On The Occasion Of His Departure: My One John Stossel Story

Nothing. He gave me the look you give a dog who’s soiled the carpet and then he turned away.

John Stossel is leaving ABC. From TVNewser (who claim to have broken the story)

John Stossel, the longtime ABC News correspondent and co-anchor of “20/20,” is leaving ABC to join Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. TVNewser has learned Stossel will host a weekly, one-hour program for the 2-year-old business channel. He’s expected to signed a multi-year deal with Fox which will include regular appearances on Fox News Channel during daytime and primetime. He’ll also host four, hour-long specials on Fox News, much like the business/consumer specials he’d hosted for years on ABC.

john-stossel.jpgI have one John Stossel story. This was a long time ago and I was filling in on Good Morning America in New York. TV-2, their studio at the time, was squeezed into an old building on the West Side. You’d never know there was anything going on there if not for the double parked town cars most days.

I was heading from the studio back toward my (actually Spencer Christian’s) dressing room. As I rounded the corner there was John Stossel.

He was a big deal to me. There were lots of ‘names’ from the network and other boldface types who passed through TV-2 but there was something special about Stossel.

“Hi John, I’m Geoff Fox and I’m filling in on the weather this week,” was about what I said. I extended my hand.

Nothing. He gave me the look you give a dog who’s soiled the carpet and then he turned away.

Good grief. I was crushed.

In my few dozen trips through GMA it was the only time I ever met anyone who was less than gracious. It still stings.

His departure will be a loss for ABC which in turn means a loss for my station–I regret that. On a personal level, good riddance.

Censoring The Emmys

I watched the Emmys tonight. Helaine recorded it, knowing we’d be home after 8:00.

Boy there are a lot of people on TV I don’t know!

With the show over, I have two questions. Is Ryan Seacrest the right guy to be host? And, why were there three obvious edits to censor material?

Seacrest first. I remember him on CNet TV. He was a correspondent on the show Richard Hart hosted. He was fine.

Am I surprised he’s hosting a huge, killer hit like American Idol? Absolutely. But he’s fine as a straight host.

No cheap jokes, please.

The Emmys normally have an entertainer as host. I don’t see Seacrest in that role. In fact, as the show opened up, Ray Romano basically took over the host’s job of doing a monologue.

That brings me to point two. Why was Roman censored? This was more than a beep. The full video feed cut away.

I’ve seen Ray Romano in person. He is not a blue comic. Even if he said a ‘curse,’ I’m convinced it wouldn’t have offended my mom or her mom (though it’s a little late to ask my grandma).

The same cutaway thing happened to Katherine Heigl and Sally Field.

Actually, with Heigl they didn’t cut away soon enough and so America got to see her mouth the word “shit.” Crude and inappropriate as it is, I’ve never understood why shit is considered a curse word. It has little to do with the more sexually oriented words that can get a network fined… or worse.

I believe Sally Field got pulled for saying goddamn. It’s not polite to say goddamn. It’s never been my choice to say that word on TV. But it’s Sally Field for heavens sake.

I must be missing something? What could Sally Field possibly say that would injure me?

I believe it was Letterman’s staff who began the tradition of having weird intros to the comedy writing nominees. That’s something I now look forward to. I enjoy it a lot.

I also liked the nice eulogy for Tom Snyder, pieced together from contemporaneous remarks by late night talk show hosts. Tom liked adulation. He would have enjoyed that genuine emotion.

Steve Colbert At The White House

I just hit pause on a video I’ve been watching. I recorded C-SPAN tonight! Has anyone ever done that before?

If my daughter is reading this, she’s laughing herself silly.

Tonight was the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner. I’m sad to say I’ve watched these in the past. It really makes for uncomfortable TV.

Back in 1994, I squirmed as I watched Don Imus be inapropriate and unfunny. Tonight, it’s Steven Colbert’s turn. See, I’m non-partisan.

The good thing about recording this dinner (as opposed to watching it live) is, there’s so much to fast forward through. I did stop, watch, and enjoy, CBS correspondent Bill Plante’s tour of the soon to be dismantled White House Press Room. I had heard for years it was a dingy, cramped, slum. It is.

Back to Colbert.

The problem here is, comedians come here to take the president apart… the most powerful man in the world… a guy with a very serious job…and he’s sitting a few feet from you.

I just don’t think it’s possible to do.

I’m only a TV weatherman, and I won’t go into a carnival’s dunk tank. This is the presidential equivalent.

As Steve began to go through his speech, hitting what he expected to be laugh lines, there was silence. He went through a long dissertation, making fun of the president’s poll numbers and I winced. He talked about the president on an aircraft carrier and in a recently flooded city square to zero response.

I feel bad for the president. Not because he isn’t responsible for what Colbert is talking about. It’s because in this venue, with the president unable to respond, it’s an unfair attack. It was true with Imus and Clinton and it is true with Colbert and Bush.

In fact that’s probably why I’ve paused the video to write this. Frozen on the right side of my computer screen is Colbert at the podium, his finger poking the air for effect. I don’t want to hear any more because I’m embarrassed to watch any more.

Maybe it’s time for this long standing tradition to stop.

Another “Phishing” Expedition

The term is “phishing.” A phony email is sent, purporting to be from a company you do business with, asking for private information. I wrote, only a few days ago, about a bogus note from Bank of America. Tonight, it’s Citibank!

Dear Citibank Account Holder,

On January 10th 2004 Citibank had to block some accounts in our system connected with money laundering, credit card fraud, terrorism and check fraud activity. The information in regards to those accounts has been passed to our correspondent banks, local, federal and international authorities.

Due to our extensive database operations some accounts may have been changed. We are asking our customers to check their checking and savings accounts if they are active or if their current balance is correct.

Citibank notifies all it’s customers in cases of high fraud or criminal activity and asks you to check your account’s balances. If you suspect or have found any fraud activity on your account please let us know by logging in at the link below.

I’m not a Citibank customer, so I knew immediately this was bogus. Even if I had missed it, Popfile called it spam. Good job!

The last time I put one of these up, McAffee Virus Scanner stopped some people from getting to my site, so I’ve eliminated the link in this one – it’s phony anyway!

Today’s phishing expedition originated with email sent from an account on wideopenwest.com, a high speed Internet service provider (like cable modem or DSL) here in the U.S. The link on the email opens a form that looks exactly like a Citibank form (in fact, it’s probably taken from their site), but it sends the posted data, including credit card and pin, to a site in Korea!

We’re rapidly approaching email meltdown! How long can commerce survive in this untrustworthy environment?

—-

01/11/04 10:38 PM – I have just reported this incident to Citibank via their weblink. I’ll let you know if they respond.

Rush Limbaugh at the Speed of Light

Wow. This whole thing has been played out at warp speed.

Sunday: Rush Limbaugh criticizes Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback (as Rush is entitled to do). Unfortunately, Rush prefaces his comments with a reminder that McNabb is black and the NFL wants black players and coaches to succeed.

Wednesday: The whole thing becomes a huge story. McNabb answers questions at a press conference. Limbaugh downplays it on his show. ABC as their ‘affiliate correspondent’ cut a national package which runs nationwide.

Wednesday night: ESPN starts distancing themselves from Limbaugh’s comments and Rush resigns.

Why did this wait until Wednesday? It happened Sunday morning.

And, now it looks like Limbaugh’s troubles are only beginning. The National Enquirer, which has broken some fairly big news stories over the last few years is running a front page story on Limbaugh’s alleged drug abuse!

I predict the future for a living but would have never, in a million years predicted this. Limbaugh is probably safe on the radio, where his core constituency might not mind racist comments, but he has major tsuris to deal with.

Hurricane Pissing Match

Sometime in the next day or so, I’ll write more about Isabel. But, tonight, I saw an incredible press release from AccuWeather from earlier this summer. It’s posted on the link below.

This is the kind of sniping you seldom see between government and private industry. It’s obvious, the gloves are off.

But, should anyone who forecasts for a living ask to be judged on specific individual forecasts, as opposed to forecasts over periods of time? We all make mistakes from time-to-time. Is one event’s forecast indicitave of anything?

Meanwhile, the most interesting part is that this really is a pissing match, in public.

Continue reading “Hurricane Pissing Match”