Michael Scott vamoosh

Here's a link to my story in today's metro section about the sudden departure of Michael Scott, co-anchor on what was, until recently, Kansas City's highest rated newscast.

We don't normally address rumors in the print edition, which is a good thing, but since we're just one click away from salacious rumors regarding Scott's departure — and since I think we can all agree that someone who tapes a show for airing on Sunday expects to still be employed there as of the show's broadcast — I will add a couple of items here.

Let me reprint this entry from Scott's blog that I found on the KCTV5 web site Friday, because by the time you read this, it will be gone:

Michael Supports NEWHOUSE

Dec 8, 2005 04:21 PM Dec 8, 2005 04:21 PM

Why would "I" get involved with a domestic violence shelter? In the last 15 years, that's a question I get asked a lot. When I was single my friends would tease me that it was just another way for me to meet women, but trust me it's a lot more than that.

In fact the answer is real simple. I now have a wife, a mother, two sisters, female friends, female co-workers, and not one of them deserves to live in fear of a beating.

 

No one - man or   woman - should be a victim of domestic violence, and that's why I work with NEWHOUSE, "a new beginning for abused women." This past November, my co-anchor Karen Fuller and I co-hosted NEWHOUSE's fund-raising auction. According to the folks in charge, it was a great success.

 

That night, we all heard some frightening and touching stories from women, many with children, who had to escape from nightmarish relationships and now struggling with NEWHOUSE's help to get their lives back together.

 

The stories are numerous. On my own visits to the shelter, one woman told me about how her husband had her on the kitchen floor and stomped her in the face with steel-toe work shoes. I commented that he treated her like a dog. She said, "I wish." She went on to tell me that she was "jealous" of how well her husband treated their dog.

 

Here's some disturbing info from the NEWHOUSE Web site:

 

*   "Nearly 1/3 of American women report being physically abused by a husband or   boyfriend in the past year" 

* "More than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day"

* "324,000 pregnant women a year experience intimate partner violence"

* "One in five female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner"

 

If those numbers don't shake you up, then you've got no soul. For you others out there, domestic violence has got to stop, and you can help. Confront a woman if you think she's being abused. Get her the number for a shelter or crisis hotline. Find the shelters in your community. Donate your time and/or your money. Remember that, in many cases, "children" are witnessing these acts of violence and in some instances can also be victims of physical abuse.

 

We are supposedly a civilized society, its time we start acting like one.

                               

I find this an interesting document for two reasons. First, it presents an image of Scott as concerned about women's welfare, one that would seem to contradict the image his enemies were presenting on other websites on Friday as news of his firing spread. And yet, second, one can't overlook Scott's opening remark about his own motives ... a remark we can all agree is, at best, ill-considered.

With that in mind, I pass along this email I got this morning from a female reader:

"Michael Scott lasted a lot longer than he should have. His on-air remarks to Katie and Karen were terrible. And I seriously doubt that he was the reason more people watched kctv5 news.  I watch tv5 more because I like the other reporters.  Him being there was the price I had to pay in order to see the other folks. 

"Had he been a white man making those remarks to two black women it would have made news around the world and he probably would have been fired at the end of the broadcast. So whatever the reason is for him being gone, it did not come too soon."

Finally, Mrs. TV Barn reminded me of something from my appearance on the KSMO public affairs show a while back. I was brought on to talk about the arrival of Katie Couric at CBS.  I thought Scott, my interviewer, ended the segment well, quoting a Tim Goodman column about the state of TV news -- in fact, the quote stuck with me and I wound up using it in a later piece.  But earlier in the segment, Scott made a comment about Couric not wearing dresses anymore and the fact that men were going to miss that ... which I had no rejoinder to on the air and which outraged my wife when she heard it.

None of this corroborates what has only been rumored. But if this is what viewers see on the air, the best you can hope for Scott's sake is that he was better behaved off the air.

Comments

[Aaron]

Also, this isn't a rumor -- Michael did make Salon.com's top 10 list of all-time news anchor video highlights when he was attacked by a gecko in Dallas:

http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/feature/2004/07/08/anchors_away/index.html?pn=2

For what it's worth....

[renton]

This isn't rumor either. Scott's very first comment on the air in Kansas City during the halftime of a Chiefs pre-season game was a double entendre of questionable taste that evidently made his two co-anchors uncomfortable or at least took them by surprise. (Karen: Nice to have you. Michael: It's nice to be had) The look on his face made clear he meant it more than an innocent comment.

I have heard from multiple people working at KCTV that Scott and Fuller were kept far away from each other in the office, at her request, everywhere but the anchor desk.

Surely, someone will explain what specific incident led to the abrupt ousting.

[Greg]

Did anyone else happen to see his broadcast at 10PM on Wednesday? The sports segment featured NASCAR in Times Square. Michael said to Leif Lisec how surprised he was that there were NASCAR fans in New York. Leif said that yes, in fact, there was a good turn out from New Yorkers. Michael responded "They probably all showed up to steal the nice wheels."

This was just one of many insulting comments this man made on-air and I say good riddance. He was highly unprofessional and you could sense how uncomfortable Katie and Karen felt about him.

[Jerri]

Lets all line up and kick a guy when he's down. And lets make it as exploitive and exagerated as we possibly can go without really having any facts or taking any personal responsibility. A little bit of sexual inuendo... a touch of supressed racism, ohhhhh the big black negro talking to white women that way! “Black man repeatedly breaks into living rooms at 6 and 10!” (cause enough not to have a TV in the bedroom!!!) Hey this is perfectly on message for the "late breaking" action news! And apparently Kansas City Star reporters.

I'm personally glad to have Michael gone from channel 5. Getting canned as he apparently was never feels good. But good for him. Frankly I'd like to see the entire TV 5 news model canned.

Perhaps his professional ethics were a bit higher than those of his producers and handlers. Michael is an intellegent, courtious, civil, compassionate and above all a responsible citizen. The times that I watched the TV5 "news," I had the sense that Michael was playing against his "type," and was perhaps uncomfortable not only with the style of presentation, but with the "news content" as well. Michael was perhaps too bright and intellegent for the character he was supposed to play. Face it, the "fit" was not good. I'd heard long ago through the grapevine that he was uncomfortable with the "action news" format. If he expressed his discomfort at the station it certainly couldn't have bode well. Remember, news reporters at the local level are first and foremost to be actors and entertainers. It was just a matter of time. Who knows what the final straw was? Regardless, Bon voyage Michael. We wish you well.

[tvgal]

I work at one of the other local stations and when they hired Michael Scott at TV5 there was a lot of talk going on about how surprised they were that TV5 hired him, since he has had sexual harrassment charges brought against him at the past two stations he worked at. He did not come with a clean slate. I can't wait to hear waht did happen.

[Aaron]

Hey Jerri - that was a reader made that comment, not me.

[Tracy]

Well I don't care what anyone says, he added life to KCTV5. Channel 5 will be back at the bottom of the ratings, mark my words. I'll go back to Fox 4. Channel 4 will be my backup. Channel 5 and 9 are boring.

[Juniper]

I think Michael Scott is funny as heck.
He was the only reason I watched channel 5. I change the channel when Katie Horner comes on because I think she has military bearing, which I don't like, and I think she's bossy when she talks to her weather co-workers. I don't care for Karen Fuller's style of reporting, but she does have some cute outfits. I'd like to know where she gets some of her necklaces.

I hope Michael Scott gets a job somewhere I can continue watching him.

[Rodman Jones]

From your "sexual harrassment" comment, I just realized that Missouri truly is on the southside of the "Mason Dixon" line. Nowadays, where it is no longer acceptable to play the race card, you can now bet that anyone can impune another's character by tossing the "sexual harrassment" chip on the playing table. Considering, the offense of sexual harrassment is a subjective matter, where the only legal standard is whether the person to whom the comment or action is directed, feels offended or threatened in any way. What better way to engender distrust toward someone, not by accusing them of incompetence, or that you may be uncomfortable by a specific personality shaped by the diversity of NYC as opposed to the homogeneous confines of Jonesboro, AR (birthplace of Karen Fuller). Oh yes, play the chip, I'm betting that cream always rises to the top. To downplay the rise in the KCTV5 ratings since Michael has been there to coincidental circumstances would be laughable, if it wasn't for the usual "never giving credit where credit due", tragedy that plagued this society for too long. I say it's because some people make those around them, better!!!

[Rowdy]

At first, I didn't like Michael either. Looks wise, he reminds me of Reverend Ike. However, I really got to enjoy watching him. Great sense of humor, very professional.

The one I don't like is Karen Fuller. That whiney voice, that makes everything sound urgent drives me nuts. Ch-5 lost me as a viewer. That is unless they get rid of the whiner (Fuller) and hire someone that doesn't look and act like a funeral director.

[Tom]

A few months back I saw Michael Scott start chuckling in the middle of reporting on an attempted child kidnapping in Ottawa. It was totally inappropriate. It was on the 9:00 broadcast on KSMO on October 23. I know the date and time because I sent an email about it to the station but never heard anything back. I always got the impression that he held the viewers in contempt.

[nancy]

Karen Fuller is AWFUL. She shouts and dramatizes every news article,to the point that I "mute" the sound when she's barking the news. I really like Katie, she's the only good thing about the newscast.

[deegee]

Karen Fuller is good (and good-looking too!). She could do the news by herself just fine. I didn't mind Michael Scott but it was clear Karen and Katie were uncomfortable with his comments, so somebody had to go and it was 2 against 1. And I wouldn't mess with Katie, she looks like she could be dangerous if provoked...

[Rebecca]

As an employee of a local KC broadcasting company, I usually don't dispute "changes" of local networks. I have been a faithful fan of KCTV5 for years, and have seen many field reporters and news anchors come and go. But whatever happened between the station's president and Michael Scott was a complete mistake! Michael Scott brought "flavor" to KCTV 5. He was always upbeat, and brought news in a classy, professional way where people felt a connection with his personality. Michael Scott represented "real people". And you can tell he enjoyed his work. I haven't felt this way about any lead news anchor since the departure of Tracy Townsend and William Jackson. Although change is good, but too much change can bring instability. Sorry but KCTV 5 but dropped the ball on this one. Karen Fuller is just not good enough (way too many on-air mistakes) and she looks so uncomfortable. Katie only does weather. Maybe Dana Wright can take over, and possible new male anchor can bring them back to life.

[John]

Ever since Ch5 got rid of their sports department, I quit watching. It is painful to watch the Metro Sports team.

[deegee]

DON'T bring Dana Wright back as a regular anchor! She's terrible! If they do that, I will stop watching permanently.

[Tracy]

What does it matter now, Michael Scott is gone now. Sexual harrassment? Please! If I had a dollar for every comment that Mark Alford and Don Harmon made on Fox 4 News, I would be a rich woman. Don't get me wrong, I love those guys but Michael has caused no harm. It's the 21st Century and we still have to be careful of what comes out of our mouths. Women in my workplace are always saying off the wall comments but you don't hear anyone B_tching and complaining. People need to stop complaining. Channel 5 is at the bottom and they will remain there. Why is LeAnna Joyce still on Television 5? Ann Peterson was dismissed along with other oldtimers. Channel 5 has no respect! I will watch Channel 4, 41 and 9 and channel 5 will be skipped and not missed.

[smith]

I'm pretty sure that these people have to spend more time at work than just what you see on your televison. AKA...if sexual harrassment is the claim, then it probably happened OFF AIR and not on air. People watch what they say in front of a camera, but not when the cameras are away. Maybe he sent lewd emails, made inappropriate comments? Who knows. Just because you see him on teeeveee doens't mean you know his life in the office AWAY from a camera. Just a thought...

[Doug]

OH MY GOD!!
mad at Michael because he giggled on the news?? Get a grip woman..you don't know what was going on in the studio out of cameras eye...he could have been laughing about anything. As for katie and Karen not being comfortable with him, sounds like Johnson County B_tch syndrome to me. Mrs.'s whiter than whites uncomfortable with the big black man. It is a sad day when just because someone is uncomfortable with someone else makes them lose their jobs. We may never kow WHY he is gone...shame wont ever watch again...dont like those women you have on the air...makes me UNCOMFORTABLE to watch them...HELLO CNN and Fox4...

[nancy]

I think with the war going on and people dying that words are so small and so are the ones who want to sue over them....get a grip...pray for our men and women who are putting lives on the line.....Happy holidays.