Stay Classy, Bismarck

[michael hagerty]

This is only peripherally about his swearing. Instead, it's people...lots of people...saying the kid should be given the same courtesy as pros like Sue Simmons. Apologize, learn (he'll never do it again) and be allowed to prove himself.

You wouldn't be seeing any of this if KFYR had done that, or even suspended him for a week. But firing him strikes a large number of people as unfair.

 

[Kent]

@ Kent... Maybe no one was listening to your station. (sorry)

LOL! I was once told no one is really listening and that it didn't really matter what I said so long as I sounded comfortable. I suppose it's quite possible that happened, especially since I didn't know the mic was in program. I can't imagine no one was tuned to the station since it had a 10.6 12+ and happened on a Saturday afternoon, which is one of the top listening times on an AC!

 

[1069_KIFR]

K FYR, that's why he was FIRED (FYRED)

 

[michael hagerty]

@ Kent... Maybe no one was listening to your station. (sorry)

LOL! I was once told no one is really listening and that it didn't really matter what I said so long as I sounded comfortable. I suppose it's quite possible that happened, especially since I didn't know the mic was in program. I can't imagine no one was tuned to the station since it had a 10.6 12+ and happened on a Saturday afternoon, which is one of the top listening times on an AC!

A real soft AC on a weekend...people were listening, but it was background, most likely. People heard you say it but it didn't register.

 

[Fenway1912]

http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/...-letterman-what-went-wrong-for-a-j-clemente-/

 

[mjlarochelle]

Not only did KFYR have to deal with the Today Show interview, they also carry Kelly and Michael. Clemente will appear on that show this week too.

After watching the Today Show interview, I would say that KFYR set him up to fail, though probably unintentionally. If I were buying TV ads in Bismarck right now, I'd be thinking twice about advertising on KFYR during their local news, because of how he was treated.

 

[FredLeonard]

I thought Dave handled the situation very well.

(1) He seems like a nice kid.

(2) He seems like a light-weight. Yes, Dave, ESPN is not going to happen.

(3) He probably was hired mostly because he looks good and is Hispanic. Not because of any journalistic or broadcasting qualifications.

(4) The station management handled this poorly; they are more at fault than the kid.

(5) Two years tending bar at the Delaware shore since college? The female co-anchor got a producing job. AJ should have done something relevant. Part-time in local radio. String for a local newspaper. Produce. Volunteer at an NPR station. Intern one place after another. Something. I got the feeling this kid thinks he's ready for prime time and only interested in some on-air gig. Maybe he even thinks it was step down doing news instead of sports.

(6) His mother took him to North Dakota? Not a good sign.

(7) He was just reading over his copy (at what he thought) was 30 seconds to air? Also not a good sign.

Bismark should not have fired. The story sounds like the station manager got involved when he should not have and then over-reacted. They should give him his job back. He probably won't get to a market much bigger than Bismark - maybe the one he couldn't remember in Wisconsin.

He needs to do something about that mole.

 

[OldNumber7]

I thought Dave handled the situation very well.

(1) He seems like a nice kid.

(2) He seems like a light-weight. Yes, Dave, ESPN is not going to happen.

(3) He probably was hired mostly because he looks good and is Hispanic. Not because of any journalistic or broadcasting qualifications.

(4) The station management handled this poorly; they are more at fault than the kid.

(5) Two years tending bar at the Delaware shore since college? The female co-anchor got a producing job. AJ should have done something relevant. Part-time in local radio. String for a local newspaper. Produce. Volunteer at an NPR station. Intern one place after another. Something. I got the feeling this kid thinks he's ready for prime time and only interested in some on-air gig. Maybe he even thinks it was step down doing news instead of sports.

(6) His mother took him to North Dakota? Not a good sign.

(7) He was just reading over his copy (at what he thought) was 30 seconds to air? Also not a good sign.

Bismark should not have fired. The story sounds like the station manager got involved when he should not have and then over-reacted. They should give him his job back. He probably won't get to a market much bigger than Bismark - maybe the one he couldn't remember in Wisconsin.

He needs to do something about that mole.

Can we talk about the elephant in the room? The kid doesn't have IT. By that I mean he has no charisma, no gravitas. His voice doesn't project any authority or confidence. He shouldn't be in front of a camera for money without YEARS of serious coaching, if at all. (I don't believe charisma can be coached; the attempt usually comes off as inauthentic). Of course, I can say all the same about his co-anchor in Bismarck. There are plenty of people with the natural gifts willing to start for $25k in North Dakota. How come the station didn't hire any of them?

 

[michael hagerty]

I thought Dave handled the situation very well.

(1) He seems like a nice kid.

(2) He seems like a light-weight. Yes, Dave, ESPN is not going to happen.

(3) He probably was hired mostly because he looks good and is Hispanic. Not because of any journalistic or broadcasting qualifications.

(4) The station management handled this poorly; they are more at fault than the kid.

(5) Two years tending bar at the Delaware shore since college? The female co-anchor got a producing job. AJ should have done something relevant. Part-time in local radio. String for a local newspaper. Produce. Volunteer at an NPR station. Intern one place after another. Something. I got the feeling this kid thinks he's ready for prime time and only interested in some on-air gig. Maybe he even thinks it was step down doing news instead of sports.

(6) His mother took him to North Dakota? Not a good sign.

(7) He was just reading over his copy (at what he thought) was 30 seconds to air? Also not a good sign.

Bismark should not have fired. The story sounds like the station manager got involved when he should not have and then over-reacted. They should give him his job back. He probably won't get to a market much bigger than Bismark - maybe the one he couldn't remember in Wisconsin.

He needs to do something about that mole.

Can we talk about the elephant in the room? The kid doesn't have IT. By that I mean he has no charisma, no gravitas. His voice doesn't project any authority or confidence. He shouldn't be in front of a camera for money without YEARS of serious coaching, if at all. (I don't believe charisma can be coached; the attempt usually comes off as inauthentic). Of course, I can say all the same about his co-anchor in Bismarck. There are plenty of people with the natural gifts willing to start for $25k in North Dakota. How come the station didn't hire any of them?

I could show you probably 100 people in their first month in the business who are as rough and raw as those two. Nobody goes in with coaching. I had the advantage of 10 years in radio when I anchored my first TV newscast in Reno at age 25, but the vast majority of the new hires were straight out of college.

Can AJ improve? Dunno. I thought he handled himself okay on the Today show, but the Letterman appearance makes me wonder if there's a there there and if he really thinks this is going to last beyond this week.

 

[FredLeonard]

There are plenty of people with the natural gifts willing to start for $25k in North Dakota. How come the station didn't hire any of them?

Two words: Affirmative Action.

 

[Later]

I got the vibe after watching Dave that AJ thinks he will go far with this and will NOT be anchoring in small market. What I don't get is why the media covered this as much as they did. I think it is so stupid that it lasted this long. So many more important things to cover. How many left on his 15??

 

[michael hagerty]

I got the vibe after watching Dave that AJ thinks he will go far with this and will NOT be anchoring in small market. What I don't get is why the media covered this as much as they did. I think it is so stupid that it lasted this long. So many more important things to cover. How many left on his 15??

He's down to 30 seconds.

Here's the thing. It's only been 96 hours since he made the on-air flub. It just seems like forever.

Shows are booking him because it's viral and viral is a big deal. Also because the station is taking an enormous amount of heat for firing him. A chunk of the country thinks it was too harsh. These shows get a bump off that sentiment.

If you go back over the comments in this thread, I've advocated giving him a break. But I have to say the "If ESPN comes knocking" line on Letterman was off-putting. Arrogant. If he thinks Matt Lauer, Kelly Ripa or David Letterman will answer his phone calls on Monday of next week, he's dreaming.

He needs to be very careful about what he says on camera in the next half-minute and he needs to be thinking about making phone calls to North Platte, Nebraska instead of taking one from ESPN.

 

[FredLeonard]

North Platte? Maybe even Glendive.

There are 59 markets smaller than Minot-Bismarck-Dickinson. Maybe we should start a pool.

He dropped the "bomb" in front of a female co-anchor and he has a female news director and the station has a female owner. Would he have gotten away with a slap on the wrist if he'd been working for a guy.

 

[searadiofreak]

Maybe it is just me, but this guy seems more comfortable on The Today Show and David Letterman, than he did on his initial newscast in Bismarck. What is up with that? Valium? Or just a plot.

 

[michael hagerty]

Maybe it is just me, but this guy seems more comfortable on The Today Show and David Letterman, than he did on his initial newscast in Bismarck. What is up with that? Valium? Or just a plot.

Not a plot. It has a lot to do with support. In his own station, there was no floor director, no cues, nothing. Today, Letterman and the other shows have people greet the guests, give then food and drink in the green room, producers who'll give them pep talks...the whole nine yards. By the time he's on the set he feels like he's at the Ritz-Carlton.

 

[OldNumber7]

Maybe it is just me, but this guy seems more comfortable on The Today Show and David Letterman, than he did on his initial newscast in Bismarck. What is up with that? Valium? Or just a plot.

I didn't see Letterman, but on Today he seemed to me as dull as his newscast. He is nasal and inarticulate, lacks poise and lacks any "glow" that says this is someone you want to be around. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but he doesn't radiate very much. Old rule of thumb about TV -- if the viewer doesn't want to be like you or with you, they won't watch you.

 

[taylorjsdad]

North Platte? Maybe even Glendive.

There are 59 markets smaller than Minot-Bismarck-Dickinson. Maybe we should start a pool.

He dropped the "bomb" in front of a female co-anchor and he has a female news director and the station has a female owner. Would he have gotten away with a slap on the wrist if he'd been working for a guy.

Isn't KFYR-TV owned by Hoak Media? The folks who initially dropped their stations from Dish Network because of the Hopper?

 

[michael hagerty]

Maybe it is just me, but this guy seems more comfortable on The Today Show and David Letterman, than he did on his initial newscast in Bismarck. What is up with that? Valium? Or just a plot.

I didn't see Letterman, but on Today he seemed to me as dull as his newscast. He is nasal and inarticulate, lacks poise and lacks any "glow" that says this is someone you want to be around. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but he doesn't radiate very much. Old rule of thumb about TV -- if the viewer doesn't want to be like you or with you, they won't watch you.

30+ years in television has taught me that there are very few naturals. I've been blessed to work with some. But by and large, a new television news reporter, fresh from college, is a mass of insecurities, worrying that at any given moment, on some level, they're inadequate and it will all come crashing down on them by lunch.

It takes about a year for these people to get comfortable in their own skin, and relax enough that they can learn the very difficult (for most people) job of looking like you're talking to a friend when all you can see is the cold, dark lens of a robotic camera and sounding like you're conversing with them about important events that you've got a handle on when you're actually reading them off a constantly scrolling teleprompter.

 

[jfrancispastirchak]

Can we talk about the elephant in the room? The kid doesn't have IT. By that I mean he has no charisma, no gravitas. His voice doesn't project any authority or confidence. He shouldn't be in front of a camera for money without YEARS of serious coaching, if at all. (I don't believe charisma can be coached; the attempt usually comes off as inauthentic). Of course, I can say all the same about his co-anchor in Bismarck. There are plenty of people with the natural gifts willing to start for $25k in North Dakota. How come the station didn't hire any of them?

Charisma? White elephant? "GRAVITAS"? Guys, we're talking Bismark, not Boston!

 

[1069_KIFR]

Yeah, watch his co-anchor, or I should say former co-anchor. She's been anchoring for three months prior to being paired with A.J. and she looked just as nervous.