Four staffers at KARK Little Rock have been dismissed following their role in a pair of profane spoof videos on YouTube, reports Arkansas Business. KARK is part of Nexstar.
KARK GM/Nexstar corporate type Rick Rogala called the videos “distasteful” and very definitely unauthorized. He said in a statement:
“In a very unfortunate series of incidents, a number of KARK employees acted on their own accord to produce unauthorized, offensive and distasteful videos that were subsequently posted to the internet. I am personally shocked and saddened by the behavior of these employees. KARK has no tolerance for this type of behavior and messages that degrade and discredit our community and our employees.
“As a result, those involved have faced swift and appropriate disciplinary action. On behalf of the dedicated team members of KARK who take great pride in their community and profession, I would like to extend our sincerest apologies.”
Three of the weisenheimers were on air talent, and the other was a photographer. They’re ID’d as Pete Thompson, Courtney Collins, Jake Hatley and news photographer Chris Jameson by Arkansas Business.
You can see the videos here, at least for the time being.
The videos, one which was posted in June and the second posted this month, spoofed life at KARK and in central Arkansas. Reports Arkansas Business:
They include scenes filmed inside KARK’s newsroom and at its anchor desk, and what appears to be B-roll footage from Malvern’s Brickfest and the “Twilight: Eclipse” premiere at the Rave Colonel Glenn 18 in west Little Rock.
