Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
How slur made it through taping under investigation
At least six people should have heard forecaster's remark, source says
By JULIET V. CASEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL
An official from the parent company of KTNV-TV, Channel 13, said Tuesday the station is investigating how the racial slur made by weather forecaster Rob Blair made it on air Saturday morning.
Jim Thomas, vice president of marketing and programming for the Journal Broadcast Group, which owns the station, said that the program had been taped before its airing and that several people were involved in its production.
"It was recorded, and we are in the process of meeting with each person on the crew and getting their account of what happened," Thomas said.
The station is reviewing the system it has in place to prevent errors from getting on the air, he said.
Thomas declined to comment on whether any other Channel 13 staff members would be reprimanded or lose their jobs over the incident.
Blair, the station's weekend weather forecaster, was fired over the weekend.
He was delivering the extended forecast early Saturday when he said, "For tomorrow, 60 degrees, Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Day, gonna see some temperatures in the mid-60s."
About 20 minutes after the comment, Blair went on the air live to tell viewers of the ABC affiliate, "Apparently, I accidentally said Martin Luther Kong Jr., which I apologize about -- slip of the tongue."
On the 6 p.m. broadcast, Blair made a formal apology: "On a weather report earlier this morning, I made an accidental slip of the tongue when talking about the Martin Luther King holiday, and what I said was interpreted by many viewers as highly offensive. For that I offer my deepest apology. I in no way meant to offend anyone. I'm very sorry."
A source at the station, who asked to remain anonymous, said at least six people were present when Blair taped the weather forecast for the 7:55 a.m. Saturday segment.
The source said the production of such segments usually involves a director, technical director, producer, audio person and a person rolling tape and a chyron, someone who types in the text that appears at the bottom of TV viewers' screens.
"There were six to seven pairs of ears that should've heard what happened, and no one said anything, no one stopped and said 'maybe we ought to redo that one,' " the source said.
The source said the mistake easily could have been corrected by retaping the segment.
