KPPX Sacks Porn Prankster

Ion Media Networks station KPPX Phoenix came down hard on an employee suspected of inserting pornography into a broadcast last week, firing the unnamed staffer and threatening legal action. About 30 seconds of porn video interrupted a news show featuring Tom Brokaw March 12, causing a flood of calls from enraged viewers.

Palm Beach, Fla.-based Ion called it “an intolerable act of human sabotage.” A KPPX spokesperson said the suspect “faces further legal action.”

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.