Posted by
Bill Cherry on Thursday, July 10, 2008 8:25:10 AM
This is the lead from a story in today's paper about Jackson and Obama and Fox & Friends:
"CHICAGO (July 10) - The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday to Barack Obama for making a 'regretfully crude' comment about the Democratic presidential hopeful during what he thought was a private conversation three days ago."
Apparently Mr. Jackson was visiting one on one with another guest off-stage at Fox. What he said was captured by an open mike. Fox threatened to air what he said, so in advance of that, he publically apologized. Who ought to be apologizing is Fox and the producers of their program, "Fox & Friends."
It would not be very credible for them to claim that the mike was inadvertently left open, and that the recorder hooked up to it was inadvertently on "record" and running. No, they set this all up to listen in on a conversation to which they were uninvited.
It's the "gottcha" thing that makes me crazy. It's bullying and totally lacks professional decorum. And then Fox makes it worse by adding on to it the threat that it will be used as a source of embarrassment for Mr. Jackson.
I don't know as I'm a fan or not a fan of Mr. Jackson's. I don't pay more than cursory attention to him. Nevertheless, I think he was treated unfairly, and that's what I'm very much oppossed to. That's unquestionably bad and unforgivable journalism.