Cox Media Group's WSB-TV Atlanta (owned by Apollo Global Management) has severed its ties with long-time political analyst Bill Crane after he made a reference on air to the "orange face" of former President Donald Trump, a familiar personal dig at Trump by critics.
In a statement explaining the firing, which had been reported by the Atlanta Constitution, WSB-TV GM Ray Carter said that during the Sunday (Aug. 21) 6 p.m. newscast, Crane "uttered remarks about former President Donald Trump that "are not aligned with our commitment to fair and unbiased reporting and analysis."
Crane, who has been with the station since 2006, said in a tweet that he had always tried to "call shots as I see them," without leaning toward either party.
Explaining the comment that got him fired he said: "I offered that it is part of Democratic Party strategy to keep President Trump's fantasy of a stolen election in play, as well as to keep his orange face looming large to increase Democratic base voter turnout..."
He conceded that the "orange face" comment was found to be "extremely offensive" by some WSB-TV viewers. He apologized for offending, saying he has used the "orange face" comment before and had not meant in any of those cases to offend.
Crane said station management felt he had crossed the line to personal attack and a bias that was "unrecoverable." Crane disagreed, standing by his analysis, though conceding his wording could have been "more PC." ■
