Another Fox News producer rallying another crowd? It certainly appeared so. However, it may not be a big deal this time. Earlier, an FNC producer got into trouble with her bureau chief because she was caught rallying a Tea Bag Party crowd for Griff Jenkins during a Glenn Beck show. Today, a young man who looked like a FNC producer was seen similarly goading the troops on the U.S.S. New York into enthusiastic applause with a like hand gesture for the F&F program held on deck.*
It may be no big deal if F&F is primarily an entertainment show vis-a-vis a news program. In defending his popular morning news program for airing caricatures of New York Times staffers last year, former FNC Exec VP of News Editorial John Moody did contend that F&F is an “entertainment show that does some news.” However, in a Tweet to the author (defending his failure to wear a Phillies uniform for an entire as to a lost bet to his colleague Clayton Morris), F&F Weekend co-host Dave Briggs acerbically asserted, @Jakeho that’s absolutely ridiculous, Clayton never said I’d wear the uni for 3 hours, we actually have a job to do, we are a news show.” [Italics added for emphasis.]
The manufactured approbation is probably no big deal but it seemed to blur the line needlessly between news and entertainment. (One could almost imagine being on a game show with the lighted sign blinking, “Applause! Applause! Applause!”) Since the hearty clapping seemed to be for F&F itself vis-a-vis any patently political point, perhaps, it was indeed adiaphorous. Nevertheless, the apparent F&F producer conjured up today memories of that earlier censured producer.
Fox & Friends (11/05/09) – @8:12 a.m. ET
Carpe Diem 