Ex-reporter sues for defamation over bikini video

A former television reporter is suing the Chicago-based CBS station that surreptitiously taped her last summer wearing a swimsuit, and not evidently reporting news, at the backyard pool of a man whose wife was missing.

Once WBBM aired the tape, critics weighed in from around the world on the perceived breach of news ethics. Reporter Amy Jacobson had been warned she was getting too close to the story of Craig Stebic and his wife, Lisa, the Chicago Tribune reports; Jacobson was fired soon after from her job at the local NBC affiliate.

Lisa Stebic has still not been found.

According to the multi-million defamation suit filed Monday, Jacbson struggled this past year to find another post in broadcasting journalism. One station apparently told her she was "toxic" in the industry.

She also claims WBBM aired the tape, which she says was purposely edited to depict her "as an adulteress and disreputable reporter," just to boost its ratings. CBS told reporters Jacobson’s claim "has no merit," according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Jacobson is suing for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other things, The Sun-Times reports. In addition to CBS station management and two reporters, the suit names a Northwestern University journalism professor who commented on the swimsuit scandal on-air.