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Arthur Chi'en's Accidental F-Word Not Fire-able

2006_05_arthurchien.jpgA year ago, CBS 2 reporter Arthur Chi'en was fired for swearing on camera after an Opie & Anthony fan used an "obscene gesture" while Chi'en was reporting on Metrocards, and Chi'en, not realizing he was on air, yelled, "What the fuck's your problem, man?" And CBS 2, reeling from various FCC snafus, pulled the trigger and fired the Chi'en, leading to outrage, Save Arthur Chi'en petition and Chi'en Revolution shirts on Cafe Press. Chi'en, for his part, moved on to a new job with the Channel 11 News at Ten. But, yesterday, an arbitrator found that WCBS's acted wrongly by firing Chi'en. Arbitrator Richard Adelman felt that Chi'en should have been reprimanded, but not terminated for his actions. Here's an excerpt of the ruling:

...the evidence reveals that Mr. Chi'en did not intend for his words to be heard on-air, that this was a singular incident in which the word "fuck" was used outside any sexual context, that the Station did not receive a single complaint about the incident... Furthermore, the applicable Company policy, which, among other prohibitions, prohibited the word "fuck" on the air, does not require the termination of employees for a violation of the policy, and Howard Stern was not terminated for far more egregious on-air conduct. In short, the Company did not have cause to discharge Mr. Chi'en.
The NY Times reports that the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists had "urged him to challenge the firing," in order to avoid unfair firings like this. Here, here - while swearing is clearly not a part of the job, are idiot bystanders supposed to unduly harrass reporters? We are still amazed that WCBS fired Chi'en for standing up for himself.

WCBS's statement said, "To the contrary, the arbitrator determined that Mr. Chi'en violated a universally recognized taboo in the broadcast industry and that the company had no choice but to take strong action against him. While we disagree about the specific penalty, the arbitrator nonetheless imposed a lengthy suspension on Mr. Chi'en for his misconduct." And Chi'en's response? "I'm just glad that this is over and behind me. It never should have happened to begin with."

Photograph of Chi'en reporting on the transit strike from ANIMAL New York onFlickr

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By Jen Chung in on June 1, 2006 12:57 PM

Comments [rss]

  • Chill

    Jamon, wtf is your comment supposed to mean? All Chinese people are supposed to get mugged? are you in this convo just to make racist comments? Take your jamon and your queso and go bug some j.lo or regaton convo.

  • Steve

    As usual, no one gets the story right when it comes to O&A. Yes, O&A did direct the listeners to use signs to promote the show and disrupt live on air reports, however the person who made the obscene gesture was not part of the event. He was, in fact, a former employee of the Howard Stern Show who happened to be walking by.

  • Nina Chien

    test

  • I those two morons on the radio should not have their names mentioned. Their names get mentioned and the terrorists win.

  • sideshow

    stay in prison

    has news ownership lost sight of the reality on the streets? do they think the city is their studio? if they send they're reporters out there - try not to hang them out to dry.



    and um, please.. stay in prison

  • jim norton

    Toby:



    oh ... you forgot to mention that Opie & Anthony have been promoted to take over the hottest spot in morning radio ... in 7 markets. OOAWITE



    ok terrific!!

  • Those idiots who were directed by the two morons on the radio to disrupt television news live shots to promote the two moron's radio program are just stupid sheep. The two radio morons called off their stupid campaign after one of their moronic listners assualted WABC reporter Anthony Johnson (husband of WNBC's Pat Battle) with an air horn to the ear.



    Chi'en thought that they had cut away to the taped peice or at least cut his mic, which is the usual thing that happens when morons attack. Someone in WCBS' control room was a tad slow cutting away.



    Lucky for him he is over on WPIX, where he is doing a very good job and seems to have a higher profile than he did over at WCBS.

  • smitty

    go with "grammar gestapo" (alliteration and all...).

  • Brightliner

    BTW, if anyone wants to hear an American cultural icon (who's normally level-headed) lose it completely, check this out. Use the Casey Kasem link near the center of the page. Forget "zoinks!" Shaggy can curse up a blue streak when necessary.

  • I like O &A but my reaction to the heckler would probably have been the same as Chi'en's. Good for him.



    www.forgotten-ny.com

  • grammar whore

    Speaking of grammar:



    "I totally have a crush on Arther Chi'en. Is that weird?"



    I only partially have a crush on him.

  • Brightliner

    Just to be a Grammar Nazi (I'm so tired of that phrase; can I be a Grammar Gestapo instead? Grammar Luftwaffe?), it's "hear, hear," not "here, here." Surely they must have had some English classes in Stuyvesant.

  • timbnyc

    Aristocrat, shut the hell up or I'll give you a Cleveland Steamer, you wanker! Dickcheese.

  • Michelle

    MissPinkKate, may I please eat your pink taco?

  • chienman

    he's a very likable guy,

    unlike the 2 loud and brash reporters on WABC,

    Rossen and Dolan.

  • I totally have a crush on Arther Chi'en. Is that weird?

  • tcb

    And now the hypocrites at CBS have hired Opie and Anthony, the ones who started this mess in the first place. If CBS really cared about decency on the airwaves they wouldn't be looking to these idiots to save their radio stations.

  • Aristocrat

    Timbnyc, I guess reality for you is acting like an asshole for your 15 seconds of fame? If your life is so empty that you feel the need to mug for a camera whenever you see one on the street, you need to get a life, quit being so juvenile, and grow the hell up.



    "Hey lookit me! I'm on camera! Whhhhheeee!"



    Loser.

  • timbnyc

    I don't see why we should have to be passive backdrops for news reports. They went out into the street or wherever they were for some 'reality' (even tho' the report probably could have been done from the studio). Fuck 'em if they don't like the reality they get.

  • ABC Girl

    I wrote to CBS the minute I heard about Ch'ien getting fired. I was watching when it happened, and felt he was totally in the right-- the guys messing up the newspiece were being real a**holes. While I ordinarily frown on profanities, the reality is that we hear it all around us everyday-- often said maliciously and with intent to hurt. That's not what happened here. Ch'ien truly did not know that he was still on the air when he said the f-word and only reacted when he thought he had the chance to reprimand the fools creating a scene behind him. I had no idea there was a petition out to save Ch'ien or I would have signed that too.



    Arthur rocks and I'm glad he's at Channel 11.

    CBS is just being paranoid.

  • mickster

    Glad to hear he's at Channel 11 which I only watch after a Mets game...



    Shame. I wrote to WCBS after the firing as Chien was the on who got fucked.

  • jamon

    arthur is chinese. I'm suprise no one's mugged him on camera yet.

  • MT

    Reporters should be allowed to deck those idiots who insist on doing their imbecile antics on camera when they are trying to report a situation. AC is awesome for ripping into that jerk.

  • Chienfan

    Ch'ien is doing a great job over at 11 - he has a very likeable presence. Fuck CBS 2, man.

  • Jim Norton

    ona party rock!!





    OK terrific.

  • don

    Arthur is so cool. He really rocks.

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