By Kate Callen
In the news profession, journalists are supposed to be fired for breaching ethical standards. They are not supposed to be fired for upholding them.
Terence Shepherd is suing his former employer, KPBS, for doing just that. In a lawsuit filed in May in Superior Court, Shepherd, who was KPBS News Director from August 2021 until September 2025, alleges he was terminated for wanting to comply with rules set down by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The incident in question was KPBS Reporter Alexander Nguyen’s TV news report of a September 17 event at Encinitas City Hall protesting the tactics of U.S. Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement (ICE).
The lawsuit states, “Shepherd became aware that [Nguyen] had apparently staged a protest scene about which KPBS was reporting. One of the protesters that [he] staged behind the live shot [carried] a placard that prominently displayed ‘FUCK ICE.’”
Believing that a display of the word “FUCK” would violate FCC rules governing broadcast content, Shepherd alerted KPBS Chief Content Officer Nancy Worlie. He wanted to audit Nguyen’s past work. Worlie “vehemently disagreed” and said that Shepherd was “grossly overreacting.” Soon after, he was fired.
Before this happened, Worlie had a high opinion of Shepherd. Here are excerpts from her 2025 review of his performance:
“I want to commend Terence for his newsroom stewardship. He maintains high standards and is committed to serving our audiences in the best way possible. … [His] participation in the process to develop the Shared Values and follow-through in weaving these themes into the weekly news managers meetings has been excellent.”
Where to begin? Let’s start with this: PBS and its affiliates are squarely in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has decimated funding for public broadcasting. The FCC wants to go further, arguing that PBS “underwriting announcements” are prohibited commercial advertisements. Why give Trump’s minions an excuse for further persecution?
Aside from FCC rules, reporters follow principles established by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). Like doctors and lawyers, we believe our work is a public mission and we have a responsibility to stick to the facts.
That means we report news events as they happen spontaneously, and we don’t try to warp them to advance ideological agendas.
The SPJ Code of Ethics includes this:
“Avoid political and other outside activities that may compromise integrity or impartiality or may damage credibility.” And this: “Deny favored treatment to … special interests and resist internal and external pressure to influence coverage.”
KPBS News has long been criticized for giving favored treatment to special interests that align with reporters’ political biases. In October 2024, I wrote a Rag post, “KPBS ‘Public Matters”: A Reality Check,” that tracked how Andrew Bowen “has been an advocacy journalist who consistently promotes YIMBY positions and dismisses or ignores divergent viewpoints.”
Does the Rag report the news through a progressive lens? Yes, and we’re up front about that. Much of our content, like this post, belongs in the category of “news commentary” that includes analysis and interpretation.
We cover news events, but we don’t orchestrate them. And honestly, we wouldn’t need to. The Faulconer and Gloria administrations have been a 16-year all-you-can-eat news buffet where we start every workday by thinking, “They’ve done WHAT?”
A hearing in the Shepherd lawsuit is scheduled October 23. We’ll be there.
This made me laugh out loud:
“We cover news events, but we don’t orchestrate them. And honestly, we wouldn’t need to. The Faulconer and Gloria administrations have been a 16-year all-you-can-eat news buffet where we start every workday by thinking, ….”