Mueller apparently resigned over a video uploaded to YouTube showing a portion of a speech he gave at the Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover Foundation gala fund-raiser.
Paul MuellerSPRINGFIELD – Paul Mueller, morning anchor and news reporter at abc40 and FOX6 in Springfield, resigned abruptly Monday, apparently over a video uploaded to YouTube over the weekend.
Dave Baer, the station’s news director, confirmed Mueller’s resignation. “Paul is a great guy. We do miss him here, we do wish him the best,” said Baer, who did not provide details about the resignation.
The video, no longer available on YouTube, showed a portion of a speech Mueller delivered as master of ceremonies of a fund-raiser gala Saturday night in Holyoke for the Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover Foundation. Walker-Hoover is the 11-year-old Springfield student who hung himself two years ago after relentless bullying at school.
According to the website TVSpy, Mueller volunteered to emcee the event after organizers reached out to abc40/FOX6, which was honored last month by the Massachusetts & Rhode Island Associated Press awards in the Public Affairs category for its coverage of bullying prevention through its “Bully Busters” series.
TVSpy reported:
An attendee of the event captured part of a speech that Mueller gave to the packed house in which the anchor appeared to be intoxicated, drawing astonished looks from the crowd as well as a few laughs.
A tipster emailed the video to TVSpy, which posted the video. TVSpy reported that Mueller sent an email to TVSpy in which he announced his resignation “for a medical issue that needs immediate attention.”
The Public Affairs award for bullying coverage was one of four 2011 AP awards abc40 and FOX6 won, including Best Newscast. "The station has been very much in the forefront of featuring stories that deal with bullying,” Baer said. “This is a very important topic for us.”
