Jacey Birch, a Miami TV news anchor at WPLG, posted a series of revealing photos from the Electric Daisy Carnival in Orlando over the weekend. The images showed her in a revealing outfit that exposed the sides of her breasts, landing almost immediately against a warning memo from WPLG Vice President of News Bill Pohovey.
Feb. 11 is the date that memo went out, and Pohovey did not leave much room for interpretation. He wrote, "I’m exhausted to have to repeat this but we are not influencers, we are journalists." He also told staff, "We don’t want dance videos with our staff. We don’t want fashion shows, outfits of the day, or other silly content that detracts from you as journalists," and added, "Whether you are working or not, you still represent the station and must always remember your role as a credible, trusted journalist, not a Kardashian."
Bill Pohovey and Feb. 11
Four television news directors had already been drawn into the broader WPLG social media dispute, and Pohovey described some staff posts as cringeworthy. In a separate note tied to the same standards, he told The Post that the memo did not bar employees from posting vacation photos or other daily life content on personal pages, adding, "We do live in Florida and people wear bikinis on the beach." He also said, "These photos were tasteful and completely fine."
At least 10 journalists sent FTVLive links to Birch's posts, which gave the photos an audience well beyond a weekend festival post. Some journalists then questioned why management had not taken action, turning a personal account post into a test of whether WPLG would enforce the rule it had just spelled out to staff.
FTVLive and WPLG
A WPLG newsroom insider said Birch had previously been warned about her social media activity, which makes this more than a one-off lapse in judgment. That history matters because the memo was already connected to earlier controversy involving Jenise Fernandez and photos from a Fiji vacation, so Birch's posts landed in an environment where management had already drawn a public line and colleagues were watching for whether it would hold.
What matters now is straightforward: Birch's photos fit the kind of online behavior Pohovey told staff to avoid, and the unanswered issue is whether WPLG will treat them the same way it treated the earlier uproar. If management does nothing, the memo reads like theater; if it acts, the station proves the warning had teeth.
