Television reporter Arthur Chi'en with New York City's WCBS Channel 2 was terminated following his colourful on-air outburst in response to a few men holding up a sign during his report.

Turns out the men were interns of radio personalities "Opie and Anthony" who were were present during Chi'en's live report on MTA MetroCard fraud. As they approached, the pranksters filled the back of the shot with a sign promoting their own radio show and even gave "the finger" to the camera and WCBS viewers. After keeping his cool through the prepared remarks, Chi'en gave in and as he finished his report, turned away from the camera and angrily asked, "What the fuck is your problem, man?"

Apparently Chi'en assumed that since his remark was made at the conclusion of his live broadcast, the master control room would have already cut back to the studio. He was incorrect and in this post-Janet Jackson Super Bowl "fear the FCC" climate, WCBS fired the reporter of two years according to Audrey Pass, station spokesperson. The reporter's biography page at the CBS affiliate's website was removed almost immediately thereafter.

Chi'en was quick to issue apologies to those who he may offended.

"I regret the entire thing and I apologize to those who were offended," he told the New York Daily News.

Meanwhile, "Opie and Anthony" went to their website to boast about this incident, one designed and executed in their effort to publicly annoy television reporters. The show, originally broadcast on WNEW-FM but moved to XM Satellite Radio (Channel 202) after complaints, typically features crude humour and practical jokes.

Source: New York Daily News [ via ]

Media: Watch (Windows Media Video, 1.10 Mb, original source)
Media: Watch (Windows Media Video, 1.10 Mb, local mirror)

Link: Chi'en Revolution at CafePress
Link: Arthur Chi'en Fired: Why He Had No Choice

UPDATE

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Thank you to DoctorSteve for linking to this story and referring to it as "the best and most idiotic." Seems the words "interns of" got cut from the draft, making it sounds like "Opie and Anthony" were present themselves. This can been corrected, but thank you for referring to Mount Sutro as "the media."

5 Comments on “TV Reporter Sacked for Outburst”

1. AnnMarie
   

   I really need to get satellite radio…

     20 May 2005, 1902
2. David July 
   

   Is that sarcasm?

     20 May 2005, 1940
3. AnnMarie
   

   HA HA! No, seriously, I want satellite radio… I've heard it beats the crap out of what I have to listen to now.

   Do you have it?

     22 May 2005, 0058
4. David July 
   

   I do not subscribe to a satellite service, but have listened to both XM and Sirius.

   My general opinion is that unless you are interested in listening to specialty-type programming that is not already widely available via traditional FM broadcast — not to mention compact disc — it is not really worth the monthly fee.

   The ability to listen to the BBC News World Report and NPR shows on a continual basis is a very strong plus for me, a current member of public radio station WMFE-FM 90.7 whose broadcast schedule contains only a few specific programs from those networks. Additionally, I am a fan of ambient and trance electronic music — both XM and Sirius have dedicated channels for these musical genres.

   Unless you have surplus cash and like to mix up your listening habits, the offerings do not quite live up to the hype. But then again, without having access to it as an owner, I could be wrong.

     22 May 2005, 0113
5. AnnMarie
   

   And lack of surplus cash is why I won't be subscribing any time soon, but I still like the idea and I think it's going to get even bigger as time goes on.

   An article I read about it in Rolling Stone compared it to cable TV back in the day. Most people couldn't understand wny anyone would pay to watch TV and now a huge majority of Americans can't imagine living without it (myself included).

   I think that is probably where satellite radio is headed.

     22 May 2005, 2026

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