[imagesource: CBS]
Make an error during a live broadcast in the age of social media and you can bet your blunder will be viewed by millions.
Sure, there are ‘slip of the tongue’ blunders which can be laughed off, but Albany TV news anchor Heather Kovar went a step further.
She spoke with a clear slur during a Saturday evening broadcast on CBS 6, forgot a colleague’s name, and had many online commenting that she appeared to be more than a few sheets to the wind.
A note to those who think they wisen with each drink – this is likely what you actually sound like towards the end of the night:
Viewers expressing concern over train wreck of local evening newscast out of Albany. Anchor Heather Kovar appeared disheveled, misspoke, and slurred her words for the entire newscast. Here, she tries to set up the weather and toss to the meteorologist, who’s name she gets wrong. pic.twitter.com/70jwwvykKt
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 10, 2022
Oh dear.
The New York Post points out the above clip is only part of the broadcasting balls-up:
At one point while trying to pivot between segments, Kovar said, “And so, moving on tonight, is we have to tell you also, you know, like other news that’s happening in the area, and across the area, in the nation.”
She also began having trouble while discussing an explosion at a natural-gas plant in Oklahoma, stumbling on her words.
She quickly changed subjects during the report, too, saying bizarrely, “Well, hello! Good afternoon!
She was eventually cut off from speaking mid-broadcast and mid-sentence.
The following day, the station confirmed that Kovar had been suspended from her job. Robert Croteau, vice president and general manager of the Sinclair-owned station, said there’s an internal investigation underway.
Kovar sent out a statement of her own yesterday evening, reports The Times Union:
Kovar noted that she had “returned early from family leave following my dad’s death. On Friday, I notified the station I would not be renewing my contract which expires July 31. Saturday I was scheduled to work the early morning 6 a.m. shift and the evening shift. I was sleep-deprived and exhausted.”
Whether or not Kovar works through until July 31 is likely to be decided by the results of that internal investigation.
[sources:nypost×union]
