Wednesday, January 28, 2004

The First rule of broadcasting

Always assume the microphone is live or the tape is rolling. Any Broadcast Journalism student understands the concept, you can't have it back once it's out there. And Gord Martineau , a news anchor for City TV in Toronto is just the latest example of that age old axiom.

Martineau is suffering the embarrassment of some rather unfortunate attempts at humour, caught on tape, that have caused an uproar in Toronto. City TV is in full damage control over the incident , with press releases flying out of the TV station offices today.

During a promotional video shoot for the station several years ago, Martineau mocked many of the stories and personalities that they were featuring. Using crude language and expressions Martineau exhibited a less than professional appearance. The outtakes were released on the internet by Frank Magazine over the last few days. The release shares Martineau's less than funny sense of humour with the world.

Martineau who has been a fixture in Toronto media circles for over 30 years is mortified at the development. It would seem that someone out there decided to bring his high flying reputation back down to earth. He should have remembered to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. Short of that he should have just been a bit more intelligent.

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