Newspaperindex - the blog | Newspapers of the world, media and free speech

TV reporter Arthur Chi’en was fired by US channel WCBS/Ch. 2 yesterday after he shouted the F-word at two meddlers who horned in on his live shot. Chi’en was in the middle of a 6a.m. broadcast about MetroCard scammers when two men sneaked up behind him with a sign promoting radio shock jocks Opie & Anthony. For a few moments, as the knuckleheads heckled him and gave the finger to the camera, Chi’en kept his cool and continued talking. But as soon as he finished his report, he spun around and shouted at the intruders:

“What the f— is your problem, man?”

If he thought the WCBS control room had already cut to tape, he was wrong. The expletive went out over the air.

-So much for the freedom of the spoken word…