N’awlin’s Chocolate: a new morning flavor for FNC’s ice cream parlor? Something seemed slightly amiss today as Happening Now co-host Jane Skinner announced her sudden departure from the show while citing the, yes, “spend-more-time-with-the-family” reason. While her co-host Jon Scott was rather tearful and her colleague Janice Dean was exceedingly dolorous at the news, Jane remained studiedly stoic like a good soldier who had received her walking papers. And, maybe, she had.
One month ago today, InsideCableNews.com stated that FNC honcho Roger Ailes and his top FBN suits had “convened in a room [about a week earlier] to watch the network’s broadcast…to examine the programming in detail and see what was working and what might need changing or tweaking.” Apparently, Ailes and his top people may have looked at their golden goose FNC, too, and watched its most boring morning hour. Approximately two weeks later, Mediaite.com reported that Ailes was bringing back the sassy, sexy ebony beauty Arthel Neville (daughter of the founder of the Neville Bros.) back to FNC. Today, as to Jon’s new co-host, Mediaite.com mused, “Maybe a non-white anchor?”
Perhaps, Fox News SVP of Programming Bill Shine will use this opportunity to add some much overdue figurative and literal color to FNC’s most boring morning news show. As Carpe Diem readers may remember, the author has long felt that Happening Now needed a major shake-up. E.g., over six months ago, in an article entitled “Jon & Jane: Happening Not,” the author opined, “[T]he show with David Asman’s ‘tv twin’ and Roger Goodell’s gal seems to be an ill-conceived paean to America’s bourgeois best. After an entertaining and edgy Fox & Friends…FNC seems to have plopped the vanilla couple in the middle of the morning when the majority of their more adventurous audience is apt to roam….Bill [Shine], you surely need to do something to make Happening Now actually happen soon.” Even Jane seems to agree that she was not necessarily the most charismatic media figure on FNC: in an interview with Mediaite.com (after telling HN viewers good-bye), she stated, “I worked for five bosses before Roger, not one, including all of my professors at journalism school, said, ‘you have a personality, you should use it.’”
Hopefully, Shine will add some real color commentary to Happening Now–from a person of color. Over two years ago, the author similarly bemoaned the incredible lack of diversity on another FNC morning show in a May 4, 2008, post entitled, “Lily White F&F” to no avail. Hopefully, times have changed.
Tags: Arthel Neville, Bill Shine, Carpe Diem, David Asman, FBN, FNC, Fox & Friends, Fox and Friends, Fox News, Happening Now, Inside Cable News, Jane Skinner, Janice Dean, Jon Scott, Mediaite.com, Neville Brothers, Roger Ailes, Roger Goodell
Carpe Diem 
June 25, 2010 at 11:52 am
It won’t be Arthel, Jake. It’ll be Harris Faulkner, who has assumed a higher profile on FNC recently. I think Harris and Shannon Bream are the favorites.
June 25, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Since F & F is after diversity in hiring, etc., they should expand their Baskin Robbinsesque horizons a bit further and select a strawberry flavor with the hire of a Native American. Or to be a bit more person-specific, how about the hire of Edward James Olmos for “Rocky Road”, or maybe Al Gore himself for “Pistachio” (green and nutty). If they’d like a ‘triple scoop’, then one of the ladies from the old Chernobyl site may be a good pick.
BTW, I’ve updated my site. This way to the egress!
July 8, 2010 at 7:03 am
[…] exhibited there her sassy, sexy side that may bode well for HN. Even though Jenna does not provide much needed literal color to Fox News’ morning co-host palette, hopefully, Jenna will add a new vivid, vibrant hue to FNC’s most boring […]