Knoxville Anchor Says Sorry After Slur
WVLT (Knoxville) Anchor Mark Packer was doing his best to put the toothpaste back in the tube after making an anti-Semitic slur during the newscast on Wednesday.
During the Gray station’s 4PM newscast, Packer used an anti-Semitic phrase while speculating about price negotiations at the end of a story on a "Shark Tank"-style business pitching event at Carson Newman University.
His co-anchor immediately jumped in to introduce the next story and tried to move on.
about 20 minutes later, Parker started up his apology tour:
"I want to take just a moment ... a few minutes ago, I said something — a slip of the tongue, inadvertently — that was highly offensive to a few people out there, and it was something that I should not have said," Packer said into the camera. "I want to apologize specifically to each of you and to everyone who heard what I said. It was something I did not mean to say at all. I apologize to you and I am deeply sorry for the comment that I made earlier in the show."
Some people thinks his apology needs and apology:
The station did not post his apology of their website and has done their best to scrub the slur video from the internet.
Some viewers think it might be time for the station to send Packer packing.
The Gray station issued this statement:
"Mark apologized for using an inappropriate and offensive phrase during the 4:00 p.m. broadcast," the station wrote. "WVLT does not condone the terminology he used and apologizes for any pain it may have caused our viewers."
Packer was not on the air on Thursday and the station made no mention of his absence, because you know, te media.