WXYZ has no plans to become 'Gawker-like'

Dashboard camera footage of a tragic plane crash in Taiwan that killed at least 26 people drew a serious amount today. The footage was so spectacular, WXYZ Channel 7 implored its readers to check it out.


Except, initially, the post said this:


Poor taste, no? That was the summary of Deadline Detroit guy Alan Stamm's article this morning, which pointedly asked a question absolutely no one ever considered: "Is WXYZ Trying to Go All Gawker On Us?" 

Turns out: Nope. From Stamm:

In a response to our coverage (below) of a Wednesday morning Facebook post that provoked complaints, Seth Myers says via email:

We definitely don't have plans to take things in a Gawker-like direction here at WXYZ. The Facebook post you highlighted was terribly worded. You're right on that. We felt the same way.

We spoke with the producer who wrote it and — as you noted — chose some more appropriate wording pretty quickly.

This one poorly worded post was not part of a trend.

There you go! WXYZ doesn't want to be like Gawker. Back to your regularly scheduled news on Things Jeb Bush Said.