These infamous reporters made some serious missteps. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for when news reporters, journalists, and TV anchors seriously impacted their careers, for whatever reasons.
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00:00 And I want to begin with two words, I'm sorry.
00:03 - Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:04 And today we're counting down our picks
00:06 for when news reporters, journalists, and TV anchors
00:10 seriously impacted their careers for whatever reasons.
00:13 - Another case of open mouth, insert foot, lose job.
00:17 - Number 10, Brian Williams.
00:19 - I want to apologize.
00:20 I said I was traveling in an aircraft
00:23 that was hit by RPG fire.
00:25 I was instead in a following aircraft.
00:28 - Brian Williams was a high profile managing editor
00:30 and anchor for NBC Nightly News.
00:33 But in 2015, his rep took a big hit due to allegations
00:37 concerning his coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
00:40 At first, Williams claimed he had been in a helicopter
00:43 in Iraq that had to land after another chopper
00:46 was nearly struck by an RPG.
00:48 - When the helicopter we were traveling in
00:49 was forced down after being hit by an RPG.
00:53 Our traveling NBC News team was rescued, surrounded,
00:56 and kept alive by an armored mechanized platoon
00:58 from the US Army 3rd Infantry.
01:00 - Over the years, his story changed to his aircraft
01:03 needing to land after being hit.
01:05 Soldiers who were there at the time
01:07 contested the newer versions of Williams' story.
01:10 While the anchor eventually apologized for exaggeration,
01:13 the damage was done and he was suspended
01:16 and eventually moved to a lesser position.
01:18 - After 28 years of peacock logos on much of what I own,
01:24 it is my choice now to jump without a net
01:26 into the great unknown.
01:28 - Number nine, Ivory Hecker.
01:30 - Before we get to that story,
01:32 I wanna let you, the viewers, know that Fox Corp
01:34 has been muzzling me to keep certain information
01:37 from you, the viewers.
01:38 - It's not often a reporter purposely tanks their career
01:41 live on TV, but in 2021, that's what Ivory Hecker did
01:46 on the local news affiliate, Fox 26 Houston.
01:49 On the air, Hecker launched into a rant
01:51 that Fox had been what she called muzzling her
01:54 and other reporters about topics she wanted to cover.
01:58 - From what I'm gathering, I am not the only reporter
02:00 being subjected to this.
02:02 I am going to be releasing some recordings
02:04 about what goes on behind the scenes at Fox.
02:06 - She stated she would release secret recordings
02:08 made with the right-wing activist group, Project Veritas.
02:12 These revolved around promoting
02:13 the disproven hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment.
02:18 After being initially suspended for her on-air outburst,
02:21 unsurprisingly, Hecker was fired.
02:23 - I found a nonprofit journalism group
02:25 called Project Veritas.
02:27 It's gonna help put that out tomorrow, so tune into them.
02:30 - Number eight, Ken Rosato.
02:32 - All right, Heather, thank you.
02:32 541, still ahead on Eyewitness News this morning,
02:35 new guidelines issued for New York educators.
02:37 - Having joined New York's WABC-TV in 2013 as a reporter,
02:42 the Emmy award-winning Ken Rosato eventually became
02:45 the channel's anchor for Eyewitness News this morning.
02:48 Yet, after decades in the business, in 2023,
02:52 Rosato found himself in hot water.
02:54 Reportedly, he was heard calling co-host Shirlene Alicant
02:57 an insult on an open microphone.
02:59 While the show was off air and the audio wasn't broadcast
03:02 to the viewing audience, it was heard by production staff
03:05 in the studio.
03:06 There were allegations the comment was offensive.
03:09 - No matter the racism and the prejudice that I experienced,
03:12 'cause I experienced it.
03:13 - However, Rosato's representatives
03:15 denied this to be the case.
03:17 Regardless, WABC-TV moved quickly and fired the anchor.
03:21 - Heather? - Yes.
03:22 - What do you have for us?
03:23 - Oh, we're not looking too good.
03:25 - Number seven, Aaron Calvin.
03:27 - Abandoned by the Register.
03:29 That's what former Des Moines Register reporter Aaron Calvin
03:31 told BuzzFeed that he feels like after being fired
03:35 from the paper earlier this week.
03:36 - It started with a man named Carson King in the background
03:39 of ESPN's college game day coverage,
03:42 holding a jokey sign with his Venmo stating
03:44 he needed beer money.
03:46 - After a big response, King started raising money
03:48 for the University of Iowa's
03:50 Stead Family Children's Hospital
03:52 and finished his campaign with millions in donations.
03:55 Dearying the fame, reporter Aaron Calvin did a profile
03:58 on King for the Des Moines Register,
04:00 in which he mentioned the fundraiser's
04:01 problematic social media account
04:03 from years before when he was a teen.
04:05 - But then it started to fall apart.
04:07 A reporter at the Des Moines Register
04:08 found insensitive tweets King wrote eight years ago
04:11 when he was 16, reportedly based off a Comedy Central show,
04:14 Tosh.0, remember that show?
04:16 - After making the post and King's apology,
04:18 Calvin was harassed, had his life threatened,
04:21 and his own potentially problematic tweets parsed.
04:24 Eventually, the Des Moines Register fired Calvin.
04:27 - The latest twist, that reporter had his own
04:29 old insensitive tweets and now has been fired, yes.
04:32 - Number six, Lydia Cumming.
04:34 - It's a photo that seems to show ordinary people
04:37 lending a hand to a flood victim, or does it?
04:40 - It's usually not great when a reporter
04:42 becomes a viral meme, but that's what happened
04:45 to reporter Lydia Cumming in 2016
04:48 as she covered a flood in Puebla, Mexico for TV Azteca.
04:52 Taken by a photographer at the scene,
04:54 Cumming was hoisted up in the air by two locals,
04:57 seemingly to avoid her shoes getting wet.
05:00 - Lydia Cumming is a 24-year-old reporter
05:03 who hitched a ride with this couple
05:04 while reporting on devastating floods in Mexico.
05:07 - After the image got out, she was photoshopped
05:10 into all sorts of situations.
05:12 However, TV Azteca was less than impressed
05:15 with the social media fame.
05:16 They fired Cumming for disrespectfully using
05:19 local residents in a trying time.
05:21 - Why doesn't she take off her shoes instead?
05:23 Another post, you would think that wearing
05:26 maybe rain boots in a flooded area would be common sense.
05:30 - In an interview afterward, Cumming claimed
05:32 the residents wanted to show her
05:34 their elderly disabled neighbor and offered to carry her,
05:37 which she briefly agreed to.
05:39 Number five, Rick Sanchez.
05:42 - I don't mind Sanchez at all, until today,
05:45 where he really stepped in it.
05:47 - After joining CNN in 2014 as a reporter,
05:51 Rick Sanchez quickly rose up the ranks as a news anchor,
05:54 even getting his own program with Rick's List.
05:57 But in 2010, that vanished when he appeared
06:00 on Sirius XM's radio program, Stand Up with Pete Dominic.
06:04 - Pete has actually worked for Jon Stewart in the past,
06:07 so he's defending Stewart, obviously, throughout.
06:09 - Angered by reports about his show's time slot
06:11 being replaced and with Jon Stewart for comedic jabs at him,
06:15 Sanchez called Stewart a bigot.
06:17 Sanchez then claimed CNN and other networks
06:20 discriminated against him and made comments
06:22 about Stewart's ethnic background and the news business.
06:25 Very unsurprisingly, Sanchez was soon fired by CNN
06:29 and later joined Fox.
06:30 - You were the host of that show
06:32 on a competing network, by the way,
06:34 and you kind of introduced me into this whole thing, so.
06:37 - And look what happens from there.
06:38 - Number four, Marley Rivera.
06:41 - I'm sorry, I don't know you speak English right now.
06:43 - I'm sorry. - You're speaking English.
06:44 - I'm sorry.
06:45 - As a reporter for ESPN
06:47 and the Spanish language channel ESPN Deportes,
06:50 Marley Rivera was one of the biggest names
06:52 in sports journalism.
06:53 After all, she was included
06:55 in the Sports Illustrated article,
06:56 the 30 most influential Hispanics in sports in 2017.
07:01 But in 2023, that reputation took a hit.
07:05 Before a New York Yankees game,
07:07 freelancer Yvonne Gaiety tried to interview Aaron Judge,
07:11 but Rivera argued with Gaiety
07:12 that she had already scheduled an interview
07:14 with the MLB star.
07:16 The face-off was recorded,
07:17 which included Rivera using an expletive
07:19 while insulting Gaiety.
07:21 - Excuse me, did you record it?
07:22 Right?
07:23 What?
07:24 I wasn't talking about you.
07:25 - To make it worse for Rivera,
07:27 Gaiety is married to the MLB vice president
07:29 of communications, John Blundell.
07:31 While Rivera apologized, Gaiety reportedly rejected it,
07:35 and Rivera was soon fired by ESPN.
07:37 - Rivera would admit she and her fellow reporter
07:40 have had disagreements in the past.
07:43 - Number three, Chris Cuomo.
07:45 - You know the biggest media story this weekend.
07:47 It's the firing of Chris Cuomo from this network, CNN.
07:50 - Prominent anchor and journalist Chris Cuomo
07:52 joined CNN in 2013 and eventually got his own program,
07:56 Cuomo Primetime.
07:58 And with his brother, Andrew Cuomo,
08:00 being the governor of New York,
08:01 he had some pretty good connections.
08:04 Well, that was until multiple misconduct allegations
08:06 came out about the governor.
08:08 - And a former female colleague has now come forward
08:10 accusing Chris Cuomo of sexual misconduct.
08:13 He denies any wrongdoing.
08:14 - While Cuomo publicly stated he couldn't talk
08:17 about the story due to his close connection,
08:19 reportedly behind the scenes,
08:20 the anchor and licensed attorney advised his brother
08:23 on dealing with the scandal and used his sources
08:25 to gather information on the accusers.
08:28 After being briefly suspended by CNN
08:30 during an investigation,
08:31 Cuomo was let go by the network in 2021.
08:35 - A CNN spokesperson saying overnight,
08:36 "When the new allegation came to us this week,
08:38 quote, 'We took them seriously
08:40 and saw no reason to delay taking immediate action.'"
08:43 - Number two, Megyn Kelly.
08:45 - It seemed okay.
08:47 Well, I was wrong and I am sorry.
08:49 - After leaving Fox, Megyn Kelly became
08:52 one of the highest paid anchors when she joined NBC in 2017.
08:56 And one of her main tasks was hosting her own talk show,
08:59 Megyn Kelly Today.
09:01 Yet in 2018, one segment in particular
09:04 caused a massive scandal for Kelly.
09:06 As a panel discussed the topic of offensive blackface,
09:09 Kelly stated when she was a child,
09:11 that was okay as long as people were playing a character.
09:14 She then defended the actions of Luann De La Seps,
09:18 who was criticized when cosplaying as Diana Ross.
09:21 - People said that that was racist.
09:23 And I don't know, I felt like,
09:24 who doesn't love Diana Ross?
09:26 She wants to look like Diana Ross for one day.
09:28 I don't know how like that got racist on Halloween.
09:31 - Days later, Kelly's show was canceled.
09:34 In early 2019, she was dropped by NBC,
09:37 but also received the remaining $30 million
09:39 from her contract.
09:40 - Parties have resolved their differences
09:42 and Megyn Kelly is no longer an employee of NBC.
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09:59 Number one, Matt Lauer.
10:03 - Lauer was scheduled to host
10:05 the Rockefeller Center tree lighting.
10:06 As you guys know, he was not there last night.
10:09 - After joining NBC in 1992,
10:11 Matt Lauer would become one of the network's
10:13 most recognizable and marketable faces.
10:16 On top of being an anchor for the Today Show,
10:18 Matt Lauer also hosted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
10:21 and the Olympic Games opening ceremonies.
10:24 Then in 2017, NBC received a detailed report
10:28 from a female colleague accusing Lauer of harassment
10:30 that began during the coverage
10:32 of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.
10:35 - NBC News can report two additional women
10:37 came forward to the network
10:38 after the news initially broke.
10:40 - After an investigation by the networks,
10:42 they fired the host from his hosting and reporting duties.
10:46 And not long after, further allegations came out
10:49 about Lauer during his time at NBC.
10:51 - And we were told some very shocking and disturbing stories
10:54 which are a stark contrast to the Matt Lauer
10:57 that everybody has known for over 20 years.
10:59 What reporter or host do you think
11:00 impacted their career the most?
11:02 Let us know in the comments.
11:04 - NBC News fired Lauer roughly 24 hours
11:07 after an employee made a complaint against the anchor.
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