In a stroke of Friday the 13th bad luck, Fox 5 San Diego briefly portrayed President Obama as a sex-assault suspect on its 10 o’clock news.
At 10:04 p.m., viewers heard anchor Kathleen Bade say: “The only suspect in a sex assault at SDSU will not be charged.” At the same time, a picture of Obama appeared with the legend “NO CHARGES.”
The Obama shot lasted about 5 seconds, but it was noticed immediately in the newsroom, said Mike Wille, an assignment editor.
“Yeah, there was an accident when they had an over-the-shoulder” display, Wille told Times of San Diego. “It wasn’t on purpose.”
The news continued for 56 minutes, ending at 11 p.m.
Asked why there was no on-air acknowledgment or apology for the error, Wille said: “They really don’t do that when it’s a small thing like that.”
Wille wasn’t sure when Bade was made aware of the errant Obama image, which appeared during a report on the District Attorney’s Office deciding not to file charges against 20-year-old Francisco Sousa because the evidence was weak.
Emmy Award-winner Bade has been the primetime anchor at Fox 5 San Diego, KSWB-TV, since the station’s launch in 2008, according to her online profile.