Aussie TV Host Suspended Over Harry Potter Joke  8/4/07

An Australian broadcaster has been suspended from TV Down Under for revealing the ending of the Harry Potter book series on a morning news show.

Jonathan Coleman has been temporarily dumped by Channel 7's Sunrise program after he reportedly made children cry by telling them how the newly-released Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows ends on Thursday morning (02Aug07).

Angry parents complained about Coleman's remarks, inundating station bosses with emails and jamming the network's switchboard.

Ironically, his ill-judged big reveal came after his co-hosts blasted an English school teacher, who had told her students how the Potter book ended.

Sunrise executive producer Adam Boland says he felt compelled to suspend Coleman immediately.

Viewers will decide whether Coleman will keep his job as part of a poll which will feature on the breakfast show on Friday (03Aug07).

Coleman tells the Sydney Daily Telegraph, "As far as I'm concerned I'm not fired, I'm suspended, and if the 30 or 40 emails I have received this afternoon mean anything I think people knew it was a joke and I'm sure I'll be reinstated."