Fox Report weekend anchor Julie Banderas responded Monday evening to a critical Carpe Diem article calling for her “teachable moment” as to animal rights by banning the controversial Trampoline Bear video. In the CD column, the author had noted that Julie had “joined her weekday counterpart Shepard Smith…in finding great delight in the pain of the Trampoline Bear.” Further, the author bemoaned her laughter and remarks last Sunday during yet another odious airing by Fox Report of the approximately seven-year-old video of the black bear (falling from a tree, being propelled high into the air, and then crashing forcefully face first into the hard ground).
Citing the Carpe Diem post, Julie asserted, “I’d like to go on the record by saying all who know me are aware of my passion for animal rights. I would never condone animal cruelty and have informed my producers not to air the bear on a trampoline video on my show ever again. http://bit.ly/bVNExX”
Kudos, Julie! Now, it is time for your weekday counterpart Shepard Smith to follow your exemplary stand in pledging not to show this exploitative Trampoline Bear video ever again on his weekday Fox Report (or his Studio B).
Will you, Shep?
Update: Julie has scrubbed her Twitter page of her Trampoline Bear Tweets and reTweets, including her animal rights stand and her decision to not ever air the Trampoline Bear vid again.
Update2: In his first “Bear Alerts” (07/27/10) on both Studio B and Fox Report since Julie’s Tweets, supra, and her deletions thereof, Shepard Smith did not include the offensive Trampoline Bear footage.
Tags: animal rights, FNC, Fox News, Fox Report, Julie Banderas, Shepard Smith, Trampoline Bear
Carpe Diem 
July 27, 2010 at 9:24 pm
I would love to see what Greg Gutfeld and the ‘Red Eye’ crew could do with a segment taking on this and other blogs’ whining about the trampoline bear video.
July 27, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Al, no whining. You may want to re-read Julie Banderas’ statement as to animal rights and the Trampoline Bear vid: she addressed the matter forthrightly and properly. Why she deleted it is something that she needs to explain.
July 27, 2010 at 10:43 pm
C’mon, jake. The bear wasn’t harmed. They had to tranquillize it, and the trampoline was there to break its fall.
If it was a video of somebody shooting the bear with a rifle before it fell, that would be cruelty, or a tragedy at best. Either way, it would not funny. But there’s no cruelty at all here. This is funny.
I don’t fault your sense of humour. We’re all different in that respect. But trying to equate this video with “animal rights” and PETA is… whining.
July 28, 2010 at 5:03 am
The charge of “whining” is nonsensical, Al. The video is almost SEVEN years old and has lost its news value long ago. For Fox Report to incessantly run the footage of a bear crashing face first into a hard ground for amusement seems sadistic (and to promote a certain Shadenfreude).
July 28, 2010 at 8:49 am
The video was never played for its news value on any television news programme. They played it then and continue to play it now because it’s funny. If you’re tired of seeing the video, however, now that’s an entirely legitimate complaint. But you aren’t using that argument.
It becomes “whining” because of your attempt to make it about “animal cruelty” and your implied threat of painting Ms. Banderas with that same brush. What you are doing is arguably harmful and clearly wrong. That’s precisely why we punish our children for acting in such a manner.
July 28, 2010 at 9:45 am
“The video was never played for its news value on any television news programme.” Seriously, Al. Obviously, the removal of a black bear from a tree near someone’s home was of local news value when it occurred and the airing of the video then was warranted.
As to Julie, she seemed to realize that the video appeals to one’s baser nature and rightly issued her “on the record” animal rights statement and made a decision not to air the video ever again. Unfortunately, she deleted that record. And, her fans deserve the right to know why.
July 28, 2010 at 10:33 pm
Ok, it had local news value the day it happened. Most of the news videos for it online, though, are TV stations many miles away. They ran the story because of the trampoline.
July 28, 2010 at 11:07 pm
[…] In a direct response to the author’s article Monday evening, Banderas Tweeted, “I’d like to go on the record by saying all who know me are aware of my passion for animal rights. I would never (cont) http://tl.gd/2ou3ct.” (At the Twitlonger.com link, her entire message read, “I’d like to go on the record by saying all who know me are aware of my passion for animal rights. I would never condone animal cruelty and have informed my producers not to air the bear on a trampoline video on my show ever again. http://bit.ly/bVNExX“) Strangely, she added, “I decided to kill the video long before any writeups and PETA had nothing to do with it.” (An almost incredible statement since she had just aired it the night before on her show.) Happy with Banderas’ overall response, the author gave her kudos and asked if Shep would follow suit in his Carpe Diem article, “Banderas Responds: Bars Bear Vid.” […]
July 29, 2010 at 12:20 am
[…] In a direct response to the author’s article Monday evening, Banderas Tweeted, “I’d like to go on the record by saying all who know me are aware of my passion for animal rights. I would never (cont) http://tl.gd/2ou3ct.” (At the Twitlonger.com link, her entire message read, “I’d like to go on the record by saying all who know me are aware of my passion for animal rights. I would never condone animal cruelty and have informed my producers not to air the bear on a trampoline video on my show ever again. http://bit.ly/bVNExX“) Strangely, she added, “I decided to kill the video long before any writeups and PETA had nothing to do with it.” (An almost incredible statement since she had just aired it the night before on her show.) Happy with Banderas’ overall response, the author gave her kudos and asked if Shep would follow suit in his Carpe Diem article, “Banderas Responds: Bars Bear Vid.” […]
October 15, 2010 at 1:33 pm
[…] 7, 2010);”Banderas’ “Teachable Moment’?” (July 25, 2010); “Banderas Responds: Bars Bear Vid” (June 27, 2010); “Banderas Recants Apology” (June 27, 2010); “Shep de […]
May 3, 2012 at 9:46 pm
[…] MIA” (06/07/10); “Banderas’ ‘Teachable Moment’?” (07/25/10); “Banderas Responds: Bars Bear Vid” (07/27/10); “Banderas Recants Apology” (07/27/10); “Shep de Sade?” […]