A Baltimore TV anchor has been fired after suggesting the city needed a “different kind” of mayor after three black women had held the post. Mary Bubala, 49, was fired from WJZ after 15 years at the station following a huge backlash from her comments while covering the recent resignation of Mayor Catherine Pugh amid a corruption scandal. “We’ve had three female, African American mayors in a row,” the anchor said on-air. “They were all passionate public servants. Two resigned, though. Is this a signal that a different kind of leadership is needed to move Baltimore City forward?” After an outcry, she later tweeted a “sincere apology,” insisting the “question did not come out the way I intended.” “I am so deeply sorry and sincerely regret the words I chose,” she wrote. However, WJZ general manager Audra Swain confirmed to the Baltimore Sun that “Mary Bubala is no longer a WJZ-TV employee.” “The station apologizes to its viewers for her remarks,” Swain added. Bubala posted to Facebook after her firing, insisting that it was not in her “heart to intentionally cause this kind of harm.” “Unfortunately, I now stand in the path of the tornado,” she wrote. “WJZ was forced to let me go. I am saddened and shocked by this decision. I fully intend to fight to restore my reputation because I’ve invested my heart and soul in my work and my city.”<doc-sep>ANALYSIS/OPINION: A Baltimore news anchor, Mary Bubala, was just fired after asking an interview guest, on live WJZ-TV, if it were time for the city to see “a different kind of leadership,” given the beleaguered status of its last three mayors. Bubala’s crime? She mentioned the last three mayors were female and black. That sent the likes of the Baltimore Association of Black Journalists into an uproar. According to NBC News, one past BABJ president, Nicki Mayo, watched the segment of Bubala speaking of the need for new city leadership and said, “I’m not even sure I want to hear the excuse for this. I’m cringing and cursing.” The BABJ then demanded Bubala apologize on air for what the group deemed racist and sexist remarks. But why? Truly, Bubala’s the victim here — not the black community. Here’s what Bubala said on live TV, while speaking with Loyola University Maryland professor Karsonya Whitehead, NBC reported: “We’ve had three female, African-American mayors in a row. They were all passionate public servants. Two resigned, though. Is this a signal that a different kind of leadership is needed to move Baltimore City forward?” It’s worth noting the most recent mayor, Catherine Pugh, just resigned amid FBI and state investigations about possible kickbacks from the sales of her “Healthy Holly” book. Sheila Dixon, who served as mayor from 2007 to 2010, also resigned in disgrace, ceding her post as part of a plea deal in which she admitted to embezzlement and perjury. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake took over for Dixon in 2010, won election to a full term in 2011, but decided against a reelection run in 2016. Her claim to fame? She says she left the city in better shape than when she took over, but it was under Rawlings-Blake’s tenure that U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch launched a massive federal civil rights inquiry into Baltimore’s police department. It’s with all that as a backdrop, and more, that Bubala wondered aloud about the future direction of city leadership. “The question implies race and gender are qualifiers in one’s ability to lead while also demonizing African Americans and women as poor leaders,” the BABJ said in a statement. Or, not. Perhaps it implies a train of thought about scandal-plagued city governance that wasn’t quite verbalized in full. The BABJ added: “We feel certain Bubala would not have asked this same question of white male leadership.” Disagree. But who’s to say? How would the BABJ know that for sure? Bubala said on Twitter, in an apology, that she “asked a question that did not come out the way I intended.” That makes sense. Only those who see race and gender as constant wars to wage wouldn’t accept Bubala’s explanation. It just defies logic that someone who’s worked in Baltimore television for 22 years and at a single station for 15 years, as Bubala said she did at WJZ-TV, could do so as a secret, closeted racist who one day, suddenly and inexplicably, slipped and revealed an inherent all-along disdain for blacks. And women. And black women, especially. It defies logic to refuse to give Bubala, after 15 years at this one station, the benefit of the doubt and accept her explanation as truth. But more than that, it defies logic to not take a deeper look to the elephant in the room here, the one named Hypocrisy. How can the BABJ stand so tall and mighty at the anti-discrimination podium when its very organizational name suggests discrimination? So, too, the National Association of Black Journalists and all its other state chapters around the country? Just a thought. Here’s another, for all those tolerance pushers that predominate the left — the very same ones who are no doubt cheering Bubala’s firing right now: Sometimes, people slip up and say things that don’t come out quite the way they intended. But the country shouldn’t be so poised to jump on those slips so as to rush headlong and gleefully toward ruining careers and characters. The BABJ, in this case as well as in others, shouldn’t be so sensitive about a white person’s remarks as to immediately cry racism — particularly when the BABJ could stand a bit of introspection on that very same point. One takeaway? Sometimes, just sometimes, white people really aren’t racist. Sometimes, accusations of racism are truly unfounded. Sometimes, blacks are just plain wrong. • Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Sign up for Daily Opinion Newsletter Manage Newsletters Copyright © 2021 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.<doc-sep>Screenshot : WJZ Video What’s irrefutable is that Catherine Pugh, the embattled former Baltimore mayor who recently resigned after a children’s book scandal destroyed her political career, fucked up. Advertisement But are her failures as an elected official in any way, shape or form related to, or reflective of, her standing as a black woman? Of course not. Unfortunately, the Baltimore Sun reports that longstanding WJZ anchorwoman Mary Bubala was unable to differentiate between the two and recently came out her neck spewing some racist nonsense that belongs as DVD bonus footage in 2017's Get Out. On Thursday, while discussing Pugh’s resignation on air, Bubala offered the type of pointed critique reserved for plantation owners and White House potlucks. “We’ve had three female, African-American mayors in a row. They were all passionate public servants. Two resigned, though,” Bubala said. “Is this a signal that a different kind of leadership is needed to move Baltimore City forward?” Advertisement As social media became inundated with outrage and calls for her job, Bubala took to Twitter to offer a “sincere apology” that was too little, too damn late. Advertisement Soon after, the Baltimore Association of Black Journalists issued a statement expressing concern for the “well-being of the Baltimore black community” and condemning her behavior as “racist and sexist. ” From there, it was only a matter of time until the inevitable firing happened. Cue WJZ general manager Audra Swain: “Mary Bubala is no longer a WJZ-TV employee. The station apologizes to its viewers for her remarks.” Advertisement In an email to the Baltimore Sun on Tuesday, Bubala confirmed that she had, in fact, been voted off the island. “In my 22 years of working in TV news in Baltimore—15 of those years with WJZ—I have always treated people with the utmost respect and dignity. I loved my job because I love the people of Baltimore. Last week I realized I made a mistake in the language I used on air. I immediately apologized for any hurt I unintentionally caused,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, I now stand in the path of the tornado. WJZ was forced to let me go. I am saddened and shocked by this decision [...] I fully intend to fight to restore my reputation because I’ve invested my heart and soul in my work and my city.” Advertisement Pugh’s predecessor, former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, took to Twitter to applaud the station for its decision. Advertisement “Didn’t think WJZ was gong to do the right thing,” she tweeted on Tuesday. “Her statement was problematic on many levels and revealed a profound ignorance.” Meanwhile, former BABJ president Nicki Mayo offered her own opinion on the matter. Advertisement “This was another ceremonial falling on the sword that continues to cut a serious hole in efforts for newsroom inclusion and diversity,” she told the Sun. “She messed up. I get it. But you know that line, ‘The mouth speaks the truth of the heart?’ She told you how she feels.” Bubala joined WJZ in 2003. During her 22 years of working in TV news in Baltimore, she was nominated twice for regional Emmy awards in 2016 and won once for Outstanding Anchor. Advertisement In preparation for her forthcoming job hunt, reportedly she’s updated her resume with technical skills like “ignorant.”<doc-sep>
Baltimore TV station WJZ has fired anchorwoman Mary Bubala for asking a question perceived to carry racial overtones and gender bias. Bubala was talking live on-air with Loyola University Maryland Professor Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead last week about a recent political scandal that ultimately saw current Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resign. Bubala then asked Whitehead whether it was time for a change. “We’ve had three female, African-American mayors in a row,” Bubala said. “They were all passionate public servants. Two resigned, though. Is this a signal that a different kind of leadership is needed to move Baltimore City forward?” Whitehead was clear: No, it does not suggest a different kind of leadership was needed. She later sent a statement to the Baltimore Sun newspaper amplifying her point. “The current conversations around leadership in Baltimore are challenging, emotional, and at times include layers of racism and sexism. There is an assumption that since three black women have served as mayor — and the city has not entirely changed for the better — then perhaps black women are not fit to lead this city. No one can ask racially biased questions in the public sphere — including in the media — without being held accountable.” On Monday night, an email went out from the TV station. “Mary Bubala is no longer a WJZ-TV employee. The station apologizes to its viewers for her remarks,” the statement said. The TV anchor subsequently sent out an apology via Twitter. “Last week I realized I made a mistake in the language I used on air. I immediately apologized for any hurt I unintentionally caused. I received immediate support from WJZ because they knew it was not in my heart to intentionally cause this kind of harm. I wanted to do an on-air apology but was not allowed. I hope that the people of Baltimore know that I would never do anything to hurt anyone.