Was Minnesota Anchor Drunk On Live TV?
Posted on Dec 08, 2011 @ 01:15PM
A Minnesota news anchor has found herself in the unfortunate position of becoming a story after her erratic behavior on a live newscast that has some people wondering if she was drunk on the air.
Annie Stensrud, the anchor for small market KEYC-TV, the CBS/Fox affiliate in Mankato, MN (Market #198), slurred her words and was visibly out of sorts as she read the evening’s top stories on the station’s 10 p.m. newscast last Sunday night.
At approximately 3-and-a-half minutes into the broadcast, the station faded directly from video to a commercial. When the newscast returned after the commercial break, Stensrud was gone, and the station’s weatherman and sports anchor completed the show.
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According to the news insider website, NewsBlues, the station’s News Director Dan Ruiter said viewers “were jumping to conclusions if they assumed Strensrud was drunk. There was no proof of that, he said.”
The site also quotes the station’s VP General Manager Dennis Wahlstromin as saying, “Sunday night’s uncharacteristic newscast on KEYC Mankato can hardly be considered private. Nonetheless, in our judgment, the matter represents a personnel issue to be resolved internally.”
Newsblues also notes that Wahlstromin did not say if Stensrud was still employed at the station.
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This is not the first time an anchor or reporter has appeared to be drunk on live television. Last February, KCBS-TV reporter Serene Branson had a gibberish meltdown during a live report from the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Although, just as in the case of Stensrud, there was speculation she was under the influence, it turned out she was suffering from a complex migraine, which cause her to lose control of her ability to speak correctly.
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The Daily Juice
It seemed as though she were medically ill, not drunk. Hope she got a thorough check-up to see what caused her "out of sorts" condition...
Posted Sat, 12/10/2011 - 12:35am
If I lived in Minnesota, I'd be drunk too (:
Posted Thu, 12/08/2011 - 8:07pm
Living in Minnesota, I don't watch ch 12. It's a very small rating channel. But she didn't seem drunk. It seems
like she has a cold and maybe took something before going on the air. Hope she's better.
Posted Thu, 12/08/2011 - 7:04pm
She could've just popped a benadryl for all know! Anyway, looks like she forgot her bra.
Posted Thu, 12/08/2011 - 5:11pm
People with MS also have difficulty speaking at times. Maybe she took a cold pill and underestimated it's results. Either way, I hope the woman is okay.
Posted Thu, 12/08/2011 - 4:59pm
She did not seem drunk to me. It seemed as if she was having difficulty though. I agree with other posters - it could be a medical condition. I don't know what she normally looks like, but she looks really pale in the video. I wish her all the best.
Posted Thu, 12/08/2011 - 2:50pm
Can't tell if she's drunk or not but she is certainly 'out of it'.
Posted Thu, 12/08/2011 - 1:54pm
I don't know if she was drunk. She seemed to do a pretty good job of the newscast if she was. I agree with Barbiedoll, it's possible she had something else going on. As for Serene Branson, she did NOT appear to be drunk, just ill.
Posted Thu, 12/08/2011 - 1:37pm
She has a pleasant voice. She is better than some east coast anchors. Maybe she is a diabetic and doesn't know it. I heard diabetics can slur their words and appear drunk when their blood sugar is out of whack.
Posted Thu, 12/08/2011 - 11:45am