In an embarrassing goof-up, a newsreader on state-run Doordarshan mispronounced Chinese President Xi Jinping's name as "Eleven Jinping", apparently confusing the name with the Roman numeral, an official said Friday.
The blooper was by a casual news reader during the 6.15 a.m. bulletin on Sep 16. She has since been taken off the panel of casual news readers.
"We have a monitoring committee that continuously monitors every bulletin. The mistake was noticed the same morning by the committee, and we took action at 10 a.m. that day. Her services have been discontinued," DD News Director General Archana Datta told IANS.
Doordarshan employs casual news readers mostly for its very early or late bulletins.
The embarrassing mistake comes at a time when the state-run broadcaster is trying to reinvent itself and prove competitive in the news market.
Twitterati reacted with humorous comments over the incident.
"DD anchor pronounces XI Jinping As Eleven Jinping...lol. Indians n math", went one post.
Another user wrote: "A Doordarshan newsreader was fired for pronouncing 'Xi Jinping' as 'Eleven Jinping'. I want her to start her own news channel 'NewsTrolls'".
"Best story ever: Classically minded newsreader thought XI Jinping was called Eleven Jinping," said another twitterati.
Xi was in India from Sep 17-19 on a state visit.
