KTVU Producer Fired Over Fake Pilot Names Says 'My Hard-Earned Reputation Is Intack'

In an ironic twist, one of the three producers fired over KTVU's racist gaffe told The Wrap that his "hard-earned reputation is intack [sic]."

The typo came after DeWolk was fired, along with special projects producer Christina Gastelu and producer Brad Belstock, for a false news report about the names of the pilots on Asiana Flight 214. Earlier this month, KTVU said the names of the pilots as "Sum Ting Wong," "Wi Tu Lo," "Ho Lee Fuk" and "Bang Ding Ow."

When asked about the firing by the Wrap, DeWolk emailed, "My hard-earned reputation is intack. There are lawyers, so eager as I am to anser all questions, I must refrain." He presumably meant to say "intact."

The on-air gaffe was deeply embarrassing for KTVU, which has issued copyright infringement notices to remove footage of the report from Youtube. The station did not realize the names were a racist joke until after the anchor read them on air. It said that it had reached out to the NTSB, and an intern at the agency confirmed the fake names as accurate. The intern was fired last week, according to BuzzFeed.

The station immediately apologized for the report, and has met with the Asian American Journalists Association to discuss ways to prevent similar incidents in the future.