A job advert has been attacked and accused of being sexist, leading to uproar on Twitter.
Cox Media Group’s news site Rare posted the ad for a Political Reporter receiving sexist claims after stating they required someone who is “Less Paula Zahn, More Zoe Barnes.”
For those unaware, these are two characters from the popular television show, House of Cards. Zoe Barnes is a journalist on the show who is intimate with the lead character, Frank Underwood, in an attempt to find breaking news stories. However, her storyline tragically ended when she was thrown in front of a subway train by him. In contrast to Barnes, Paula Zahn is a well-regarded journalist also on the show who has worked for ABC, Fox News, CBS and CNN, and now hosts her own show.
With Barnes not quite the role model for aspiring journalists, the ad quickly became a controversial topic on social media.
Users speculated as one with the name @taylordobbs wrote: “Sleep with sources and publish everything they tell you without checking it? That Zoe Barnes?”
Another named @ChristopherAve wrote: “Anyone who watches House of Cards should be horrified that any employer wants a Zoe Barnes.”
The Cox posting went on to say "The right candidate is an intrepid reporter who knows the way around Capitol Hill but may know a thing or two about the underbelly of our political process," and a journalist who has no "left-right agenda and is beholden only to good juicy stories."
Cox Media did not respond immediately to a request for a comment.
