Bloopers That Got These Reporters Fired
By MIKE FLOORWALKER And JASON IANNONE
History - Science
A.J. Clemente
On his first day on the job at North Dakota NBC affiliate KFYR, Clemente inexplicably blurted out "Gay … f–king s–t" as his co-anchor was about to introduce him.
Clemente was unaware his microphone was live and co-anchor Van Tieu tried to redeem the segment. They limped through the broadcast before Clemente was fired hours later.
Sawsan Darwish
This National Broadcasting Network’s anchor was covering the assassination of Lebanese politician Walid Eido and said, "So why did it take them so long to kill him?"
Darwish goes on to suggest which Parliament member should be targeted next. She was immediately fired but got reinstated only three months later.
Avery Haines
After pausing a segment taping due to a small stutter, this Canada CTV NewsNet broadcaster riffed, "I kind of like the stuttering thing. It’s like equal opportunity."
She continued: "We’ve got the stuttering newscaster. We’ve got the black, we’ve got the Asian, we’ve got the woman…" While she didn’t mean to be offensive, she was still fired.
KTVU
In reporting the pilot’s names involved in the 2014 crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214, anchor Tori Campbell read from an onscreen graphic that was clearly a terrible joke.
She said the pilot’s names were Sum Ting Wong, Wi Tu Lo, and Bang Ding Ow, which of course were not confirmed. Three producers were fired and one left for "health reasons."
Matt Pieper
Allegedly speaking for a producer talking to him in his earpiece, this news anchor instructed a field reporter to "mention that parents should do their f–king job..."
He continued, "...and walk their little kids to school on their own, and not rely on everyone else, kind of like people rely on government assistance for their entire lives."