News anchor Mark Mester caused a bit of a stir with some off-script comments in 2022, but he's since bounced back with a new role. Mark Mester is a Hungarian-born anchor who grew up in the United States, moving across several states in that time (via career started in NBC newsrooms in NYC before moving to the Santa Barbara and Los Angeles area. He's worked as an anchor for over 20 years, with seemingly only one career snag.
It seems that, like fictional movie and TV news anchors, real-life news anchors aren't always willing to keep silent on topics that are bugging them. So it was for Mark Mester, who went off script in 2022 on air with the L.A. local news station KTLA. Mester began his career with KTLA in 2014, lasting just over eight years before he was unceremoniously removed. What he did right after his firing is unknown, but about two years later, he landed on his feet in a new, suitable role.
Mark Mester Was Fired For Unscripted Comments About Lynette Romero
Romero Left KTLA The Previous Week
In September 2022, KTLA Channel 5 co-anchor Lynette Romero left the station; her departure was noticeably abrupt (via LATimes). KTLA announced her departure with a brief statement, and she did not appear to say goodbye to viewers, drawing criticism. Entertainment reporter Sam Rubin read a prepared statement about Romero on September 14 that read,
"After nearly 24 years, Lynette Romero, our friend Lynette, has decided to move on from anchoring our weekend morning news. KTLA management had hoped she would stay here her entire career, and KTLA worked hard to make that happen. But Lynette has decided to move to another opportunity elsewhere. Lynette, we wish you luck, we miss you and we thank you for everything you've done for KTLA. ... On behalf of everyone here, we wish you and your family nothing but the best."
According to sources, Romero no longer wanted to work weekends to spend more time with her family, and she asked management to allow her to switch to weekdays, but there were no shifts available. She allegedly got a job with a competitor station, KNBC-TV, LA's NBC , as a weekday morning anchor. After that, Romero responded to and posted a tweet from Holly Robinson Peete, who was fired from The Talk in 2011 after just one season with the show. Peete's tweet said,
"As someone who got no proper goodbye or even an acknowledgment of my departure many years ago on the talk, I feel the disrespect and wish you the absolute best can’t wait to see what is next!"
That brings us to Mester's firing. On September 14th, Mester went off-script with a four-minute speech, thanking his former co-host and friend, Romero, and apologizing on behalf of the station for her treatment. He said the exit, "was rude, it was cruel". He then went on to say,
"You did not deserve this, it was a mistake, and we hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us."
Mester also hired a plane to fly over the station, dragging a banner that read, "We love you Lynette". Mester was quickly suspended for his actions, and then, a few days later, he was fired. The station's general manager, Janene Drafs, made only a brief announcement, saying, "[Mester] is no longer at KTLA5". Neither Mester nor Romero commented about the incident after the fact.
Mester Is Now The Anchor At KMIR NBC Palm Springs
He Serves Alongside Olivia Sandusky
While that's probably not how Mark Mester imagined leaving KTLA, he's at least landed on his feet two years later. On April 19, 2024, David Reese, the KNBC news director at the time, shared that Mester had been hired to KMIR NBC Palm Springs on Facebook. The news was also shared on the NBC Palm Springs website with the caption, "We welcome Mark Mester to the NBC Palm Springs Family! " Mark Mester now serves alongside co-host Olivia Sandusky for the 5 pm, 6 pm, and 11 pm newscasts with KMIR NBC Palm Springs.