SF news station apologizes for racist newscast about Asiana pilots

[AOII Angel]

http://blog.sfgate.com/matierandross...tampDescending

I love how they tried to claim that they confirmed the pilots names with the NTSB!

[DrPhil]

Wait, are we sure this isn't all a joke? This has to be a fake news story. I can't believe that news anchors would believe "Ho Lee Fuk" to be a real name. It is clearly a prank and a play on the racialized "holy f-u-c-k" joke.

If this is a real news story, they are idiots not only for the racially insensitive fake names but for not seeing that this is a prank.

I once dated a man whose stupidity and unworthiness were confirmed when he tried to make an "'Asian accent' name joke" in my presence.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Wait, are we sure this isn't all a joke? This has to be a fake news story. I can't believe that news anchors would believe "Ho Lee Fuk" to be a real name. It is clearly a prank and a play on the racialized "holy f-u-c-k" joke.

If this is a real news story, they are idiots not only for the racially insensitive fake names but for not seeing that this is a prank.

I once dated a man whose stupidity and unworthiness were confirmed when he tried to make an "'Asian accent' name joke" in my presence.

They really announced it on air. I saw the link on FB posted by my SIL who lives there. Let me go fetch it.

ETA: here you go- http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZR4Em9...%3D7ZR4Em9JJDw

I'm sure someone thought it was a joke, but I don't think the anchor was in on it.

[adpiucf]

The NTSB did in fact confirm the pilot's "names"... their intern did, anyway, and I am guessing he needs something new to do for the rest of his summer after this racist prank: http://www.mediaite.com/online/head-...summer-intern/

Which begs the question... why would the NTSB allow their intern to act as a spokesman?

[amIblue?]

Is Ron Burgundy covering the news in San Francisco now? That's just embarrassing.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by adpiucf

The NTSB did in fact confirm the pilot's "names"... their intern did, anyway, and I am guessing he needs something new to do for the rest of his summer after this racist prank: http://www.mediaite.com/online/head-...summer-intern/

Which begs the question... why would the NTSB allow their intern to act as a spokesman?

Wow!

[NinjaPoodle]

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...62404453822890
Frank Somerville's Apology

"Before I post anything else I have to address what happened on our Noon newscast.
Someone pranked us about the names of the 4 pilots on Asiana Flight 214.
And what we put on the screen and what we read over the air was insulting.

It was insulting to the Asian community.
It was insulting to the four pilots.
And it was insulting to our viewers.

The bottom line is that we messed up.
Yes, we called the NTSB to confirm.
And yes, the NTSB released a statement saying:
“Earlier today, in response to an inquiry from a media outlet, a summer intern acted outside the scope of his authority when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew on the aircraft.”

But regardless we still put it on the air.
And we have no one to blame but us.
We should have known better.
We have a number of checks that scripts have to go thru before they reach the anchor desk.
Somehow on the Noon news this one slipped through.

I don’t understand why anyone would think doing something like this is funny.
A plane crashed.
Three people were killed.
Many more were injured.
Some of those injuries are life changing.
Yet someone thinks it’s funny to make jokes about the names of the pilots.
That makes me sick.

I’ve worked at KTVU for over 20 years.
We have a damn good staff.
We care deeply about what we do.
And we do not take mistakes like this lightly.
Everyone is seriously upset about what happened.
And everyone is going to make sure something like this NEVER happens again.

I always tell my kids, “If you make a mistake, come clean, admit what you did, say you’re sorry, and take the consequences.”

So that’s what I’m doing here.
We made a HUGE mistake.
There is NO excuse for what happened.
And speaking for everyone at the station, we are sorry."

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by NinjaPoodle

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...62404453822890
Frank Somerville's Apology

"Before I post anything else I have to address what happened on our Noon newscast.
Someone pranked us about the names of the 4 pilots on Asiana Flight 214.
And what we put on the screen and what we read over the air was insulting.

It was insulting to the Asian community.
It was insulting to the four pilots.
And it was insulting to our viewers.

The bottom line is that we messed up.
Yes, we called the NTSB to confirm.
And yes, the NTSB released a statement saying:
“Earlier today, in response to an inquiry from a media outlet, a summer intern acted outside the scope of his authority when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew on the aircraft.”

But regardless we still put it on the air.
And we have no one to blame but us.
We should have known better.
We have a number of checks that scripts have to go thru before they reach the anchor desk.
Somehow on the Noon news this one slipped through.

I don’t understand why anyone would think doing something like this is funny.
A plane crashed.
Three people were killed.
Many more were injured.
Some of those injuries are life changing.
Yet someone thinks it’s funny to make jokes about the names of the pilots.
That makes me sick.

I’ve worked at KTVU for over 20 years.
We have a damn good staff.
We care deeply about what we do.
And we do not take mistakes like this lightly.
Everyone is seriously upset about what happened.
And everyone is going to make sure something like this NEVER happens again.

I always tell my kids, “If you make a mistake, come clean, admit what you did, say you’re sorry, and take the consequences.”

So that’s what I’m doing here.
We made a HUGE mistake.
There is NO excuse for what happened.
And speaking for everyone at the station, we are sorry."

I appreciate this unequivocal apology, none of that "sorry if you were offended" crap but a true "we screwed up and know it" apology.

[thetalady]

Apparently the NTSB has a 12 year old boy as the summer intern.

[thetalady]

And to no one's surprise...

NTSB Intern Fired

[NinjaPoodle]

KTVU is possibly being sued now...
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slate..._tu_lo_ho.html

"Lee said that the airline decided not to sue the NTSB because, in the words of the AP, "it was the TV station report, not the U.S. federal agency that damaged the airline's reputation." She didn't elaborate any further."

IMO, the reputation was tarnished when the experienced pilot acted on the decision to let the newer pilot land.

Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...awsuit-threat/
Asiana Airlines’ idiotic lawsuit threat

By Erik Wemple, Published: July 15 at 2:25 pm


"CNN is reporting this statement from the airline:

“After a legal review, the company decided to file a lawsuit against the network because it was their report that resulted in damaging the company’s image,” said a company spokesperson.

There’s little question that the KTVU report disparaged Asians and conveyed false information. That’s unfortunate. It doesn’t, however, give Asiana Airlines a cause of action against KTVU.

To win a judgment against the television station, the airline must prove that the false report so injured its reputation that it resulted in the loss of business. That, it will never be able to do.

If Asiana Airlines suffers a loss of business these days, what will have been the cause? We’ll throw out two options:

1) A crash after an Asiana aircraft approached San Francisco International Airport too slowly, leaving three people dead.

2) A roughly 30-second report on a local TV station using fake pilot names for the flight.

Tough call there.

Consider, too, that the KTVU report in question made no allegations about how the airline operated; it merely read off four names — wrong names, to be sure, but names! What’s defamatory about names? The racial insensitivity in the broadcast, too, is fully protected under U.S. law, notes attorney Jeffrey Pyle, a partner in the Boston-based firm Prince Lobel Tye LLP. “There’s no legal claim that you have against somebody for being unintentionally racist or intentionally racist,” says Pyle."

[NinjaPoodle]

Originally Posted by thetalady

And to no one's surprise...

NTSB Intern Fired

S/He needs a foot in their a**.
IMO

[Sen's Revenge]

Frank Somerville writes a Nikki Giovannie poem every time he posts. LOL

[Kevin]

I don't see the lawsuit here. Satire, even awful and insensitive bad satire is constitutionally protected. No reasonable person, except I guess a news anchor and whoever typed the graphics and teleprompter materials would actually believe those were the names of the pilots and the story was retracted very quickly. Maybe it was careless and stupid, but defamatory? No.

[DrPhil]

It wasn't satire on KTVU's part.

It was racially insensitive satire on the stupid NTSB intern's part.

It is KTVU that is being sued. Their dumb selves thought these were real names and presented it to the public.

Sometimes it is best to cry over pain and do your best to move on with your life rather than suing. At the same time, far be it from me to tell people how to handle their grief and outrage. If a lawsuit seems fitting, good luck to them.