Anchor says flu took a toll

Gayle Guyardo says it was illness, not alcohol, that caused her problems during the coverage of the Gasparilla parade.

By ERIC DEGGANS, Times TV/Media Critic
Published January 29, 2008

	Gayle Guyardo sheds a tear while talking to Bill Ratliff during WFLA's coverage of the Gasparilla parade Saturday.
[Times photo: Willie J. allen Jr.X]

The story has appeared from MSNBC.com to TV industry Web sites and the pages of the Tampa Tribune.

And WFLA-Ch. 8 morning anchor Gayle Guyardo remained upset Monday by those reports recounting how she was briefly removed from coverage of the Gasparilla parade Saturday after viewers complained about her slurred speech and seemingly disoriented comments.

Guyardo, 41, who has co-anchored parade coverage for 14 years, said she resented the implication of some critics: that she was drunk. The anchor said that she had been sick with the flu since early last week and that her illness may have affected her performance.

"The only feedback I've gotten is from e-mails by people who have been extremely supportive," said Guyardo, who was in tears Saturday after the two-hour broadcast when she realized what some people were saying.

She insisted that she did not even take medication before the show, forwarding e-mails from encouraging fans and a doctor to the St. Petersburg Times.

"No one could say that they saw me consume any alcohol, because I didn't," she said. "Channel 8 would not let me go up there if I was showing signs of being drunk. ... I was burning up with fever, my throat was closing up, and it was clear that I was sick."

Guyardo's parade co-anchor, Bill Ratliff, supported her. "I'm not covering for a friend. ... I never noticed anything," said Ratliff, who has also co-anchored WFLA's morning and midday newscasts with Guyardo for years. "If she had come to the parade inebriated, I would have told her to get some coffee or you're not going on."

MSNBC.com on Monday linked to the Tribune story, which said "some (callers) urged she be relieved of parade duties to avoid embarrassment."

Newsblues.com, a Web site focused on local TV, bluntly asked: "Was Tampa anchor drunk during Gasparilla broadcast?"

WFLA news director Don North could not say how many complaints the station received about Guyardo, but he did remove her from the broadcast long enough to speak with her by phone and determine whether she could finish it. He allowed Guyardo to rejoin coverage for the show's end, around 4:30 p.m.

North said he didn't expect what happened to have a long-term impact for Guyardo at WFLA. The Tampa Tribune and WFLA are owned by Richmond, Va.-based Media General.

Guyardo said some viewers complained early last week when she appeared on the morning and midday newscasts while ill, suggesting she stay home and recover. The anchor - who eventually took Wednesday off - wondered whether Gasparilla's hard-partying image led viewers to assume the worst Saturday.

"I watched (a videotape of parade coverage) ... and I was not on my 'A' game," she said. "If I had it do over again, I would have called in sick 1,000 times over."

[Last modified January 28, 2008, 23:36:11]