WTIC Apologizes for Footage Used in Coverage of ‘Women’s Day’

By Kevin Eck 

WTIC, the FOX affiliate for Hartford-New Haven, CT, has apologized for airing footage showing close-ups of women’s breasts in a story about an event at the Connecticut Capitol highlighting women’s rights.

On its facebook page, the station posted the following:

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FOX CT apologizes for mistakenly airing inappropriate file footage in conjunction with this morning’s report on Women’s Day at the Connecticut State Capitol. The video should never have aired. FOX CT will publicly apologize on today’s newscasts, as well as through our social media platforms. We are also implementing procedures to keep this from happening in the future. FOX CT is committed to recognizing and applauding the significant contributions of women, both in Connecticut and throughout the country.

After the footage aired, the Connecticut chapter of the National Organization for Women called for an apology and asked that all employees undergo sexual harassment training, “The airing of the footage is repugnant and is not of the level of a credible news organization,” Jacqueline Kozin, co-president of CT NOW said in a press release. “Fox CT News, whether they intended to or not, has just inserted their organization into a culture war and sent the message that women should not be taken seriously. It is an insult to the female employees at Fox and to women throughout Connecticut.”

The organization hosting the event, the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women also responded to the story, “We are appalled at the level of sexism this incident shows. It is an insult not only to the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women and to all who attended Women’s Day at the Capitol, which marked the PCSW’s 40-year battle against gender discrimination, but to women everywhere who are tired of being objectified.”

A WTIC spokesperson responded to TVSpy with statement mirroring the one on their facebook page.

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