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A 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.

We love NY1, it's true. But Bucky at Animal magazine might love NY1 more - specifically Bobby Cuza - as he has a Flickr set of photos titled "Stalking Bobby Cuza." Gothamist might have a photo set like that of our own, if we didn't have such bad luck with restraining orders. But the real bonus with Bucky's photos taken during the transit strike press campouts at the Grand Hyatt is that you see Arthur Chi'en, now on Channel 11. more ›

Newsday reports that Arthur Chi'en the CBS 2 reporter, who was fired for retorting at hecklers (from Opie & Anthony) with the f-word, will be returning to our local TV stations by joining the Channel 11 News at Ten. Many people were surprised that trying to stand up for one's self could lead to firing, but, hey, CBS don't play that way. Chi'en told Newsday that given he has worked in TV for 12 years, "I think [WB 11 was] pretty comfortable with that record, instead of the choice five seconds." Plus he's doing that put-money-into-the-jar when you swear thing, so he'll never swear again! No, he didn't say that, but he did say he knows that this is "something that cannot happen again." Yeah, if it does, Chi'en will have to shop around a TV news concept for cable. more ›

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