# Try reporting the news and not covering it up, 'mkay FOXNews? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 31, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536 "2003-03-31T21:02:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Payton\_s\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@Payton\_s\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payton_s_Servant)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/1 "2003-03-31T21:02:20Z")
So Foxnews apparently has no problem reporting the news that Peter Arnett has been fired by NBC, but when it comes to one of their own they just sweep it under the rug. I’m talking about Geraldo Rivera’s getting kicked out of his embedded reporting position for drawing a map in the sand which apparently compromised the positioning of the military unit he was with. But is there any sign of this on FoxNews’s site? Not as of 2:30 PM this afternoon. Yet they have the Arnett story bulleted. Assknuckles.:wally :wally :wally ---
**Author:** ![Morrigoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@Morrigoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrigoon)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/2 "2003-03-31T21:08:44Z")
I’m really sad to hear that… Geraldo was doing some good reporting for them. BTW: wasn’t Rivera in Afghanistan? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/3 "2003-03-31T21:11:08Z")
Geraldo just got moved with the 101st Airborne. I think the military kicked him out because he drew a map in the sand identifying their location. I will be very surprised if Fox doesn’t do anything with this…maybe they’re waiting for statement from the brass. ---
**Author:** ![DrLizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@DrLizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrLizardo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/4 "2003-03-31T21:17:19Z")
Humph. I have less issue with Fox News than many folks here, but IMHO they should be reveling that they have an excuse to ditch this lame-0-rama “journalist.” If I saw Geraldo do one more lame-ass “feel good” chat-around with troops assembled in a gym in Afghanistan I was set to puke. Having said that, Fox SHOULD step up to the plate and discuss the issue as overtly as they’ve done with Arnett (who’s also a worthless dirtbag excuse for a ‘journalist’). Though at present I’m not seeing EITHER story on their home page. ---
**Author:** ![light\_strand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@light\_strand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/light_strand)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/5 "2003-03-31T21:21:12Z")
This whole thing is weird. Some people are saying that he was booted, Fox says it’s a ploy by MSNBC. Others say he was embedded, and some say he isn’t. [Here](http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31799), and [here](http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1470851/20030331/index.jhtml?headlines=true%5B/url) are the latest reports. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/6 "2003-03-31T21:25:25Z")
Perhaps Fox News hasn’t reported this story because [it’s not true.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60058-2003Mar31.html) ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/7 "2003-03-31T21:25:37Z")
Beat me to it, **light strand**! Another link: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60058-2003Mar31.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60058-2003Mar31.html) So, maybe, maybe not. Perhaps that’s why Fox News isn’t reporting it yet…they’re waiting for clarification, or trying to get him in with another division. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/8 "2003-03-31T21:34:54Z")
Ooops, same link as **December**. Try this one: [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030331/en\_afp/iraq\_war\_us\_television\_030331174934](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030331/en_afp/iraq_war_us_television_030331174934) ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/9 "2003-03-31T22:16:58Z")
Geraldo himself was talking about this at noon today live on Fox News TV, which was on where I work because my boss watches it. According to Geraldo (who I do admit is biased), no such thing ever happened and it’s his ‘old network’ trying to fling mud at him. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/10 "2003-03-31T22:32:48Z")
101st Airborne Launches Surprise Attack Against 3/7th Cavalry Four hours ago (CNN) 101st Airborne leadership announced that in a daring dawn raid, elements of the 2nd Brigade attacked and successfully captured a CNN reporter embedded with the 3/7th Cavalry. “Walter Rodgers is now safe and in 101st Airborne hands. We look forward to working closely with him in the future,” said a high-ranking member of the Screaming Eagles’ staff. Hostilities between the 101st Airborne and the 3/7th Cavalry erupted after reporter Geraldo Rivera, formerly embedded with the 101st, defected to the 3/7th, giving that unit two embedded reporters and leaving the 101st with only that gay guy who insists on wearing a scarf while broadcasting. Reports of casualties on either side are unconfirmed, but eyewitnesses report that the 101st was assisted by former NBC reporter Peter Arnett, who singlehandedly turned one of the 3/7th’s own MLRS mobile rocket launchers on the 3/7th’s command post after approaching crew members with the promise of personal interviews. It is unclear as to what association Arnett has with the 101st, but Fox News intelligence sources suggest the Arnett is a godless communist, looking to sap the lifeblood of the free world. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/11 "2003-03-31T22:44:02Z")
So what’s the more revolting quote? _“Rivera, a fixture on the US media scene for decades, is **a veteran foreign correspondent** ”_. (gag) Or this: _"But in the end, he (Geraldo) insists, **"quality journalism wins out."** _ (retch) ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/12 "2003-03-31T22:53:06Z")
> [@](#): > > [A] spokesman for U.S. Central Command in Qatar told CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre: “He is being escorted out.” > > “Mr. Rivera has been asked to leave his present embed for violating the media ground rules,” Central Command added in its official statement. “He will be escorted back to Kuwait at the earliest possible time for the unit.” > > What sparked the controversy was a Monday report by Rivera that U.S. military officials said violated an important Pentagon rule imposed on its so-called embedded correspondents working inside fighting U.S. military units. Rivera had provided crucial details of a future military operation, officials said. > > In a live broadcast from the Iraqi desert, Rivera instructed his photographer to tilt the camera down to the sand in front of his feet so that he could draw a map. Rivera then outlined a map of Iraq, and showed the relative location of Baghdad and his location with the Army’s 101st Airborne unit. The reporter then continued with his diagram to illustrate where the 101st would be going next. > > “He gave away the big picture stuff,” one stunned senior military official told CNN. “He went down in the sand and drew where the forces are going.” > [@](#): > > Rivera said he had heard nothing about being expelled until he called network headquarters for a scheduled live report. > > “MSNBC is so pathetic a cable news network that they have to do anything they can to attract attention,” Rivera said. “You can rest assured that whatever they’re saying is a pack of lies.” > > A U.S. Central Command official said, “He is being pulled. He just doesn’t know it yet. He has not gotten the word.” Fox News. We report future military plans. Saddam Hussein decides what to do with it. [Cite](http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/31/sprj.irq.rivera/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/13 "2003-03-31T23:00:25Z")
If it was not actually happening you could not make it up for lack of verisimilitude, “Geraldo, privy to war plans, sketches them in the sand on live TV.” Naah. Could. Not. Happen. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/14 "2003-03-31T23:04:23Z")
Another cite [here](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030331/en_afp/iraq_war_us_television_030331174934) > [@](#): > > Celebrity television journalist Geraldo Rivera, who has been on assignment covering the US-led war in Iraq (news - web sites), has been told by US military officials that he is no longer welcome to accompany US troops there > > “I can confirm that it has been done,” said military spokesman Navy Lieutenant Commander Charles Owens on Monday, contacted at Central Command headquarters in Qatar. Did Al Capone have a second vault in the desert? ---
**Author:** ![booka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@booka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booka)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/15 "2003-03-31T23:17:50Z")
I had this satisfying little movie play through my head when I read about this. Sadly, it comforted me. In my fantasy, Geraldo has now been ordered to cease his communications with the network. He then sneaks around and ignores them, but is caught transmitting once again. At this point, he’s escorted back to a tent somewhere, hands bound behind his back with a nice thick zip-tie. He’s put someplace where he doesn’t need to be attended to, because these guys have more important things to worry about. From time to time, soldiers grimey and tired from battle pass by him, and they consider how his moronic actions may have endangered them all. They invariably think about their friends who are all shot up, and the ones that are gone. And occasionally, without fanfare or ceremony, they give Geraldo a good hard forearm shiv across his smirking face. Just to let him know that they care. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/16 "2003-03-31T23:31:11Z")
“Join the army. Travel to foreign lands. Meet interesting people. Punch Geraldo Rivera in the face.” Fuck, I’d sign up. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/17 "2003-03-31T23:33:22Z")
**Sofa King** , I think that’s probably the funniest thing I’ve read this war. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/18 "2003-03-31T23:50:06Z")
On Fox News Special Report tonight at 6:40 ET, Brit Hume reported that Geraldo did draw a map in the sand. He was never formally and “embedded” correspondant. He is still with the 101st tonight. He has not been officially kicked out, despite reports to the contrary. However, the situation is under investigation by the Pentagon – implying that he might be kicked out once the investigation is complete. ---
**Author:** ![NaSultainne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NaSultainne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NaSultainne)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/19 "2003-03-31T23:56:51Z")
In addition to **december** ’s post, FNC pundits also clearly indicate their position regarding Geraldo, to wit: even if he’s only being a nuisance to the military, if they don’t want him, kick him out. To the OP: overreact much, hmmm? ---
**Author:** ![booka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@booka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booka)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536/20 "2003-04-01T00:19:56Z")
Even if Geraldo wasn’t kicked out, I prefer to cling to the belief that he **was** , and that he’s in a tent somewhere, bound and gagged, with an occasional visitor. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-reporting-the-news-and-not-covering-it-up-mkay-foxnews/165536.md?page=2)