Why this transgender reporter from Dayton made national headlines

"I was fired for publishing a post on my personal blog about being a transgender journalist exploring what it means to do truthful, ethical journalism with a moral compass in this very complex time. It questioned the meaning of neutrality in the face of an administration that's aggressively promoting fiction," Wallace, who was born genetically female, wrote in a separate blog entry. "I believe in the mission of media that serves the public, and I believe in truth and fairness in reporting; I have been passionate and dogged in those pursuits, as is every reporter and editor at Marketplace and NPR. (NPR is, by the way, a separate organization — my employer was not NPR but American Public Media — APM.)"

"I cannot maintain my own integrity, both in my identity and in my personal views, and comply with your request to keep the post down. My integrity and courage are my most important assets as a journalist, and I don't believe we can do our jobs well in this moment without rigorously maintaining both," Wallace wrote in the letter posted with his blog.

"Neutrality isn't real: Neutrality is impossible for me, and you should admit that it is for you, too. As a member of a marginalized community (I am transgender), I've never had the opportunity to pretend I can be "neutral." After years of silence/denial about our existence, the media has finally picked up trans stories, but the nature of the debate is over whether or not we should be allowed to live and participate in society, use public facilities and expect not to be harassed, fired or even killed. Obviously, I can't be neutral or centrist in a debate over my own humanity. The idea that I don't have a right to exist is not an opinion, it is a falsehood," he wrote among other things.