By now everybody’s aware of the story of Las Vegas weekend weather guy, Rob Blair, who was fired over what was believed to be a racial slur uttered during a weekend newscast on KTNV-TV. Activist leaders, including Barbara Ciara of the National Association of Black Journalists condemned what appeared — at the time — to be an unbelievably stupid thing to say on-the-air. According to all the reports, Blair said, “Martin Luther Coon King Jr” when referencing the upcoming holiday forecast. Huh? Who could be such an idiot?

Well, it turns out all the chest-beating comes from people who haven’t seen — or more importantly, heard — a tape of the event. Scott Jones at FTVLive (subscription required) streamed the event late yesterday, and after hearing it, I believe Blair is a clear victim of the rush to judgment that’s become so popular in this country, especially as it relates to political correctness. I mean, it’s not even questionable. Even the smoothest anchor in the business gets tongue-tied occasionally. I don’t care what you think you hear in the tape. It was a slip of the tongue, a rushed combination of the words “King” and “Junior.”

People who know Rob jumped to his defense, but it didn’t matter. He lost his job and it looks like he’ll never work in broadcasting again. And now it turns out the whole event wasn’t “live” and that six station employees had the opportunity to undo the deadly deed before it hit the air. Their jobs are now in jeopardy too. Holy shit, folks. I’m mean, why didn’t they stop it from going on the air? Because it was no big deal, that’s why.

Oh but it is a big deal, isn’t it? A special interest group needs events like these to raise money to fight the good fight. Such hypocrisy.

Why do we have to assume the guilt of people when the finger of accusation is pointed? When I worked for The Journal Company (owners of KTNV), the company stood up for its employees. Apparently, that’s not the case anymore.

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