MARTIN BASHIR IS GONE!!! Yipee!!! They can spin it as a "resignation" if they want. He was forced to resign - translation - YOU'RE FIRED!!
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EXCLUSIVE: Martin Bashir, out at MSNBC over Palin slur, was previously suspended
Howard Kurtz
By Howard Kurtz
• Published December 05, 2013•
FoxNews.com
Turns out Martin Bashir’s mouth has gotten him into trouble before.
Bashir resigned from MSNBC Wednesday over the sliming of Sarah Palin after meeting with the network’s president, Phil Griffin.
But this isn’t the first time that Bashir has had to apologize for his remarks about a woman. While working for ABC News in the summer of 2008, he was addressing an Asian American Journalists Association convention in Chicago, with his “20/20” colleague Juju Chang also on stage. He began commenting on her dress.
As New York magazine reported in a brief and little-noticed item, Bashir said that "I’m happy to be in the midst of so many Asian babes.” And, he added, “I’m happy that the podium covers me from the waist down.” He said a speech should be “like a dress on a a beautiful woman — long enough to cover the important parts and short enough to keep your interest — like my colleague Juju’s.” Some audience members booed, the magazine said.
A little digging reveals that ABC quietly suspended Bashir after the incident. He wrote an apology to the Asian-American group, saying: “Upon reflection, it was a tasteless remark that I now bitterly regret. I … hope that the continuing work of the organization will not be harmed or undermined by my moment of stupidity.”
An ABC spokesman declined to comment on the episode involving Bashir, a former “Nightline” co-anchor.
There’s an obvious contrast between ABC’s swift move and MSNBC’s decision to let the controversy build for nearly three weeks after Bashir delivering a disgusting personal attack on Palin that brought him widespread condemnation. By declining to suspend Bashir or denounce his remarks, MSNBC reached the point where the only way to control the damage was to sever its relationship with the British journalist.
Bashir said in a statement yesterday that he decided to leave the network after meeting with Phil Griffin.
Bashir had already apologized for what he called “offensive” comments about the former Alaska governor, whom he also called an “idiot” and “dunce.” He told viewers in a scripted commentary last month that someone should defecate in Palin’s mouth. He was invoking an old slave punishment in response to a speech by Palin, a Fox News contributor, comparing the national debt to slavery.
Bashir took off two weeks for what was billed as a vacation, and there was a marked contrast with MSNBC’s treatment of Alec Baldwin, who got the boot over an alleged anti-gay slur hurled at a photographer. In his statement, Bashir said:
“After making an on-air apology, I asked for permission to take some additional time out around the Thanksgiving holiday.
“Upon further reflection, and after meeting with the president of MSNBC, I have tendered my resignation. It is my sincere hope that all of my colleagues, at this special network, will be allowed to focus on the issues that matter without the distraction of myself or my ill-judged comments.
“I deeply regret what was said, will endeavor to work hard at making constructive contributions in the future and will always have a deep appreciation for our viewers – who are the smartest, most compassionate and discerning of all television audiences.”
In his own statement, Griffin said: “Martin Bashir resigned today, effective immediately. I understand his decision and I thank him for three great years with msnbc. Martin is a good man and respected colleague - we wish him only the best.”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...nbc-over-palin-slur-was-previously-suspended/
