Anchorman Makes an Ass of Himself ... No, Really

LONDON, Feb. 22, 2007— -- It's a familiar enough story.

A public figure shoots off his mouth about a provocative subject, unleashing a lot of bad press and popular disapproval.

He then realizes his mistake and the depth of public reaction to his comments, and an apology usually follows, preferably on camera.

So far, par for the course.

But how often do we see one of these loudmouthed characters render an apology while wearing donkey ears -- as if to say, "Yup, I behaved like an ass, and now I have the ears to prove it."

Fernando Sánchez Dragó, an anchor with the Madrid-based TV station Telemadrid, now has the dubious distinction of being the first man to observe this unusual practice.

He donned the donkey ears during his nightly news broadcast and apologized for comments made in a local newspaper called 20 Minutos (20 Minutes).

In the interview, Sánchez Dragó was asked about his feelings about Madrid. Never one to miss an opportunity to be controversial, he responded by saying, "Spaniards are among the dirtiest people on earth and as for Madrileños (Madrid citizens), there's no need to say any more."

Adding fuel to the fire, he continued: "And the immigrants are even worse. There are no Madrileños anymore. Now they are black, copper-colored, yellow ..."

As news of his remarks filtered through Madrid -- 20 Minutos is distributed free every morning to commuters throughout the city -- events assumed a political overtone. The publication says they print 1,150,000 copies daily, and with editions in 14 different cities.

This was perhaps inevitable, given that Sánchez Dragó works for a station that is owned by the Madrid government. Local elections are scheduled to take place in two months and Telemadrid is firmly behind the ruling, conservative Popular Party.

Sánchez Dragó's comments could not have come at a better time for the opposition Socialist Party, which seized upon the issue. They declared the television anchor a xenophobe and said that he did not deserve to anchor a Madrid news telecast given his apparent disdain for the city's inhabitants.

The opposition candidate, Miguel Sebastian, accused Sánchez Dragó of insulting his viewers and even went so far as to demand his resignation. As for the offended audience, they reacted with ... well, silence.