2008 Woodie Awards
Porn interrupts news broadcast
Associated Press
Issue date: 3/15/07 Section: News
Viewers of a news show broadcast on a Phoenix-area cable television station received a lot more than news - hard-core pornography started streaming into their living rooms, replacing a health show featuring former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw.
The incident on KPPX-TV Monday night prompted a flood of calls to local news media outlets and cable provider Cox Communications, including one from Chandler resident Brenda Schodt, who said she was shocked to look up and see graphic sex acts on her television screen.
"Maybe five or 10 minutes into the show there was no volume," Schodt said. "I thought it was the TV, but when I looked up, there were these images."
Cox spokeswoman Andrea Katsenes said that the unexpected clips were a "source issue" with the broadcaster.
ION Television, which operates KPPX, called the problem "an act of human sabotage" at its station.
The company, based in West Palm Beach, Fla., declined to say if the pornography aired nationwide or only in the Phoenix market.
"We have launched a rigorous investigation, and any implicated employees will face strict disciplinary action and termination," ION Media Networks spokeswoman Leslie Monreal said in a prepared statement.
The incident on KPPX-TV Monday night prompted a flood of calls to local news media outlets and cable provider Cox Communications, including one from Chandler resident Brenda Schodt, who said she was shocked to look up and see graphic sex acts on her television screen.
"Maybe five or 10 minutes into the show there was no volume," Schodt said. "I thought it was the TV, but when I looked up, there were these images."
Cox spokeswoman Andrea Katsenes said that the unexpected clips were a "source issue" with the broadcaster.
ION Television, which operates KPPX, called the problem "an act of human sabotage" at its station.
The company, based in West Palm Beach, Fla., declined to say if the pornography aired nationwide or only in the Phoenix market.
"We have launched a rigorous investigation, and any implicated employees will face strict disciplinary action and termination," ION Media Networks spokeswoman Leslie Monreal said in a prepared statement.
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