Pleads for help from Obama
Keys sends a five-page letter (source) to President Obama, asking him to intercede in his case, arguing that federal statute is being misapplied and that a sentence of two years in prison over such an event is excessive.
Although I do not understand the nuances of law, I am aware that at this point only presidential intervention in the form of a commutation of sentence or a presidential pardon can prevent the execution of this draconian sentence. Therefore, I respectfully request your assistance in advocating on my behalf for President Obama to review my case and consider using any and all executive powers afforded to him in preventing my scheduled incarceration and any other provision of the sentence for his he feels is unjustified and unwarranted. Doing so would not only reverse what many consider to be an unwarranted sentence triggered by an overzealous prosecutor based on a draconian and outdated law, it will allow me to continue serving the public as a journalist.
Statement
Keys posts a statement about his firing to Tumblr.
Reuters claims that during my coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings, I violated a grievance aired by the company in a written warning issued in October 2012, explicitly that the company “must see immediate improvement in your communication with managers and more discretion in your social media practices.” (The company does not define what “more discretion” is)…Reuters said they particularly disagreed with my decision to continue tweeting scanner traffic after several other news organizations had reported a request from the Boston Police Department to not tweet information heard on scanner traffic.
Reuters final warning
Keys receives a final written warning from Reuters about using a parody account to mock Larry Page, while employed at the company.
Although you eventually revealed yourself as the owner of the account, this series of actions displayed a serious lack of judgement and professionalism that is unbecoming of a Reuters journalist…Reuters journalists are never to misrepresent themselves. The creation of a fake account that did not identify you as the author clearly violates our Social Media Policy. The parody account, which disparages a public figure, also undermines our goal to provide an unbiased and reliable news service to our clients…Furthermore, the fake account embarrassed our News reporting team, and has possibly damaged our relationship with a company that we have covered aggressively.
Creates parody Twitter account
Keys creates a parody account called @PendingLarry which mocks the early release of financial data by Google’s Larry Page. The account is mentioned widely in the press, including on Reuters own wire service.