Journalist Says She Was Fired for Pole Dancing

INSIDE EDITION talks to a newspaper columnist who says she was fired when her boss found out she worked as a pole dancer on the side.

It's not every day you see a society columnist for a major American newspaper pole dancing.

By day, Sarah Tressler was a professional journalist for the respected Houston Chronicle, until, she says, they found out about her side job.

"He got me in his office and asked me if I knew what ethics were and what morals were and then he fired me," Tressler told INSIDE EDITION.

Tressler said she first took up pole dancing to pay the hefty bills she was racking up during her time studying for a masters degree at NYU's prestigious Journalism School.

The pretty 30-year-old couldn't have been more excited when she graduated and landed a job as a reporter covering the society beat in the nation's fourth largest city, Houston.

"They called me very energetic. Everybody who I spoke to said I was doing a very good job," said Tressler.

She wrote columns for the paper, but to make extra cash, she continued with the pole dancing at a strip club in Houston.

Her work as a both a society columnist and stripper went on for 3 months, until a rival newspaper, The Houston Press, discovered her secret life and outed her.

"When they decided to fire me over something that a rival newspaper reported, which is clearly just a dig at the Chronicle, I was very crestfallen," said Tressler.

Now she's hired famed attorney Gloria Allred and she's suing The Houston Chronicle.

"There are many young women who are attempting to improve their lives, and they are working as dancers. I don't think they should be ashamed of it," said Allred.

The Houston Chronicle said, "We have not seen the complaint and thus cannot comment."

For now, Tressler is back to making a living off her pole dancing. She's also released a workout video. And she's writing a book, Diary of an Angry Stripper.

She's gone from covering the news to becoming the news. All for that sexy pole dancing.