Who is Heather Kovar? CBS News anchor suspended after slurring during broadcast

American news anchor Heather Kovar has been suspended from channel CBS 6 after she slurred some words during a weekend broadcast. The anchor appeared sleep-deprived and exhausted and her voice slurred as she delivered the 6 pm news cast on July 9, 2022.

During the telecast, while switching between the two segments, she said:

“And so, moving on tonight, is we have to tell you also, you know, like other news that’s happening in the area, and across the area, in the nation.”

Even as she introduced the weather report segment, she appeared jittery and got the meteorologist's name wrong. Instead of Craig Gold, she called him Craig Adams.

However, the anchor later said that she was sleep-deprived and exhausted at the time of the broadcast.

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All you need to know about Heather Kovar and her "train wreck" broadcast

Heather Kovar is a graduate from Southern Methodist University where she earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and psychology. Following that, she started her career at television station KXAS-TV in Dallas, in addition to working on radio and on-air cable with the Fort Worth area.

After spending some time in Dallas, Kovar shifted to New York and became a reporter at Utica's WKTV. She spent eight years in the Big Apple, where she won several awards for anchoring and reporting.

While in New York, Heather bagged several Associate Press Awards, an Edward R. Murrow award, Fairfield Weekly's Best On Air Personality award, and many others.

Kovar also worked with CBS Newspath in London as a freelance news correspondent.

In 2002, the journalist shifted to Manhattan, New York, where she served as a freelancer once again, this time for Reuters and several other news outlets. She continued freelancing until she accepted the morning anchor job at News 12 Connecticut.

The Emmy award-winning reporter covers various news beats like politics, sports, and business.

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Heather Kovar was having trouble with the words

During her recent telecast, Heather Kovar stumbled upon the words as she explained an explosion at a gas plant in Oklahoma. During the telecast, she also changed topics quite rapidly and said:

“Well, hello! Good afternoon! Like, I was telling you this morning, if you watched us this morning starting at 6 a.m., 7 a.m., I told you, you know what? Today, what a beautiful day outside! It is just amazing. And so, a great time for outdoor music."

On June 10, it was reported that Kovar had been suspended from her job for further investigation.

In a tweet after the incident, Kovar stated that she would be back the next day while giving timings of her telecast, but was ultimately replaced by Emma Quinn.

Addressing the issue, Kovar revealed that she got back to work early "from a family leave" following her father's death. She also said that she will not be renewing her contract that expires on July 31, 2022. The journalist added that she was "sleep-deprived and exhausted" when she was slated to work at 6 am and during the evening shift on Saturday.

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Twitter reactions on Heather Kovar's broadcast

Twitterati expressed their concern for Heather Kovar's health after she slurred and seemed sleep-deprived during her broadcast on July 9. Many were worried about her heath while others sympathized with her over the loss of her father.

Some fans pointed out that this wasn't the journalist's normal behavior, adding that they needed to "cut her some slack" and let her sleep her exhaustion off. Meanwhile, others added that they wished her the best since she recently lost her father and has been working a double shift at work.

As of now, it is not known when Heather Kovar will return to work.