Top 10 TV Reporters Who DESTROYED Their Careers on Air

#10: Angel Cardenas

Sacramento reporter Angel Cardenas was getting the low down on an upcoming classic car show when after noticing that he was alone in a room full of beautiful cars he decided to make himself right at home, climbing on one car and possibly denting another. Cardenas was fired, obviously, but we cant help but wonder if he wanted to be fired the whole time acting like this Like, the dude didnt even tuck his shirt in before going live on TV! He was either trying too hard or not trying hard enough

#9: Natasha Exelby

While you might not know her name, you may have seen her viral clip. Natasha Exelby is a journalist who once worked for ABC Australia News. During one live show, the camera cut back to her while she was mindlessly playing with her pen. Exelby quickly realized her error with a big reaction and immediately went to segue into the next segment. While the clip was widely shared on social media as a funny clip, it was no laughing matter for Exelby. Since she was freelancing at the time, ABC Australia chose not to offer additional on air shifts. Exelbys treatment after the pen incident earned her more support than jeers from her industry peers.

#8: A.J. Clemente

File this one under: So Funny He Should Have Kept His Job Rookie newscaster Clemente was on his first day at the anchor desk and super stressed when he dropped an F-Bomb just as the show was going live. And, the rest, is viral video infamy! It was so popular that A.J. even did a media tour talking about the epic gaffe. And, while we understand why A.J. couldnt have kept his job on live TV after such a careless mistake, were still laughing at this video all these years later; and, seeing as this single video has brought us so much joy, we really hope A.J. landed on his feet after being canned and is enjoying a happy, healthy life.

#7: Tex Antoine

Even without formal training in meteorology, Antoine became a fixture in local US weather reporting for decades. He was known for meshing entertainment into his reports. However, in 1976, Antoines storied career came crashing down. While working for WABC, he made a highly insensitive joke about assault right after a harrowing news story about a child being assaulted aired. Soon, the station was flooded with complaints from viewers, and WABC suspended Antoine. Although many people called for his firing, the network eventually brought him back in a non-TV role. However, when Antoines contract expired in 1977, WABC chose not to renew it. He later found brief work at a different station, before passing away in 1983.

#6: Chris Cuomo

After moving to CNN and getting his own show in 2018, everything seemed to be going well for Chris Cuomo. When his brother Andrew, the governor of New York, was accused of harassment, Cuomo seemingly did the right thing by publicly stating he wouldnt discuss the story due to a conflict of interest. Yet behind the scenes, it was apparently another matter. In 2021, it was discovered that Cuomo had used his connections and experience to advise Andrew on his response, and hed collected information on the accusers. This horrific breach of journalistic ethics caused CNN to suspend Cuomo. This, on top of assault allegations against Cuomo himself, caused the network to ultimately fire its former prized host.

#5: Dan Rather

When it comes to iconic names in news, it doesnt get much bigger than Dan Rather. He anchored CBS Evening News for over two decades and won eight Peabodys. Unfortunately, his legendary career was overshadowed by an incident in the mid 2000s. In 2004, Rather reported on the Killian documents. These memos were supposed to be official proof that George W. Bush had a rocky stint as a member of the Texas Air National Guard. However, it was quickly revealed that these memos were a modern forgery. The affair severely tarnished Rathers reputation with the network. After retiring as an anchorman, he was fired from CBS entirely. While he went on to other ventures, his career with the big network was seemingly damaged beyond repair.

#4: Lara Logan

For a while, South African journalist Lara Logan had a good career and even served as Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for CBS. But everything collapsed on October 27, 2013 when she appeared on 60 Minutes to report on the 2012 Benghazi attack. Logans report was riddled with factual errors. After the incident, she apologized on CBS This Morning for her shoddy journalism and blamed an inaccurate source in the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi. She was forced to take a leave of absence and later left CBS entirely. Logan then fell into far-right beliefs and started speaking publicly about various conspiracy theories. She also landed a job at Fox News, but she was fired by them as well in 2022.

#3: Chris Matthews

Best known for his political roundtable show Hardball with Chris Matthews that launched in 1997, this hosts involvement in politics and journalism actually goes back decades. So, after a long career in the public eye, Matthews was already at the point of contemplating retirement. But a bizarre rant likening Bernie Sanders Nevada caucus win to the Nazi invasion of France brought on his retirement much sooner than planned. His comments sparked calls for resignation, and coincided with a new column published about inappropriate comments hed allegedly made towards journalist Laura Bassett. Facing the fire from two fronts, Matthews met with his bosses at MSNBC and later resigned on air after offering apologies for his behavior.

#2: Don Lemon

Journalist Don Lemon had been steadily working in news since 2006, when he joined CNN as a correspondent. But at certain points in his career, he drew criticism for his negative opinions about women. Everything came to a head on February 19, 2023. On that day, Lemon criticized politician Nikki Haley by saying, A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s. This comment earned Lemon widespread condemnation. It also sparked a report from Variety which showcased his history of misogynistic behavior. He was subsequently fired on April 24, 2023.

#1: Brian WIlliams

With the news industry in such a precarious place in the era of social media over the past decade, finding out that respected newsman Brian Williams lied in order to make his reporting sound more heroic came as an epic letdown in 2015. Williams made up a story about him being on a helicopter that came under fire in Iraq in 2003, and the public (and professional) outburst when it was revealed this wasnt true forced NBC to suspend him for six months without pay. After so many years at the helm of NBCs flagship news show in NBC Nightly News, Williams fabrications led to his demotion to MSNBC where he remained until his retirement in 2021.

Have you ever caught a live reporting flub while watching the news? Let us know in the comments!