It can take a lifetime to build a career and a single moment to destroy it. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at infamous times a news or sports reporter wrecked their career and the repercussions they faced.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 "All his charmingness went away and he said the words, 'You can forget all the business
00:04 advice I gave you.
00:05 You're on your own.'"
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at infamous times a news or sports reporter
00:12 wrecked their career and the repercussions they faced.
00:16 "Vacation, what is that like?"
00:19 Number 20.
00:20 AJ Clemente On the first day of a new job, most people,
00:24 especially on TV, want to make it memorable.
00:27 However, AJ Clemente became famous for all the wrong reasons.
00:32 In 2013, he was the New Weekend co-anchor for the NBC affiliate news program, KFYR-TV
00:38 in Bismarck, North Dakota.
00:40 "F**k, s**t."
00:41 "Good evening, I'm Van Tu.
00:43 You may have seen our newest report.
00:45 AJ on NBC North Dakota News."
00:48 Yet seconds into the opening, Clemente mumbled multiple swear words on live TV, leaving co-host
00:53 Van Tu to pretend that wasn't the worst news debut ever.
00:57 "Thanks, Van.
00:58 I'm very excited.
00:59 I graduated from West Virginia University and I'm used to, you know, from being from
01:03 the East Coast."
01:04 While Clemente apologized for his outburst, he was still fired by KFYR-TV.
01:10 Instead of marinating in the scandal, the former news anchor quickly returned to his
01:14 previous job as a bartender in Delaware, as offers to be on reality TV trickled in.
01:19 "Were you aware that you were on the air?"
01:22 "I had no clue, f**k.
01:23 I had no…
01:24 You're all so welcome."
01:25 "You're all so welcome."
01:28 19.
01:29 Trent Evans At one time, Trent Evans was enjoying life
01:34 as an award-winning TV reporter for Australia's Channel 7 in Queensland.
01:38 However, in 2016, as the pressures of the job mounted, his mental health deteriorated,
01:44 causing him to leave his position.
01:46 Evans spent several years struggling financially and getting help from mental health services.
01:51 In 2021, he and Rex Willocks spent the day drinking several bottles of champagne in Melbourne.
01:57 Evans then drove Willocks' car with the owner in the passenger seat.
02:01 After driving nearly double the speed limit, the vehicle struck a power pull.
02:05 While Evans survived, Willocks sadly didn't.
02:09 In 2022, after pleading guilty, Evans was sentenced to seven years and ten months in
02:14 jail.
02:16 18.
02:17 James Gordon Meek As well as working as an advisor to the U.S.
02:21 House Committee on Homeland Security, James Gordon Meek was also an investigative producer
02:26 for ABC news programs such as 20/20 and Nightline, specializing in national security.
02:32 However, all the respect he had accumulated over the years evaporated in 2022.
02:38 That year, Meek was arrested by the FBI for possession of indecent child-focused media
02:43 and exchanging them with other people.
02:45 Meek quickly vanished from the public life after resigning from ABC, causing a lot of
02:49 speculation in the media.
02:51 In 2023, after pleading guilty to the offense, the former reporter was sentenced to six years
02:56 in jail.
02:58 17.
02:59 Tom Brenneman When it comes to apologizing, sincerity really
03:03 matters.
03:04 Otherwise, you could become a viral meme.
03:14 Since 1994, Tom Brenneman had worked for Fox Sports, typically covering football and baseball.
03:21 In 2020, he was commenting on the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals.
03:25 During it, Brenneman used a homophobic slur when talking about San Francisco that went
03:30 out live.
03:39 Just before he was pulled from the game, Brenneman attempted to apologize and use his faith as
03:44 an excuse.
03:46 However, during it, he suddenly got distracted by calling a Nick Castellanos home run before
03:57 switching back to his apology.
03:59 It was bonkers.
04:09 Brenneman was soon fired by Fox.
04:11 Since the incident, he has worked with Puerto Rico's Roberto Clemente League and Chatterbox
04:16 Sports.
04:23 16.
04:25 Sabrina Erdely In 2014, the world of education was rocked
04:29 by Sabrina Erdely's article for Rolling Stone about student Jackie Coakley's account of
04:34 a horrible incident at the University of Virginia.
04:42 Coakley spoke about how she was assaulted in 2012 by a group as part of a fraternity
04:47 initiation ritual.
04:49 The article also explored the university's lack of support for her.
04:52 However, as the media examined the story in more detail, Erdely's article wasn't adding
04:57 up, and her bias was questioned.
04:59 A police investigation also found no evidence to support the article's claims.
05:04 In 2015, Rolling Stone retracted the story.
05:08 Regardless, the magazine and Erdely faced several defamation lawsuits.
05:19 In 2017, Rolling Stone settled one case with the University of Virginia for $1.65 million.
05:27 15.
05:28 Dan Rather Starting in 1962, Dan Rather worked for CBS
05:33 in various capacities, even anchoring CBS Evening News.
05:38 Seemingly, he was going to retire at the company.
05:40 However, that changed in 2004 when Rather hosted a 60 Minutes 2, exploring what were
05:46 called "The Killian Documents."
05:48 These papers were apparently written in 1973 and contained criticism of President George
05:53 W. Bush's time at the Texas Air National Guard.
06:02 However, after their release, their authenticity was questioned, as they appeared to have been
06:10 written with modern typography.
06:21 After defending the papers, Rather and CBS admitted they were wrong.
06:24 In 2005, Rather stepped down from his anchor role and was fired the following year.
06:29 He attempted to sue CBS, only to have the case thrown out.
06:44 14.
06:47 Don Lemon In 2006, Don Lemon joined CNN.
06:52 By 2014, he was becoming one of the news' most well-known faces as he was showcased
06:57 across the channel's programming as a host.
07:00 But then things took a turn.
07:02 In 2023, Lemon was heavily criticized for the misogynistic comments he made about Nikki
07:07 Haley not being in her prime as she was not in her 20s, 30s, or 40s.
07:16 Yikes.
07:17 Not long after, Variety reported on allegations that Lemon had a history of misogynistic
07:22 and abusive comments toward female colleagues.
07:25 As the scandal grew, CNN fired Lemon.
07:27 In 2024, the former anchor received around $24.5 million from his former employers as
07:34 part of a separation deal.
07:36 13.
07:37 Ken Rosato Having joined New York's WABC-TV in 2003
07:47 as a reporter, the Emmy award-winning Ken Rosato eventually became the channel's anchor
07:52 for Eyewitness News this morning.
07:54 Yet, after decades in the business, in 2023, Rosato found himself in hot water.
08:00 Reportedly, he was heard calling co-host Shirlene Alicott an insult on an open microphone.
08:06 While the show was off-air and the audio wasn't broadcast to the viewing audience, it was
08:10 heard by production staff in the studio.
08:13 There were allegations the comment was offensive.
08:16 However, Rosato's representatives denied this to be the case.
08:23 Regardless, WABC-TV moved quickly and fired the anchor.
08:30 12.
08:32 Charlie Rose Charlie Rose was noted for his work on both
08:36 CBS and PBS, hosting a self-titled talk show for the latter.
08:40 He was one of the most famous interviewers on U.S. television.
08:44 But in 2017, all of that fell apart.
08:54 The Washington Post released an article with allegations of Rose's sexual misconduct against
08:58 several women who were his employees or hoping to be.
09:11 After a brief suspension, Rose was fired by CBS and PBS as he apologized for his behavior.
09:17 By 2018, 35 women had accused him of harassment, resulting in lawsuits against him.
09:23 Rose attempted to dismiss one case by claiming the women were exploiting the Me Too movement.
09:28 In 2022, he began releasing interviews on his own website.
09:33 11.
09:34 Tucker Carlson In 2009, Tucker Carlson found his home with
09:38 Fox News after working with other channels.
09:43 He got his own show with Tucker Carlson Tonight in 2016, soon becoming one of the channel's
09:48 most watched series.
09:50 But in 2023, that relationship abruptly ended when Carlson was fired by Fox.
09:56 While no reason was given immediately, reports soon came out about Carlson's behind-the-scenes
10:01 attitude.
10:02 It's alleged he sent several inflammatory messages about Fox higher-ups and used racist
10:16 language.
10:17 With that and other incidents, there were liability concerns from the network's lawyers.
10:24 Afterward, Carlson created the Tucker Carlson Network and released controversial interviews
10:29 there and on Axe, formerly Twitter.
10:32 10.
10:33 Brian Williams Brian Williams was a high-profile managing
10:45 editor and anchor for NBC Nightly News.
10:48 But in 2015, his rep took a big hit due to allegations concerning his coverage of the
10:54 2003 invasion of Iraq.
10:56 At first, Williams claimed he had been in a helicopter in Iraq that had to land after
11:00 another chopper was nearly struck by an RPG.
11:16 Over the years, his story changed to his aircraft needing to land after being hit.
11:20 Soldiers who were there at the time contested the newer versions of Williams' story.
11:25 While the anchor eventually apologized for exaggeration, the damage was done and he was
11:30 suspended and eventually moved to a lesser position.
11:42 9.
11:44 Ivory Hecker It's not often a reporter purposely tanks
11:56 their career live on TV.
11:58 But in 2021, that's what Ivory Hecker did on the local news affiliate Fox 26 Houston.
12:05 On the air, Hecker launched into a rant that Fox had been what she called "muzzling"
12:09 her and other reporters about topics she wanted to cover.
12:21 She stated she would release secret recordings made with the right-wing activist group Project
12:26 Veritas.
12:27 These revolved around promoting the disproven hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment.
12:33 After being initially suspended for her on-air outburst, unsurprisingly, Hecker was fired.
12:39 8.
12:40 Aaron Calvin Abandoned by the Register.
12:49 That's what former Des Moines Register reporter Aaron Calvin told BuzzFeed that he feels like
12:54 after being fired from the paper earlier this week.
12:57 It started with a man named Carson King in the background of ESPN's College Game Day
13:01 coverage, holding a jokey sign with his Venmo stating he needed beer money.
13:06 After a big response, King started raising money for the University of Iowa's Stead
13:10 Family Children's Hospital and finished his campaign with millions in donations.
13:16 During the fame, reporter Aaron Calvin did a profile on King for the Des Moines Register,
13:20 in which he mentioned the fundraiser's problematic social media account from years before when
13:25 he was a teen.
13:36 After making the post in King's apology, Calvin was harassed, had his life threatened,
13:41 and his own potentially problematic tweets parsed.
13:44 Eventually, the Des Moines Register fired Calvin.
13:51 7.
13:54 Lydia Cumming It's usually not great when a reporter becomes
14:03 a viral meme.
14:05 That's what happened to reporter Lydia Cumming in 2016 as she covered a flood in Puebla,
14:10 Mexico for TV Azteca.
14:13 Taken by a photographer at the scene, Cumming was hoisted up in the air by two locals, seemingly
14:18 to avoid her shoes getting wet.
14:28 After the image got out, she was photoshopped into all sorts of situations.
14:32 However, TV Azteca was less than impressed with the social media fame.
14:37 They fired Cumming for disrespectfully using local residents in a trying time.
14:51 In an interview afterward, Cumming claimed the residents wanted to show her their elderly
14:55 disabled neighbor and offered to carry her, which she briefly agreed to.
15:00 6.
15:01 Rick Sanchez After joining CNN in 2004 as a reporter,
15:12 Rick Sanchez quickly rose up the ranks as a news anchor, even getting his own program
15:17 with Rick's List.
15:18 But in 2010, that vanished when he appeared on Sirius XM's radio program, Stand Up with
15:24 Pete Dominic.
15:30 Angered by reports about his show's time slot being replaced and with Jon Stewart for
15:34 comedic jabs at him, Sanchez called Stewart a bigot.
15:38 Sanchez then claimed CNN and other networks discriminated against him and made comments
15:42 about Stewart's ethnic background and the news business.
15:46 Very unsurprisingly, Sanchez was soon fired by CNN and later joined Fox.
15:58 5.
16:01 Bill O'Reilly After making his name on various channels,
16:05 in 1996 Bill O'Reilly joined the brand new Fox News and was handed his own show, The
16:10 O'Reilly Factor.
16:15 He regularly courted controversy, but that didn't stop him from becoming one of the
16:19 country's biggest political commentators.
16:26 But then, in 2017, the New York Times released an article detailing sexual misconduct lawsuits
16:32 issued against O'Reilly.
16:38 It stated that Fox had helped him settle cases issued by five women at the cost of $13 million.
16:44 Quickly, advertisers began dropping the O'Reilly Factor.
16:58 After another lawsuit was discovered that was settled for $32 million, Fox and his talent
17:03 agencies fired O'Reilly.
17:05 Since then, he shows to the show and podcast No Spin News and had a speaking tour with
17:10 Donald Trump.
17:15 4.
17:18 As a reporter for ESPN and the Spanish language channel ESPN Deportes, Marley Rivera was one
17:24 of the biggest names in sports journalism.
17:26 After all, she was included in the Sports Illustrated article, "The 30 Most Influential
17:31 Hispanics in Sports" in 2017.
17:34 But in 2023, that reputation took a hit.
17:38 Before a New York Yankees game, freelancer Yvonne Gaietti tried to interview Aaron Judge.
17:44 But Rivera argued with Gaietti that she had already scheduled an interview with the MLB
17:48 star.
17:49 The face-off was recorded, which included Rivera using an expletive while insulting
17:53 Gaietti.
17:58 To make it worse for Rivera, Gaietti is married to the MLB vice president of communications,
18:03 John Blundell.
18:04 While Rivera apologized, Gaietti reportedly rejected it and Rivera was soon fired by ESPN.
18:16 3.
18:17 Chris Cuomo
18:18 Prominent anchor and journalist Chris Cuomo joined CNN in 2013 and eventually got his
18:28 own program, Cuomo Primetime.
18:31 And with his brother, Andrew Cuomo, being the governor of New York, he had some pretty
18:35 good connections.
18:36 Well, that was until multiple misconduct allegations came out about the governor.
18:47 While Cuomo publicly stated he couldn't talk about the story due to his close connection,
18:52 reportedly behind the scenes, the anchor and licensed attorney advised his brother on dealing
18:56 with the scandal and used his sources to gather information on the accusers.
19:01 After being briefly suspended by CNN during an investigation, Cuomo was let go by the
19:06 network in 2021.
19:13 2.
19:17 Megyn Kelly
19:23 After leaving Fox, Megyn Kelly became one of the highest paid anchors when she joined
19:27 NBC in 2017.
19:29 And one of her main tasks was hosting her own talk show, Megyn Kelly Today.
19:34 Yet in 2018, one segment in particular caused a massive scandal for Kelly.
19:39 As the panel discussed the topic of offensive blackface, Kelly stated when she was a child,
19:44 that was okay as long as people were playing a character.
19:47 She then defended the actions of Luann de la Seps, who was criticized when cosplaying
19:53 as Diana Ross.
20:04 Days later, Kelly's show was cancelled.
20:07 In early 2019, she was dropped by NBC, but also received the remaining $30 million from
20:12 her contract.
20:34 1.
20:35 Matt Lauer
20:42 After joining NBC in 1992, Matt Lauer would become one of the network's most recognizable
20:47 and marketable faces.
20:49 On top of being an anchor for the Today show, Matt Lauer also hosted the Macy's Thanksgiving
20:53 Day Parade and the Olympic Games opening ceremonies.
20:57 Then in 2017, NBC received a detailed report from a female colleague accusing Lauer of
21:03 harassment that began during the coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.
21:14 After an investigation by the networks, they fired the host from his hosting and reporting
21:18 duties.
21:19 And not long after, further allegations came out about Lauer during his time at NBC.
21:32 Which reporter is the most beloved of all time?
21:35 Walter Cronkite, Anne Currie, Trevor McDonald, or someone else?
21:39 Let us know below.
21:45 And as always, thanks for watching!
22:01 (upbeat music)
22:03 (upbeat music)