. “I had a fairly significant surgery. I was weak, slumped over. I told people at work I’d been in an accident.”
While out one night he ran into his bestie, Men’s Health editor Dave Zinczenko.
“‘You look terrible, lighten up,” Zinczenko, who was totally clueless, said. “It’s not like you have ball cancer.’ Most random thing ever. And he laughed it off: ‘Ha, ha, great to see you, I’ll send you some drinks.’ ”
Four months later, Zinczenko recalled drinking a smoothie and watching NBC’s “Today” show. And there was Abrams talking about his cancer.
The reasons Abrams might have created docs like this seem fairly obvious, although a little extreme.
Maybe Abrams doesn’t mind sharing intimate information, on his own schedule. And perhaps signing a document like this is to be expected when you work for the chief legal affairs anchor of ABC News.
Attn. Mediaite employees: You can say whatever you want. But be forewarned, probably not smart to reveal your boss’s personal or medical matters.
