NO SEX ON AIR FOR COMCAST'S COLLINS

The headline I chose for this story is probably a little over the top.  Just the same, so is the dismissal of Comcast Chicago's Susannah Collins from her duties as a reporter/anchor for the sports network.  Collins was filing a pre-game report outside the Chicago Blackhawks dressing room before their Stanley Cup Playoff opener versus the Minnesota Wild.  And she made a monumental mistake.

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The Comcast website had this to say about Collins in her bio.  "Prior to coming on board at CSN, Collins gained national attention for her on-air work at Showtime Sports, where she appeared as a special correspondent for the networks weekly studio shows "Inside the NFL" and "Inside NASCAR".  Collins reported from two Super Bowls (XLV, XLVI) interviewing numerous athletes and celebrities.  Collins also covered MMA and boxing events for Showtime as a live event reporter and web-feature contributor.  Collins also served as a correspondent/reporter for the NFL Network, NBC and CBS.  In 2011, she anchored the weekend sports broadcasts at WCBS-TV in New York and hosted numerous Fan Fest events for MLB.com at the 2012 All-Star Game in Kansas City".  So, it would appear she was well thought of.

Here's what led to the farting of the ways.....errrrr parting of the ways.  Rather than trying to explain the situation, the tone in which she delivered her faux paus and whether it was an accidental slip, you be the judge.

Clearly, many TV executives had either neglected to do their homework.....or simply didn't care about Collins past that by Comcast's accounts, finally caught up with her. The "mistake" Tuesday night put a spotlight on Collins, and that quickly refocused attention on a series of raunchy You Tube videos uploaded between 2009 and 2010.  As co-host of Sports Nutz, Collins pushed the boundaries of sports journalism--and good taste-with sexually explicit reports and potentially offensive racial stereotypes.

I decided to take a check on the 16-video series produced by Middlebrow Media featuring Collins and her co-host, Sam Raddock.  I'll have to admit, they were lacking in taste and journalistic integrity.....that is, if that even exists anymore.  Still, what must have these two young ladies been thinking when they offered their talent to such a project?  For sure, neither woman displayed much concern of acceptance of their words....just the same...we've all done something we should have thought more about......especially when you know it's going to hit the internet.  Neither Collins or Raddock could say they were caught off guard in that respect.

Yet, I believe the dismissal of Collins was unwarranted.  A suspension?  Probably.  As you might have seen in the video, Collins quickly corrected herself.  Point One.  Point Two.  The network said the dismissal was more so from her reporting.  I'm not so sure.  And point three.  Collins, from all on-air perspectives, had made terrific improvement in her reporting since first coming on the air in September of 2012.

I have to wonder whether this is a dead issue or not.  Could her press brethren in Chicago come to her aid?  Could they say, hey, come on.....that's a might harsh.  Or do they stick their necks in their turtle shells and bury any comment on the subject?

I liked the work Collins did.  I think she should be given a second chance, which I'm sure she will.  Just not in Chicago and not with Comcast.  Here's hoping she gets that chance sometime soon.  She's talented, she's young and she's not perfect.  Something we all know a little bit about..

And by the way....Ms. Raddock, the co-host of the Sports Nutz show, by all accounts from the internet, is a key account manager at Southern Wine and Spirits in the Greater New York area.  I'm curious if her bosses feel the same way about their employee as Comcast did.

All I can think of, is, what an age we live in....stay tuned.

Thanks for reading,

John