Chicago CW affiliate WGN has begun an internal review to determine how a reviled image from the Holocaust ended up used as an over-the-shoulder graphic for a story on Yom Kippur. “We are investigating how this situation occurred, reviewing our in-house policies and making changes in order to avoid such mistakes happening in the future,” Greg Easterly, president and general manager of WGN, said in a joint statement with WGN news director Jennifer Lyons.
The graphic caused immediate outrage when it appeared on WGN’s late news Tuesday. Lyons told Chicago media reporter Robert Feder she was watching at home when the “horrible error” happened. Lyons led the station’s response, which included an immediate apology.
Feder reports the station has not named the employees responsible for the image making air.
The station’s full statement:
Last night we ran a story to recognize Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Regrettably, we failed to recognize that the artwork we chose to accompany the story contained an offensive symbol. This was an unfortunate mistake. Ignorance is not an excuse. We are extremely embarrassed and we deeply apologize to our viewers and to the Jewish community for this mistake.
We are investigating how this situation occurred, reviewing our in-house policies and making changes in order to avoid such mistakes happening in the future. Thank you for your understanding. We promise to do better.