"What started out as a joke ended up with a reporter being fired at KSTP-TV.
Mark Saxenmeyer wanted to do story about a straight Minneapolis couple who attended a White House Easter egg hunt but ended up handing it off to his co-worker Katherine Johnson. While she was in the process of writing the piece, Saxenmeyer [/b]added a few things to her script to make her laugh.
"They were based on a conversation she and I had prior about insensitivity issues," said Saxenmeyer, who is straight. "As a straight person, it's sometimes easier to use humor to help people feel more comfortable with straight people or just heterosexual things. She and I were just having a conversation about questions she might ask when she did the story. It was just a casual conversation, and then we began joking about it."
All the jokes were deleted, except for one of Saxenmeyer's lines -- "big HETRO dads" -- which made it into the story that was posted on the station's website March 30.
Saxenmeyer said the piece was up for less than five minutes before the line was taken out, but by then, a reader had already questioned the inappropriate reference to the couple. This editor's note was added: "Earlier today comments were published erroneously regarding this story. KSTP does not condone the comments. Action is being taken to ensure that this does not happen again."
On Wednesday, April 3, Saxenmeyer was fired from KSTP.
"What started out as a joke ended up with a reporter being fired at KSTP-TV.
Mark Saxenmeyer wanted to do story about a straight Minneapolis couple who attended a White House Easter egg hunt but ended up handing it off to his co-worker Katherine Johnson. While she was in the process of writing the piece, Saxenmeyer [/b]added a few things to her script to make her laugh.
"They were based on a conversation she and I had prior about insensitivity issues," said Saxenmeyer, who is straight. "As a straight person, it's sometimes easier to use humor to help people feel more comfortable with straight people or just heterosexual things. She and I were just having a conversation about questions she might ask when she did the story. It was just a casual conversation, and then we began joking about it."
All the jokes were deleted, except for one of Saxenmeyer's lines -- "big HETRO dads" -- which made it into the story that was posted on the station's website March 30.
Saxenmeyer said the piece was up for less than five minutes before the line was taken out, but by then, a reader had already questioned the inappropriate reference to the couple. This editor's note was added: "Earlier today comments were published erroneously regarding this story. KSTP does not condone the comments. Action is being taken to ensure that this does not happen again."
On Wednesday, April 3, Saxenmeyer was fired from KSTP.
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point made, it is unjust. but despite that, it is because there is no established boundaries on what constitutes as an offense, and people 'offended' can draw less ratings. So what in our wisdom can we do? nothing. whine. complain. point out the injustice...but in the end people love to crucify others, it makes them feel powerful, and society does not have laws to ensure justice, only to ensure crucifixions. so what do you do? I'll tell you hat I'm doing: I'm waiting for reason to win. I'm waiting for the revolution. and I'm not alone. *sip*
