News Anchor Fired On His First Day (Video)

There's a universal rule in broadcasting - watch your language even when the mic is off! Never assume that you're not on the air. But apparently, no one told that rule to one rookie news anchor in North Dakota, whose first words on the air were NOT what he would have preferred!

We played a trick on one of our former announcers years ago when he was standing outside the Brewer auditorium, dressed as a banana. (it was Halloween) While Paul Dupuis was on the air, we had another announcer dress up as a gorilla and jump the heck out of him. (all this was also being taped for TV news) It didn't occur to us until later that Paul just might be surprised enough to forget the mic was on! But he was a professional and kept the curses to himself. It's ingrained in most veteran broadcasters. But not so for those new to the profession!

A.J. Clemente had his first day anchoring the news on Sunday at KFYR-TV in Bismarck, North Dakota. When the cameras came on, he wasn't looking up to see the red light. But still...don't you think the fact that his co-anchor was introducing him would have tipped him off? And listen to her intro. I'm pretty sure the folks in the control room were trying to turn off A.J.'s mic but got hers instead.

Now, I'll warn you. The language is NOT bleeped out in this clip, so if you're offended by strong language, you won't want to watch.