CNN Anchor Fired for Calling Jon Stewart a "Bigot"

[thegame2119]

ATLANTA — Rick Sanchez, a journalist who helped bring social media into the mainstream use by television reporters and anchors, has been fired by CNN one day after calling comedian Jon Stewart a "bigot" in a lengthy Sirius-XM satellite radio interview.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, CNN said Sanchez no longer worked for the company and wished him well.

"Rick Sanchez is no longer with the company," the statement released by the cable news network read. "We thank Rick for his years of service and we wish him well."

Sanchez's release by CNN comes one day after the television journalist called Comedy Central comedian Jon Stewart a "bigot" and suggested the host of "The Daily Show" did not fully understand the plight of minorities because of what Sanchez called his "privileged" upbringing.

"I think he looks at the world through his mom who was a schoolteacher, and his dad who was a physicist or something like that," Sanchez said during the interview, broadcast on Sirius-XM satellite radio. "Great, I'm so happy that he grew up in a suburban middle class New Jersey home with everything that you could ever imagine."

Sanchez went on to make anti-Semitic remarks against top officials at CNN.

"I'm telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart," Sanchez said. "To imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority? Yeah."

Sanchez is best known for a his program "Rick's List," which solicited viewer feedback by way of social media sites Twitter and Facebook. Sanchez played a pivotal role in the early merging of traditional media with social media.

The network said they'll air their general news and chat program "CNN Newsroom" in Sanchez's time slot.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ktxl-news-ricksanchez1001,0,126437.story?track=rss

It's one thing to call someone else a "bigot" but to include your employers as well...

 

[roronoa3000]

Don't miss with the Illumin.....err...I mean jews.

 

[Trident1]

I hated Prick Sanchez. Good riddance.

 

[mr. jizz]

Sanchez needs anger management, I saw him on Rick's list yesterday and he got too pissed-off about some girl talking about cyber bullying, it was hilarious.

 

[Lungzyn]

Did he actually get fired over just the Stewart-bigot thing? Because...

"I'm telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart," Sanchez said. "To imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority? Yeah."

...sounds a lot worse.

 

[Hypergalaxy]

 

[~~whimsy~~]

How controversial! I bet CNN will see a slight increase in ratings in the coming week or two.

 

[thegame2119]

Did he actually get fired over just the Stewart-bigot thing? Because...

...sounds a lot worse.

My guess is that it was probably for the entire segment itself. Here's a couple Youtube vids I found of the interview.



And later...



Personally, I think that he could have stated his opinion without using the word "bigot."

:2offtopic: I hate when the interviewer and interviewee constantly interrupt each other.

 

[Hot Mega]

He was definitely one of the most progressively biased reporters in news media IMO.

Sanchez was probably the polar opp. to "Brittle" Hume of Faux.

He likely was on the outs and fired off a few salvos before..he "left".

 

[D-rock]

I wouldn't mind if somebody called another person a bigot as long as they had good evidence to why that was true and proved it instead of using it as a general insult. I don't see where he backed up his statement other than somehow trying to imply that all people that didn't grow up in a impoverished setting are inherently bigoted.

 

[FranklinWalker]

I dont like Prick Sanchez too

 

[Galactic]

I guess a couple thousand of people showing up constitutes a rally.......just a prediction.......we'll see.

 

[D-rock]

I guess a couple thousand of people showing up constitutes a rally.......just a prediction.......we'll see.

Selling rationality isn't as big of a selling point as appealing to a group's blind ideology and appealing to the lowest common denominator in people. It also doesn't appeal like playing to somebody's selfish interest. Showing off rational thinking also doesn't have as high of a priority to rational people as trying to shout louder than anybody else is to fanatics. Even if what you say does happen is more an indication of humanity than of Jon Stewart, and it’s not even like I’m one of those people that agrees with Stewart with everything.

 

[CunningStunts]

Selling rationality isn't as big of a selling point as appealing to a group's blind ideology and appealing to the lowest common denominator in people. It also doesn't appeal like playing to somebody's selfish interest. Showing off rational thinking also doesn't have as high of a priority to rational people as trying to shout louder than anybody else is to fanatics. Even if what you say does happen is more an indication of humanity than of Jon Stewart, and it’s not even like I’m one of those people that agrees with Stewart with everything.

I don't disagree with anything you posted, but to sum up, do you think Stewart is "selling rationality?"

 

[digdiggler]

Bigot! Wow, could have fired him for something else. They have a DA on the loose attacking college students with gay bashing hate crime and he still have his job. But Rick gets bitched for saying bigot. Strange to me

 

[Crazy4theBrat]

He got fired for telling it like it is. Jon Stewart is like most white liberals. He is prejudiced against anyone who is not of a mindset similar to his. So much for being open minded and accepting of diversity.

 

[Ace Bandage]

The only march that matters:

 

[bil]

am not sure JS has so much sway within the television corps or with people watching for someone to be fired on his behalf. Does middle America even know who JS is? Rick Sanchez obviously had it coming, and any excuse would serve that purpose

 

[CurtJa]

Sanchez is thinner-skinned than Bill O, and that's pretty difficult to pull off. Stewart pokes fun at pretty much every color, creed, and religion under the sun. If you can't take a good ribbing, don't go into an occupation with high-profile public exposure. All that being said, I think it's fair to say the generic "Jews run the media" sentiment is likely what got him fired.

 

[Rekrul]

His firing probably had more to do with what he said about the owners of CNN than it did about Stewart himself.