I saw this video over at Darren’s site. (Direct link.)

[NOTE: The former link no longer worked. This link has more of the surrounding story. Note how the Fox lady colors every comment with viewpoint nstead of letting the story speak for itself.]

For just a moment, I thought Fox News was going to be doing an anti-anti-gay interview with this woman. That would be shocking, since Fox tends to be fairly anti-gay itself.

As you can see, however, the interview immediately degenerates into an immature shouting match, which is not too terribly surprising considering this is Fox. The anchor ends up counter-preaching the Bible to Shirley of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), and takes a pro-military, pro-America stance. Shocking. Though you can barely hear anything in the verbal melee, the anchor does provide a few choice Biblical counterpoints. Her arguments are no better than Shirley’s, though, because she’s just as bull-headed and argumentative, and she is the one who instigates the shouting in the first place.

A journalist is supposed to allow the person she is interviewing to complete her argument, or at least get a good way through, before calmly offering a counterpoint question or point that suggests the subject’s viewpoint may be seen as inappropriate or wrong. This bimbo (as Shirley calls her) is no journalist. She’s a mirror Shirley on the other side of the screen. The folks at Fox News know it’s good TV, if not good journalism, to attack so reprehensible an organization as the WBC. I find that in itself just as reprehensible.

Consider that this kind of interview plays perfectly into the WBC’s hands. The WBC gets fuel for their zealot fire, while Fox’s technique is indefensible as a successful exposé of the WBC’s nefarious actions and beliefs. Fox is unable to say that they provided a clean and intelligent forum for the WBC to hang itself with its own comments. They merely staged a Jerry Springer-like shouting match. Anyone can do that.

I’m certainly not supporting the WBC in any way. Just try to visit its website. If you can stomach it for more than a few moments, you will see what an awful organization it is. I would welcome a good on-air skewering of the WBC, but Fox does not have the talent, patience, intelligence, professionalism, or maturity to do so properly. Once again, where’s Edward R. Murrow when you really need him? (I know, dead, but still…)