Fox Reporter Given A Taste Of Ambush Journalism (VIDEO)

Fox News is well-known for taking the tactic of "ambush journalism" to gratuitous lengths to get footage for air of their pet targets getting freaked out on the streets of this fair nation. For example, you remember that time that NewsHounds reported that Bill O'Reilly was going to be speaking at an event for an organization for rape victims, despite the fact that he'd previously shown contempt for one, and then O'Reilly's nemesis Keith Olbermann talked about it on the air, and they lacked the cojones to ambush either Olbermann or the writers of the blog that put the story out there in the first place, so instead they stalked a ThinkProgress blogger named Amanda Terkel who'd done nothing more than blog about NewsHounds' original post, confronting her on vacation after following her across the state of Virginia from her home? GOOD TIMES.

Adam Green of OpenLeft espied Fox's Griff Jenkins outside a convention for ACORN, a community organizing group who Fox is relentlessly working to depict as a band of Uruk-Hai bent on the destruction of Western civilization. Jenkins was dressed in a tuxedo (he likes to play dress-up!) and standing by a "red carpet" (actually, a sad red doormat), hoping to interview people for something that was sure to be substantive, given the set-up and artifice! So, Green turned the tables on Jenkins, and confronted him about whether Fox reporters are issued memos laden with GOP talking points! It all sort of gets under Jenkins' skin, just a little bit.

Nice tuxedo.

WATCH:

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Comments

[TKDMike]

The TUX guy is a HUGE GEEK.....IDIOT

[moreDumber]

Yeah, that wasn't so great. Should have just asked him to explain the joke behind the red carpet and the tux; having to explain it would have brought to the surface just how stupid the whole thought process was.

[picaman]

I agree completely.

[flyers]

Such jealous towards Fox. I guess when you're #1 over the other cable stations people will be obsessed about you all day:)

[garcho]

yes, we such jealous to fox be cause so good gsrbl fun and become to here again ;"0(

[snesich]

Well, Fox does have a plurality of cable viewers. Not a majority. And in the vital 18 to 35 category of viewers, Fox is slipping and suffering.

Factor out old white guys from the old Confederacy and small towns, and Fox has a very small number of viewers.

[Cloud7Raymaker]

"We're breaking news right here... Fox News considers Blogs legitimate media!"

rofl, best quote of the clip. Of course progressive blogs have been doing a far better job of reporting factual information over the past decade than FOX has, no wonder that broadcasting network has become a running joke.

[Read Books]

Heroic effort at spin, Jason Linkins.

The interview became freedom of the press (regardless of ideology) versus some obscure talking point from five years ago. Plus, an ACORN thug even came out and tried to block the camera!

FOX - +2
OpenLeft - 0

[protagonia]

Read WHICH books, Read Books?

[Read Books]

When you can't dispute my logic, you cart out the ad hominem attack. Thanks.

Note that changing the subject and straw man arguments are also useful when you can't argue with reason.

Since you asked, some books I recommend are:
1) Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (Dr. Jared Diamond)
2) The Great Influenza (John Barry)
3) Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News (Bernard Goldberg)
4) A Brief History of Time; Black Holes and Baby Universes (Stephen Hawking)

Read #3 first.

[cloudmaker]

I don't think it's fair to ambush in 2009 a Mr. Peepers nerd who was teleported from the 1950s.
It's only natural that we wont have a clue how to behave or answer the interviewer's questions.

[baxtron]

leave those IVY league grads alone. skull and crossbones told them they could serve the master if they worked hard.

[Mauiloa]

Ahhh, Fox News. Your droll attempt at humor with the use of your nerdish reporter in a tuxedo and a slab of red carpet fills me with continuing pride at the state of American journalism.

This obvious parody of parody news like The Daily Show shows a sense of desperation and frustration that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's digs are slowly eating away at whatever sense of integrity you think you have.

But keep it up. It's fun to laugh at sophomoric skits by the comedic geniuses at Fox.

[ReyLoo]

LOL!!!!!!! Nice logo!

[Muad Dib]

Wow, a station that ask you not to mourn American Troops death in a senseless war. No wonder they always seem to be proud to be American. All Together now U-S-A U-S-A

[underoath]

I would never want to shut down any body's free speech and i know fox news viewer's voted for mccain and that's fine as long as repub's get there fact's from fox dem's will continue to win election's and that's what really matters.

[BobLablah]

I feel bad for Adam. My brother stuttered too and it made life much more difficult for him.

[marley22]

Give me a break! Nice attempt at spin Linkins! That was an ambush like this gnat buzzing around me is an ambush! Avenging Amanda Terkel! That's rich.

You may have missed through your liberal-colored glasses Jenkins point that he was shut out of the supposedly 'closed' event even though your hero (who proudly called himself an 'opinion journalist') was allowed in.

You may need to reassess your results if you think that made Fox look bad.

[allwrite]

So you think the question of who is being let in and who excluded was resolved by this exchange?

I agree Fox did not look as bad as they can be made to look, given their blatant biases and selective dissemination of facts. Stick around though. We'll refine our tactics and keep coming at your boys.

[marley22]

It reaffirms the belief that liberals and liberal ideas cannot stand up to scrutiny. But what's to be expected when even your Dear Leader whines that Fox is being mean to him. What's to be gained by shutting out a news agency with the most viewers, whether you agree with them or not, except to insulate yourself and ideas from critique?

Even your hated Bush did interviews on NBC. Obama let O'Reilly interview him during the campaign, but I guess once you get elected and have to live up to promises and actions it's better to hide from scrutiny.

[ReyLoo]

i think the point was the gentleman that just came out of there is not a journalist...so trying to act like they said it was a closed event and were really lying just ot keep FOX news out is a bit of a stretch. Come on...anybody that has done a little bit of homework and kept up with the state of journalism knows FOX is a joke when it comes to being thorough, factual and unbiased...3 important qualities to have when you are waving the banner of being an instituion of journalism.

what happen to integrity? It was strangled by the selfish desires, greed and lust of power in the hearts of men.

[Mezniff]

It's nice to see what happens when Fox's own tactics are used against them. The Fox "news" employee whines and squirms and evades. He looks like he's on the verge of calling for help or possibly running away. What happened to the "macho" image that Fox "news" anchors are always trying to portray? Is that just an act?

His argument that since he isn't allowed inside that bloggers shouldn't be allowed outside doesn't even make sense! It was an act of desperation by a very dishonest man!

I'd LOVE to see more Fox "news" people ambushed in this way!

[GringoLingo]

The problem is that this tactic was ineffective. The Fox News reporter was able to turn Greene into the interviewee and use him to make a valid point against the supposedly non-partisan group ACORN.

[sf girl]

And how did he "use him to make a valid point against the supposedly non-partisan group ACORN?" I guess I missed something.

[maggiee]

Wow. I knew Fox "news" viewers had a hard time seeing reality but......WOW!

[maggiee]

Seriously....I gotta say it again....WOW! When did the Fox "news" "reporter" turn Adam Greene into the "interviewee"? Was that while he was looking at his shoes or while he was trying to walk away to badger the woman in the glasses?

[lwkite]

What valid piont? They were not letting Faux in. I am sure that they did not let the Howard Stern Show in as well. Remember Faux is not news, it is hostile opinion. Who would let any media outlet in that was hell bent on misreporting the event.

[wxman]

More - much more everywhere more hundreds more - no thousands more all across the country go gettem - Let them know how slanted they actually are catch them being slanted archive them and get it up on the web Tuxedo, naked attack them everywhere - Equal time push it, and oh year bring your favorite bouncer tough guy with you when they get physical and give right back once start it make sure you film it and get it up on the web immediately.

[GringoLingo]

And after we're through hounding MSNBC talking heads I think we should address Fox News as well.

[GringoLingo]

Not only did Jenkin's turn Adam into the interviewee in this video but he used him to diminish ACORN for not allowing all members of the press inside. I am amazed that HP has this on their front page. It is embarrassing for Mr. Greene.

[LiberalHick]

Don't be embarrassed for him. We're all here laughing at you.

[baxtron]

aren't they just going to lie about them anyways. you don't need to be present to lie. Saddam has connections to Osama Bin Laden, Barack Obama is a Muslim, Nancy Pelosi tortured the prisoners at Gitmo. You guys are great at lying without being challenged. Why do you need to be present to do so?

[ramal]

Griff Jenkins??? Looks like either a carnival barker or a high class male prostitute. Wait! He's working for Faux News so he must be both.

[LiberalHick]

And that NAME - "Grif?" Seriously, what kind of a mother names her kid Grif? No wonder he has such a chip on his shoulder. Still, I think his life will turn around once he loses his vi'rgin.ity.

[henrypapillon]

Jenkins, what a crybaby rich-boy dork.