A local reporter based in Kansas City was under the weather, so he called in sick for the day. The problem, though, was he unintentionally notified the entire company of his cold, and his predicament became fodder for a national brand.
Nick Vasos, an anchor and general assignment reporter for WDAF-TV, with the yet-to-be revealed email he sent off to the entire national Nexstar company. The message sparked so much attention, his colleagues at affiliate stations all around the U.S. started poking fun at the mishap.
Soon enough, #PrayersForNick was trending on Twitter. One affiliate journalist even created a shrine for Vasos.
Reporters with yet another station sent a brief video over Twitter, telling Vasos they are praying he is on the mend soon.
The emails were so plentiful, Nexstar had to lock down the email chain because it was too overwhelming and could cause reporters and anchors to miss actual breaking news.
“I hate to be a party pooper and I have as much sympathy for Nick as anyone. But with the number of members of the breaking news list, there could be thousands of emails sent by the time this is done, We’ve locked the list down so that no one can send to it,” read an internal email, according to a news producer who posted a screenshot of the message.
How is the reporter responding?
Vasos is having quite a bit of fun with the entire situation.
He posted a tweet Friday morning, apologizing to all the famous Nicks out there whose social media feeds are probably flooded with concerned tweets.
Nevertheless, the Kansas City journalist has expressed gratitude for all the prayers and well wishes he’s received since he sent his errant email. He also said he is feeling better now.
The prayers, he said, are “helping me get through this sickness.”