The non PC Dept.
I don't know Tori Campbell that well but I've been told she's a total pro. I don't doubt that but her reading of the fake pilot names that has caused considerable angst both for her and KTVU still continues to befuddle me.
Like this: TORI!! A 5th-grader would have immediately known those names were FAKE! How in God's name could you have then carried on without stopping and saying that, for example, "we're going to a break and look at these names--something needs to be checked." COME ON, THIS IS FUCKING COMMON SENSE!!
**Campbell isn't going to be fired because she just recently re-upped and is being paid pretty good money but her performance here is flat-out mind-boggling. If I'm to be castigated to suggest here that she should be held accountable, so be it.
I mean, shit, did you see what Stephen Colbert had to say?!!
The easiest and most politically-correct take here in the Bay Area is that Campbell is a solid anchor and therefore should be given a pass. Bullshit. She royally screwed up. She has major company but she did the deed. Again, this sounds harsh but it's the truth. (Can't wait for the, you're a misogynist, Rich!, crowd to come out from hiding.)
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Rich
ReplyDeleteI agree! Tori needs to be held accountable! I'm pissed that Tori pronounced Capt Ho Lee Fuk's name wrong! It's not Fok, it's Fuck! Get it wite Tor.
Why don't you call her up right now and tell her the 'correct pronunciation' I DOUBLE dare you!
DeleteI'm with you Rich. I just can't imagine Elaine Corral, Wendy Tokuda or Anna Chavez making such a blunder. English is my second language and I could see the names were fake a mile away! Don't cut Campbell any slack.
ReplyDeleteI've worked with Wendy Tokuda (only met the others). Not only would she make the blunder, she'd mispronounce their names and ruin the joke, too.
DeleteOne of many reasons this NameGate has become so "Indelible" or seared in our brains, as John Kerry would say, is because of the straight delivery by Tori, all business, and staccato with a bounce on the last syllable. Boom-Boom BOOM, Boom-Boom BOOM! It's completely mesmerizing. You find yourself saying the names along with her. Sing along with Tori.
Delete> Boom-Boom BOOM, Boom-Boom BOOM!
DeleteNo, it was Bang Ding OW! Weren't you listening?
Boom-Boom BOOM would have been even funnier, however.
I can totally see Wendy Tokuda making this mistake on the air.
DeleteShe was basically incompetent. Loved to hear her on Election Night coverage -- "Newsome is out ahead, Gonzalez is trailing
behind." The Queen of Redundancy!! English teachers would shudder when she came on the air!
It's Tori's fault? Are you kidding me? She was doing her job. She was told the names were confirmed by the NTSB. She was on the air LIVE. She delivered the names in a professional manner. The graphic was up. If you want to blame anyone, find the prankster who sold the names to KTVU initially followed by the NTSB intern who confirmed the names and finally the "Breaking News" mentality that all electronic news organizations embrace to the max. I'll bet KPIX, KGO and KRON would've reported the names too..
DeleteTori?
DeleteWon't say you're a misogynist (impressed you know the word) but will say now you're milking this like a cow with sore teets. Go find out if there's anything new on the KGO lawsuit front.
ReplyDeleteRight on 10:32.
DeleteNow that Asian says it will not sue, KTVU does owe a come-clean disclosure.
ReplyDeleteWhere did the names originate from? Seems evident that it was from KTVU. SO name the person! And fire him or her.
But the system inside broke down also. Who vetted the names? Several people? Anyone????? How did it get to the teleprompter?
Who made the decision to "break" this news?
Not just Campbell but whoever and all who were in the chain that brought this info to Campbell.
Why are we hearing nothing from Rosenthal????
I don't understand why so many people want to "name" the person. First of all, if they said, okay, it's Joe Smith. Okay, do you know Joe Smith? So what do you care? What happens to all the other people in the Bay Area who share his name? They get harassed, they then sue the station, etc. Remember when that idiot Spike "Always Do The Right Thing" Lee revealed "George Zimmerman's" home address, getting it wrong and causing an elderly couple's house to get torched and vandalized? So what good would it do, other than to satisfy your thirst for revenge?
DeleteWhen something of this magnitude happens, the primitive urge is to protect oneself by pointing a finger, the urge is to quickly, firmly and with great flair, Pin The Tail On The (M-ffng)Donkey. Only thing is with this, there are so damn many 'donkeys' you may run out of pins!
DeleteWhich could mean that nobody BIG will carry the blame, "We are all Donkeys!!" mentality.
Imagine this in a fictional drama where we have Tori know it upon seeing the names, but decides to fire it off as a message to KTVU/Cox execs.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of "Anchorman," where he'll read *anything* that you put on a teleprompter. Anything.
ReplyDeleteWhat's with all the cussing? Is that what separates a blog from other sources?
ReplyDeleteIf you're trying to establish a respectable industry commentary site and attract professionals to participate, then why don't you demonstrate a professional demeanor in your postings?
This is an adult blog where adult people with adult jobs and life come to meet--perhaps if you're offended, you should go back to Romper Room.
DeleteAh, so that's how to tell a blog meant for adults? Thanks for the claro.
DeleteI guess the New York Times, PBS.org, Guardian UK, LA Times, etc. are all "Romper Room" blogs.
Yes, this is an adult blog, which is why Rich's childish indignation about Ms. Campbell's slip up is silly.
DeleteYou go Rich. Of course it was an F-up. There's another issue here. I've worked mornings. They suck. No one can wake up at 2:30 five days a week without going loco. By Fridays at around 12:30 you're on vapor- I'll bet she was thinking about the weekend not the copy. I've also worked with her...nice enough...book smart, not street smart.
DeletePost at 11:07AM
DeleteTo give you an idea of Rich Lieberman's pettiness,
don't try writing anything that is remotely critical of him such as his use of swear words.
He will censor your post.
The behavior of a wreak individual.
To post at 8:51PM from 11:07AM
DeleteIt's obvious that Lieberman used my post to get on a soapbox for his reply. I expected that. It's his blog. But it's a blog about manipulations in and of the media and the media message, and he's doing the same thing here.
You said he'd censor my post. Lieberman did not censor my original post, but he did block my "adult" response to his reply. That surprised me. I expected better of a media watchdog.
I hope you get to see this reply, if not my original reply.
Hold her feet to the fire Rich! She was on autopilot and sleep walking through her job. Any alert anchor would've recognized the fake names.
ReplyDeleteThere are at least a handful of people who were involved in this from the anchor down. All need to disciplined up to and including termination (for at least the one who initiated it). The station needs to let everyone know the outcome and not behind a "we don't comment on personnel issues."
ReplyDeleteRich, on one hand I know that you enjoy saying outrageous things just to stir the pot, so I'm hoping you're not really serious.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything particular about Ms. Campbell but from what I know, she appears to be a solid broadcaster placed in an enormously embarrassing situation. To adopt your indignant, she must be fired, attitude is foolish, hyperbolic, and unreasonably ignores the fact that all of us can make mistakes.
I don't care if she was Mother Theresa--she SCREWED up, on auto-pilot or not and should be held accountable! If that's "stirring the pot", so be it.
DeleteYou think she's avoided blame? What do you want, a public stoning or tar and feathers?
DeleteScrewed up? To what degree?
DeleteThere's a huge difference between not proof reading prank made up names prior to broadcast vs. actually calling them "chinks or nips" or the like.
I think Rich just has a hard on for the Ch2 management and he's overwhelmed with this opportunity.
It’s not unlikely that a producer, writer or graphics person noticed that those names were clearly fake and racist. It’s also not unlikely that the producer, writer or graphics person had earned enough experience in KTVU’s meat grinder of a newsroom of getting shouted down when they gave their opinion that they didn’t have the urge to speak up, since whomever wanted to run with it had already made the push. This whole issue smacks of KTVU just rushing to be first, and in this case it burned them. I’ve worked in enough modern newsrooms to know that it’s far too common for news directors, general managers, etc. to tell reporters and producers to shut up and get it done. Do that enough times and you get a staff who shows up, will put “Captain Sum Ting Wong” on the air and not think twice about anything but leaving the building within 2 minutes after the broadcast is done.
ReplyDeleteLet me clear up some confusion with the new dynamic Local Television Control Rooms. There is no such thing as a "graphics person" anymore. The Chyron (name of the machine) operator has been fazed out of all the Bay Area Local News Stations. A Producer or Writer fills out a template and that is what ends up making it on the Air. I'm not making a judgment what happened but wanted to end the speculation it was the "graphics person's" fault.
DeleteThere is nothing any broadcast companies could do about this embarrassing mistake that Lieberman would not complain about, NOTHING.
ReplyDeleteIf they apologize, that's not good enough. If they fire one employee, they should fire two, and so on. That's Rich.
Tori would do really well to fess up and admit she was anxious to get a "scoop" out there before the competition did and didn't stop to consider the names. Also, unless I'm mistaken, weren't the actual names of the primary pilot and the pilot training him broadcast before Tori's goof? Shouldn't somebody have remembered the thread about the pilot only having ~10 hours in a 777, never having landed one at SFO before, and this being the training pilot's first time training someone??
ReplyDeleteNo Rich, don't think you're a misogynist so much as an opportunist.
ReplyDeleteNo disguising the fact that you are enjoying this big-time screw up, and really why not? Face it, it's funny. It reminds us all of "Who's Dick Hertz?" and all similar name jokes from our youth.
However, for you to get on your high horse about all this is just plain phoney theatrics and self-serving, self-righteousness. Spare us. Your only regret is that this will soon die down and you'll have to find something else to write about.
Cox could very well terminate her for cause (along with other people). There likely is a clause in her contract that allows for that. Other options might be an unpaid vacation, demotion, or stick her over to the 7pm news at KICU moving Gasia to the morning show (7-9 am) slot. Or she could simply leave on her own (resign). I have to think she is not liking the barbs she gets and the Colbert treatment will not be the last.
ReplyDeleteMark, you're talking through your hat. Making an honest mistake on the job is not normally a sufficient legal basis for termination for cause.
Delete@4:58 So why should anyone be fired in this situation, If that were the case? Outside of the person who knowingly provided the names, they were all duped. It's interesting that everyone expects the writer or producer, or even the EP or ND to be fired, but not the anchor, who also played a role, and whose face is now plaster on every newspaper and TV comedy show here and abroad. Honest mistakes get people fired everyday.
DeleteWell I never talk through a hat!:-)
DeleteAs for firing her, they do not need a reason. They can simply say they do not want her services any further and that is all they have to say. They could put her on vacation to negotiate particulars. But that is all speculation. It is just one of many options they have, if that is what they decide to do. In the end it is likely someone in the chain of getting it to her is likely to walk the proverbial plank.
I thought Cox would have fired someone by now.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe she honestly made the mistake. Well, if it was honest just confess to not reading the script first. I hear it on the radio all the time. The "talent" will read anything put in front of them.
ReplyDeleteThank you Colbert for a hilarious bit!
The fake pilot names originated from outside the newsroom. It was a bad internet joke. Somehow it made it into the newsroom and the rest is history...
ReplyDeleteExactly and once those names were confirmed by the NTSB you could have put "Captain Fuk Mi Ho" up and it would have received a graphic and read..
DeleteSure, Tori's OK but like a lot of people in and out of news, she has trouble with non English names/words, and , if these words roll by on the prompter, you take your chances. Before this, the worst blunder I ever saw from her was with the Bernie Madoff story; for two segments, she called what he did a 'pons- EYE' scam and you could tell from the slight halt in her voice she had no clue about it
ReplyDelete"Sure, Tori's OK but like a lot of people in and out of news, she has trouble with non English names/words...."
DeleteShe graduated magna cum laude with a degree in French. I wouldn't throw rocks at her linguistic ability.
Has it occurred to anyone to ask why the names of the Korean pilots should have been treated as a hot breaking news story in the first place? What possible meaning would even the correct names have to any of us watching the show. That's the kind of information that goes three paragraphs down in a newspaper story.
ReplyDeleteLet's be honest. We self-righteous types laughed our asses off at the names.
How hard can it be to find out who put this story into the pipeline?
Tori Campbell shouldn't be blamed. After all she had the good sense to pronounce "Fuk" with a long "u."
This should have happened to a sleeze-bag company like Cumulus, not to the company that runs the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, WSB Radio and the Austin American-Statesman.
JW
This is the best comment on the whole thing...Who cares about the pilots names? Would YOU know who they were?
DeleteI did laugh and loved it!! Way to go JW
T in Sac
I'm truly disappointed in the earlier article that Lee Rosenthal had a great reputation in Indianapolis. Are you crazy? This guy, after he left our shop, had only worked as a news director for just a couple of years.
ReplyDeleteHe pissed off everybody, he was a thirty some kid with a huge chip on his shoulder.
Prior to that, He was fired as a producer at the monster station WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio.
The guy that fired him got a job as GM at Indy's number one station and Rosenthal wanted to take them down like donkey kong.
Not by producing excellent stories, but he trashed the other stations on twitter constantly.
Ready for this? Insiders tell me that the morning show got an emmy captured by the morning photographer who caught a man being tased live.
Instead of putting the photographer on the Emmy to get his recognition, Rosenthal put his own name on it and won.
Please, call people in Indianapolis and Columbus. He is hated in both places.
Campbell looks stupid. She is a punchline. I will never look at her the same way. Sure she always seemed standoffish but she gave the news to us straight. I respected that. Now I just look at her like she's a fucking idiot. Credibility shot. She will never live this down and neither will KTVU. I grew up watching them and I just can't anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe stain is permanent.
Never discerned any sort of sense of humor or imagination in Tori Campbell. Odd that she carried this to the point of using the NTSB to defend herself instead of just fessing up and moving on. To anyone who knows her, am I selling her short?
ReplyDeleteI'm done watching KTVU.
ReplyDeleteIf you are so distressed that you can no longer bear to watch KTVU because of FOOKGATE, then you are just silly.
ReplyDeleteI remember Tori from her years at KGO, solidly professional, hard-working, and not a giggler(mercifully).
She apologized for the error, which certainly was not her fault. She didn't "use the NTSB to defend herself" at all.The NTSB confirms that their agency confirmed the names.
It is quite reasonable to believe that out of the pool of people who regularly anchor television newscasts, that any one of them, when handed a so-called "breaking" piece of news while on the air, would have done exactly what Tori did.
As I predicted on another thread, Asiana won't sue(see rule 11 sanctions..federal court ..frivolous lawsuits). I also think the audience for KTVU won't suffer in the least. Having an hysterically funny/horrible moment and handling it with appropriate apologies for those offended actually makes them more, not less lovable...permanent stain? laughable also
Thank you, Christine. Happy to be wrong. I should not have posted that.
DeleteNot sure what station you were watching Christine, but Tori did NOT apologize. She simply said that the names were not correct and had been confirmed by an NTSB official in Washington DC. In effect, she did pass the buck to the NTSB. Also, it is quite UNREASONABLE to assume that another anchor would make that mistake -- at least beyond the reading of the first name. Folks
Deletewould have excused Tori if she read the first one and then caught the mistake. Face it. She got punked. Admit it, apologize, and move on. If you ACTUALLY APOLOGIZE, Bay Area folks are very forgiving. Pass the buck and you get no sympathy! IMHO, however, it will be tough to watch Tori in the future without thinking of FOOKGATE!!
I think that everyone is allowed one mistake -- and arguably this is a huge one. Tori is a pro, and I'm sure is embarrassed enough for all of us. Doubt it happens again.
ReplyDeleteWhy do people keep referring to Tori as a pro? She's not! A pro would have stopped after the first name. She's teleprompter reader, that's all.
ReplyDelete