But, she still doesn’t get it. Monday Fox & Friends co-anchor Gretchen Carlson interviewed Christian Lopez, the Yankee fan who gave Derek Jeter his 3000th hit home run ball back. Before she began, she declared, “Christian, in the [sic] full disclosure, I do have to tell you that my husband [Casey Close] happens to be Derek Jeter’s agent.”* Then, she inaptly added, “I just want to get that on the record ’cause sometimes people have a problem with that.”*
Apparently, Gretchen was referring in part to the author who first reported that she interviewed Jeter in a powder-puff F&F interview (December 2, 2009) without mentioning that her husband, Casey Close, was his agent. Obviously, she was including others, e.g., Huffington Post, Mediaite, and TVNewser who cited the Carpe Diem story as they, too, noted Carlson’s failure to disclose her conspicuous connection to Jeter. Not to mention, Howard Kurtz, host of CNN’s Reliable Sources, who acerbically remarked, “Somehow…Gretchen Carlson didn’t get around to mentioning that Jeter’s agent, the man who negotiated the shortstop’s $189 million contract is her husband. Now, I think it’s fine for her to interview Jeter…but how about leveling with the viewers?”
No, Gretchen, people do not “have a problem with” your being married to the agent of Derek Jeter. But, they do have a problem with your not disclosing that very fact when you do a story on Jeter. It just might color your perspective a bit. And, your viewers deserve to know.
In fact, if you had learned the real Jeter lesson, you might have added a caveat in your interview later with Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor and GOP presidential aspirant.** To wit, when you appeared to defend repeatedly Pawlenty’s opponent, Michele Bachmann, from his verbal attacks, you might have merely mentioned to viewers then Bachmann was once your nanny when you grew up in your hometown of Anoka, Minnesota.
Close is cool: Just “full disclosure,” Gretchen.
*Fox & Friends – 07/11/11 (@ 7:38 a.m. ET)
**Ibid at 8:13 a.m. ET.
Carpe Diem 