Fox journalist says 'Terrorism ok in Paris'
The London bombings yesterday are fresh in everyone's minds. Now, 38 dead and over 700 seriously injured. The death toll will probably rise.
You wouldn't wish that on any other city, would you? Paris, for example?
Yet that is a growing reaction to John Gibson, a Fox News journalist in the US, and what he talked about in a piece published on 6 July, the day before the London bombings. His peculiar story about London winning the 2012 Olympics includes this comment:
[...] It would have been a delight to have Parisians worried about security instead of New Yorkers. It would have been exquisite to watch. But, alas, they picked London. I like the Brits. I like London. I hate to see them going through all this garbage when it would have been just fine in Paris.
In an eye-opening and insensitive diatribe entitled "missed opportunity," Gibson actually writes gleefully about how the French would pay off terrorists and how terrorism would be ok if it happens in Paris.
Then, in another piece published yesterday, Gibson says this:
The bombings in London: This is why I thought the Brits should let the French have the Olympics - let somebody else be worried about guys with backpack bombs for a while.
You are a sick man, Mr Gibson. You call yourself a commentator?
Loic Le Meur's outrage at Gibson's trash piece speaks for all decent people everywhere, whatever their nationality.
Fox News - your reputation is worth nothing if you continue to publish trash like this. How important is reputation to you?
There are some things, Mr Gibson, you cannot write about the way you have done and not expect revulsion as a reaction. You owe France an apology. London, too.
Related NevOn post:
Gibson isn't the only insensitive dolt working for Fox (oh, there are so many). Brit Hume, shortly after the attacks, said that his "first thought" upon learning of the attacks was that it’s “time to buy” in the futures market. I have more of the transcript on a recent "Below the Fold" post.
Fox isn't journalism - it's cheap hackery masquerading as intelligent thought. Gibson should apologize, Hume should apologize, and Fox should get out of the news business.
Posted by: Gary Goldhammer | 08 July 2005 at 21:08
The only people who take Fox seriously work in the White House.
Ooops... that could be a problem.
Posted by: Allan Jenkins | 09 July 2005 at 00:53
Gibson is an embarrassment. Thanks for your thoughtful post.
Posted by: Scott Baradell | 09 July 2005 at 19:53
"Fox isn't journalism - it's cheap hackery masquerading as intelligent thought."
You're being too kind. It's actually bigoted agitprop masquerading as cheap hackery.
Posted by: The Tonic | 10 July 2005 at 02:41
Most reactions I've seen about Gibson's writing reflect what you all are saying.
Much of those reactions also put Gibson in a political pigeon-hole. Maybe it's me as a non-American but I'm having difficulty in seeing what the political leaning is here (notwithstanding Allan's comment re the White House).
To my mind, Gibson simply writes xenophobic crap and I don't care what any political emphasis might be.
In any event, I think The Tonic has got it right.
Posted by: Neville Hobson | 10 July 2005 at 10:33
Xenophobic right-winger. That sort of stuff plays well in wide swathes of the country, especially small-town America.
Posted by: Allan Jenkins | 10 July 2005 at 14:27
Thanks for that.
Posted by: xavier | 14 July 2005 at 17:18