Bless his heart. It was one year ago this month that FOX4’s affable traffic reporter Nick Vasos called in sick. However, instead of emailing his respective bosses, Vasos sent it to the entire company. With one swift click, Vasos emailed 170+ TV stations across the country to let them know he wouldn’t be in the following morning.
We asked Vasos to relive that infamous moment—in 32 words or less. “Had some dental work done. Didn’t feel well. Called in sick. Used the email address of what I thought was for FOX4. It wasn’t. I emailed ALL at Nexstar Media group.”
Whoops.
It didn’t take long before countless colleagues from umpteen sister stations read his mass email and started wishing him well. Within several hours the hashtag #PrayersForNick was the top-trending hashtag on Twitter. Here’s more from Vasos:
When did you realize #PrayersForNick was actually trending? And what was going through your fevered mind?
“Immediately. I started getting responses from all over the country wishing me a speedy recovery. In my foggy state, I didn’t think much about it and went to bed. When I awoke and looked at my phone, I knew I had stepped in it! I received thousands of emails from people at stations across the country wishing me a speedy recovery.
My viral fame took off when someone put my picture with an angelic background, like I was ascending into heaven and used the hashtag #PrayersForNick. Boom! Trending number one on Twitter.”
(Vasos’s mis-keyed misstep then got picked up by The Today Show, CBS Evening News, and The Washington Post to name a few. He even had “an appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show. And, woah!—Jimmy Fallon followed me!” says Vasos.)
You certainly were a good sport about it. How much flack did you get at your own station?
“My colleagues at FOX4 had a great time reminding me of my blunder. They created a vigil at my desk complete with candles and pictures praying for my return.”
Looking back, what insight have you gleaned in the past 365 days?
“Looking back seems so long ago but I learned an important lesson, always check before hitting the send button. [Laughs] Thanks for taking me down memory lane, Michael!”