The Burning of Atlanta

It sounds like local TV news in Atlanta is a little more entertaining than what we get in the Twin Cities:

A weekend Atlanta anchor was fired after she was said to have uttered the word "m-----f-----" during her newscast.

Pow! That does sound a little beyond the standards of non-premium cable broadcasting. No word on whether there were mitigating factors, for instance, if she had been reporting on the performance of the Minnesota Timberwolves this season.

Actually, Ms. Champion denies using the expletive.

My co-anchor and I were talking about a mechanical screenwriter. It is difficult to use at times. The last part of our conversation was silly banter and barely audible, but it was picked up. I called the screenwriter a 'mothersucka' not the f-bomb.

I did not curse on the air, and what happened should not have cost me my job. 'Darn,' 'shoot' and 'heck' are all words that a listener may see as substitutes for curse words. But, they are not curse words . . . and neither is 'mothasucka.' The penalty seems extremely heavy-handed.

Back off you puritanical censors! She was only using a playful variation of the most obscene phrase in the English language.

I'm not sure a plea to mainstream one of the few remaining nuclear options left in the world of profanity will be a successful defense. However, she does have precedent on her side for this kind of news reporting in Atlanta:

Several years ago an Atlanta anchorman at another station actually said MF on the air and was merely suspended, not fired.

Two of these dropped within a couple of years in the Atlanta market? It's a trend! I presume the consultants will be selling the locals on this and I look forward to someday soon sitting down to watch the touching presentation on Channel 11 of Eleven MF'ers Who Care.

Post script: A Google search reminds us of this appearance by Cari Champion, back when she was a meteorologist at a station in Florida. CNN interrupted regular broadcasting to feature this commentary on the ravages of Hurricane Frances in September 2004:

CARI CHAMPION, WPTV CORRESPONDENT: Do not go outside in Jupiter, if you live in that city, because of the flooding, downed power lines.

The rain, I believe, honestly, the rain really had -- it did more of a job on the area as opposed to the winds because, again, it was a category two. The winds weren't bad. I mean, structurally, a lot of places were able to handle that wind, but...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, WSVN: Hey, Cari. I want a little figure -- I'm going to give you a little figure you can give to your newsroom.

CHAMPION: Yes, tell me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You had the equivalent of, I would say -- let's see. Two and a half inches of rain, you've had about 12. That's five.

You had about 250 million gallons of water per square mile poured on you in a very short period of time.

CHAMPION: And that's what they were saying. At the P.B.I.A., Palm Beach International Airport, they reported eight and a half inches, I mean, like three, in like three hours, maybe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CHAMPION: It was amazing. It was really amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These two and a half inches of rain is 40 million gallons per square mile.

CHAMPION: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Palm Beach right now has over a foot total; so, I mean, you're talking billions and billions and billions of gallons of water dumped in a very short period. That's why people underestimate flooding. [ED NOTE: I can identify that male, it's Carl Sagan.]

CHAMPION: Your right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, WSVN: Yes, and sadly, it's not safe for drinking.

CHAMPION: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just a mass.

For her strength in resisting dropping an MF on this clown in 2004, she deserved at least a regional Emmy.