Gawker’s Mole At Fox News
Gawker claims to have a mole at Fox News Channel:
I always intended to keep my mouth shut. The plan was simple: get hired, keep my head down and my views to myself, work for a few months, build my resume, then eventually hop to a new job that didn’t make me cringe every morning when I looked in the mirror.
That was years ago. My cringe muscles have turned into crow’s feet. The ten resumes a month I was sending out dwindled into five, then two, then one, then zero. No one wants me. I’m blacklisted.
I work at Fox News Channel.
Really? At least as far as on air talent goes, there’s movement back and forth among the cable networks all the time it seems to me. Major Garrett used to the Senior White House Correspondent for FNC, in addition to covering the 2004 Bush and 2008 Obama campaigns. When he left to cover Congress for National Journal he was replaced by Ed Henry, formerly of CNN. Chief Washington Correspondent Jim Angle worked for CNN, ABC, and NPR before joining Fox News. Am I really supposed to believe that some anonymous “mole,” most likely working on the production side of the company, is blacklisted because of his employer? Unless he’s applying for jobs at The Nation or Mother Jones, I just don’t buy it.
In any case, this supposed mole posts a video that appears to be outtakes of an interview that Mitt Romney did with Sean Hannity sometime back in February. There’s noting particularly interesting about the video except perhaps for Romney discussing his and Ann’s horseriding preferences and the fact that Hannity changed ties half way through the interview since it was going to be broadcast on two separate days. If this is the best this “mole” comes up with, it’s going to be particularly boring.
Update: A spokesperson for Fox News tells Mediaite that they know who the “mole” is and are exploring legal options.
@Doug: As an anecdote, I have a close friend who works on the production side of a prominent daytime talk show and he has turned down work for Fox News in the past because it was something he didn’t want on his resume for professional reasons. If you’re an editor or in anyway connected with producing news content, I guess there is a stink of being associated with them. Obviously, I cannot say if the Gawker mole is being real or just has an ax to grind, but I have heard about how Fox News on a resume can be limiting in certain situations.
The Major Garret or Ed Henry examples are of people moving to FOX or w/in the conservative media. I think this person’s argument is that working at FOX makes it hard to get a job elsewhere in the MSM.
As to whether or not there’s anything problematic in this video, some would argue that the “gay” voice that Romney does when talking about the pink tie is problematic.
Doug,
Can you really not see the difference between the Henry and Angle examples you gave, where the person moved TO Fox and what the alleged mole is saying, that it is impossible to move FROM Fox? Only the Garrett example is at least somewhat relevant, though he moved to another conservative news organization.
My first thought when I read this article this morning was “Well it will take about 30 seconds before they figure out who this is.”
If you are going to do an expose (assuming there is something to expose), do it the right way–gather evidence over many months, or even many years, and create a comprehensive, compelling report.
This was just publicity. This ‘mole’ was hoping to find another job by becoming a minor celebrity. Instead, s/he looks incompetent.
I’m guess the mole gets fewer job offers now.
*guessing
Bah.
@Buffalo Rude: I suppose that if they can’t beat FOX on the merits then some “You’ll never work in this town again” thuggery will just have to do. I seem to remember some guy back in the ’50s who was real big on guilt by association. What was his name?
@Dave E.:
Allen West?
@Doubter4444: Yeah, a somewhat silly jab at the Congressional Progressive Caucus is just the same as industry blacklists.
I don’t know if the mole’s allegations are true, but if supposedly objective news organizations are actually blacklisting Fox employees just for their association then that’s a scandal worthy of attention.