This happened: WABC-TV report on vasectomies bleeps the word “balls” but talks up Dr. Seaman

I know this is not about comedians, but sometimes the comedian in me sees something so bizarre that I have to share it with you. Or maybe I'm just very self-aware about the immaturity of all of us. Which is what happened on my TV last night during the 11 p.m. newscast for WABC-TV, Ch. 7, when reporter Phil Lipof delivered a trend piece about vasectomy surgeries during the recession. Who does he turn to as his expert on this? Dr. Seaman, naturally. Hold your giggles, because Lipof is just fine talking about how Seaman will help men with their vasectomies, and even lets Seaman show you graphically how the process works. But when Lipof interviews a woman on the street, he cracks up when she asks if she can say the word "balls" on TV, and then they bleep the word. This all happened. Here's the clip (and what they don't show you is when they cut back to the anchors, and Liz Cho is suppressing any kind of visible reaction to the report). Roll it! It must be Safe For Work if they showed it on the news, right?

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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