Yahoo's D.C. Bureau Chief Fired for Romneys 'Party with Black People Drowning' Joke
Update 1:43 p.m.: Yahoo has fired its Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian for that poor "joke." Here's the company's full statement:
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David Chalian's statement was inappropriate and does not represent the views of Yahoo!. He has been terminated effective immediately. We have already reached out to the Romney campaign, and we apologize to Mitt Romney, his staff, their supporters and anyone who was offended.
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Original: During ABC-Yahoo News's coverage of the Republican National Convention (or whatever there was of it) on Monday, an unidentified commentator made a Katrina-Romney-Isaac joke at the Romneys' expense, saying that "they [the Romneys] are happy to have a party with black people drowning." Oof.
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After speaking with ABC News, The Atlantic Wire was told that it wasn't an ABC employee who made the comment, but rather, a Yahoo News employee. Yahoo and ABC News have a partnership in bringing digital content--which explains why a Yahoo employee may have said the comment even though the video bears the ABC logo and watermark. After speaking to ABC, Newsbusters' Matthew Sheffield is pinning the gross joke on Yahoo News Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian.
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The video, uploaded on ABC News' YouTube account, is featured below (the gross "joke" is featured below and happens within the first few seconds) is now marked private. Here's the original clip:
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This text was updated to include the updates below.
Update 11:54 a.m.: We've reached out to ABC News, and a source there had made clear to us that this was not an ABC News employee who made the comment, but rather a Yahoo News employee. Yahoo and ABC News have a digital news partnership. We're currently reaching out to Yahoo to get a statement.
Update 12:32 p.m. Newsbusters who also spoke to ABC News is pinning the incident on Yahoo News's David Chalian. We're still trying to get in touch with Yahoo News for a statement, and will update when we do.
