ON-AIR REMARK: Activists condemn racial slur
Friends say weather forecaster no racist, firing an overreaction
By JULIET V. CASEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Las Vegas civil rights leaders Monday condemned the on-air racial slur that KTNV-TV, Channel 13, weather forecaster Rob Blair made during his Saturday morning forecast, but they praised the TV station's management for its swift action in firing him.
Blair's friends defended him, saying he is not racist and did not deserve to be fired.
"I know what it's like to have a slip of the tongue," said Linton Johnson, a spokesman for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District who described himself as a close friend of Blair. "I think people are overreacting. As a black person, I can say he is anything but racist. This guy has a history of working for and helping minorities."
But several black leaders in Las Vegas said they could not comprehend the comment.
Blair, the station's weekend weather forecaster, was delivering the extended forecast early Saturday when he said, "For tomorrow, 60 degrees, Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Day, gonna see some temperatures in the mid-60s."
"I don't think it was slip of the tongue, no way," said Gene Collins, director of the Las Vegas branch of National Action Network, a civil rights group founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton. "I think (Blair) felt he could say it and get away with it by just saying he's sorry. Sorry isn't going to cut it. I think the station should be commended for doing the right thing and dismissing him."
After the initial comment, Blair 20 minutes later told viewers of the ABC affiliate, "Apparently, I accidentally said Martin Luther Kong Jr., which I apologize about -- slip of the tongue."
During the 6 p.m. broadcast, co-anchor Christina Brown, who is black, announced, "Right now we want to pause for a program note. Rob?"
Blair, seated at the news desk said, "On a weather report earlier this morning, I made an accidental slip of the tongue when talking about the Martin Luther King holiday, and what I said was interpreted by many viewers as highly offensive. For that I offer my deepest apology. I in no way meant to offend anyone. I'm very sorry."
News of the Blair's comment made national media Monday. A report by Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke appeared on the online Drudge Report.
On Sunday, Jim Prather, vice president and general manager of KTNV, told viewers Blair no longer was employed at the station.
Prather said that Blair "stumbled" during the weather update and that "this kind of incident is not acceptable under any circumstances, and I'm truly sorry that this event occurred."
Prather could not be reached for comment Monday, and station staff referred calls to Jim Thomas of the Journalism Broadcast Group in Milwaukee, which owns the station. Thomas did not return calls.
Attempts to reach Blair were unsuccessful, but his agent, Sue McInerney, said that her client simply stumbled when delivering the forecast and that what he said "was not a racial slur." She said that the Channel 13 fired him without cause and that station officials are refusing to honor his contract.
"Rob is very talented and will have a very bright future," she said.
Blair's former boss, Scott Howard, news director for KHSL-TV in Chico, Calif., said he hired Blair about three years ago for a morning segment called "Wake Up!" Blair helped launch another segment called "Breakfast with Blair," where he would do live shots for the weather from people's breakfast tables.
"He became a signature personality here," Howard said. "He was on our promotions ... I feel bad for him. He is one of the most tolerant people around."
Blair left KHSL-TV for the job with Channel 13 in Las Vegas, Howard said.
"There's no way (Blair) deliberately said that," Howard said. "But, he's got to be accountable for it, and he paid the price."
Tom Gascoyne, editor of the Chico News & Review, a weekly newspaper, said Blair always struck him as a man of integrity. He said Blair volunteered to speak to students in his news writing class at the local community college. Blair was chosen as the paper's Best Local Personality in 2003.
"I think this was just a mistake, and it's unfortunate," Gascoyne said.
Still, people in the Las Vegas community were reeling Monday.
"I was just appalled to hear someone would say something so malicious," said Dean Ishman, president of the Las Vegas branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "Every time we think we're taking steps forward, you come across someone with ill will who would spew something so terrible, and it takes us two steps back."
Ramon Savoy, editor in chief of the Sentinel Voice, a local weekly geared toward the black community, called Blair's remark inexcusable.
"At no time is that something that should be thought, much less said and said in the platform of a newscast," Savoy said.
Mujahid Ramadan, a longtime civil rights activist and coordinator of the Las Vegas police Multicultural Advisory Council, said he hopes Blair and the station use the incident as a learning experience.
"I hope he bounces back," Ramadan said. "Anybody can make a mistake, but it's a major civil rights icon we're talking about, and unfortunately, this shows racism is still present."
Ramadan said he would encourage station officials to provide sensitivity and diversity training to its staff to prevent such comments.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Friends say weather forecaster no racist, firing an overreaction
By JULIET V. CASEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Las Vegas civil rights leaders Monday condemned the on-air racial slur that KTNV-TV, Channel 13, weather forecaster Rob Blair made during his Saturday morning forecast, but they praised the TV station's management for its swift action in firing him.
Blair's friends defended him, saying he is not racist and did not deserve to be fired.
"I know what it's like to have a slip of the tongue," said Linton Johnson, a spokesman for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District who described himself as a close friend of Blair. "I think people are overreacting. As a black person, I can say he is anything but racist. This guy has a history of working for and helping minorities."
But several black leaders in Las Vegas said they could not comprehend the comment.
Blair, the station's weekend weather forecaster, was delivering the extended forecast early Saturday when he said, "For tomorrow, 60 degrees, Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Day, gonna see some temperatures in the mid-60s."
"I don't think it was slip of the tongue, no way," said Gene Collins, director of the Las Vegas branch of National Action Network, a civil rights group founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton. "I think (Blair) felt he could say it and get away with it by just saying he's sorry. Sorry isn't going to cut it. I think the station should be commended for doing the right thing and dismissing him."
After the initial comment, Blair 20 minutes later told viewers of the ABC affiliate, "Apparently, I accidentally said Martin Luther Kong Jr., which I apologize about -- slip of the tongue."
During the 6 p.m. broadcast, co-anchor Christina Brown, who is black, announced, "Right now we want to pause for a program note. Rob?"
Blair, seated at the news desk said, "On a weather report earlier this morning, I made an accidental slip of the tongue when talking about the Martin Luther King holiday, and what I said was interpreted by many viewers as highly offensive. For that I offer my deepest apology. I in no way meant to offend anyone. I'm very sorry."
News of the Blair's comment made national media Monday. A report by Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke appeared on the online Drudge Report.
On Sunday, Jim Prather, vice president and general manager of KTNV, told viewers Blair no longer was employed at the station.
Prather said that Blair "stumbled" during the weather update and that "this kind of incident is not acceptable under any circumstances, and I'm truly sorry that this event occurred."
Prather could not be reached for comment Monday, and station staff referred calls to Jim Thomas of the Journalism Broadcast Group in Milwaukee, which owns the station. Thomas did not return calls.
Attempts to reach Blair were unsuccessful, but his agent, Sue McInerney, said that her client simply stumbled when delivering the forecast and that what he said "was not a racial slur." She said that the Channel 13 fired him without cause and that station officials are refusing to honor his contract.
"Rob is very talented and will have a very bright future," she said.
Blair's former boss, Scott Howard, news director for KHSL-TV in Chico, Calif., said he hired Blair about three years ago for a morning segment called "Wake Up!" Blair helped launch another segment called "Breakfast with Blair," where he would do live shots for the weather from people's breakfast tables.
"He became a signature personality here," Howard said. "He was on our promotions ... I feel bad for him. He is one of the most tolerant people around."
Blair left KHSL-TV for the job with Channel 13 in Las Vegas, Howard said.
"There's no way (Blair) deliberately said that," Howard said. "But, he's got to be accountable for it, and he paid the price."
Tom Gascoyne, editor of the Chico News & Review, a weekly newspaper, said Blair always struck him as a man of integrity. He said Blair volunteered to speak to students in his news writing class at the local community college. Blair was chosen as the paper's Best Local Personality in 2003.
"I think this was just a mistake, and it's unfortunate," Gascoyne said.
Still, people in the Las Vegas community were reeling Monday.
"I was just appalled to hear someone would say something so malicious," said Dean Ishman, president of the Las Vegas branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "Every time we think we're taking steps forward, you come across someone with ill will who would spew something so terrible, and it takes us two steps back."
Ramon Savoy, editor in chief of the Sentinel Voice, a local weekly geared toward the black community, called Blair's remark inexcusable.
"At no time is that something that should be thought, much less said and said in the platform of a newscast," Savoy said.
Mujahid Ramadan, a longtime civil rights activist and coordinator of the Las Vegas police Multicultural Advisory Council, said he hopes Blair and the station use the incident as a learning experience.
"I hope he bounces back," Ramadan said. "Anybody can make a mistake, but it's a major civil rights icon we're talking about, and unfortunately, this shows racism is still present."
Ramadan said he would encourage station officials to provide sensitivity and diversity training to its staff to prevent such comments.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
