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We didn't expect, or want, to focus again on a widely discussed Wednesday newscast segment. After thorough coverage Thursday of criticism about Fox 2 Detroit and its response, we were ready to move on.
Alas, station personnel keep L'Affaire Blue Dress alive instead of keeping mum -- a basic breach of Damage Control 101. They add legs that carry a negative story forward.
Photo illustration: DepositPhotos
"The station has apparently never heard of the phrase, 'Quit while you're behind,'" tweets Susan J. Demas, editor of Michigan Advance and an early critic of the report on crass comments about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's body and dress during Tuesday night's State of the State speech.
Our follow-up commentary, as well as a second post by Demas ("Fox 2 doubles down on story with explicit comments about Whitmer’s looks") wouldn't appear if the station voiced regret that Erika Erickson's report sparks anger or that its intent is misinterpreted. An abject apology isn't necessary -- just an acknowledgment that an effort to show "the double standard faced by female leaders" didn't work well.
Instead, tweets by Erickson and two colleagues -- Huel Perkins and Ryan Ermanni -- echo their news director's written response that "this is not a subject that should be turned away from."
Each of them sidesteps a key question raised by critics, who include Whitmer and the Michigan House speaker, a Republican: If exposing sexism is the goal, why not just characterize five nasty Facebook posts from Fox 2's page, rather than posting them? If it looks like pandering and sounds like pandering . . .
"Women have to deal with this garbage all the time,” the governor says in one of three tweets Thursday afternoon. Fox 2 "never should have given these losers a platform to make these inappropriate statements," agrees House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, whose tweet adds: "I support her 100% on this! #MyGovernor"
Washington Post media critic Eric Wemple mocks the Southfield station in a column:
Perhaps because Fox 2 had never before noticed that people on Facebook could be crude and sexist, the station decided that this all was news. . . .
Thanks so much . . . for excavating offensive muck from the lugubrious seams of the Internet and presenting it on television news, the better to elevate these sexist voices.
Fox 2 coverage Wednesday.
The Post's headline describes Erickson's segment as a "putridly sexist story."
Instead of letting their boss' formal statement be the last word, the reporter and two others at Fox 2 respond defiantly to social media outrage -- virtually always a bad idea, crisis communicators say. Here's what imprudence looks like:
"I genuinely tried to reveal the nasty trolls bashing @gretchenwhitmer. . . . Offer stands to speak with her. Why aren't we calling out the people who wrote the nasty comments in the first place?" -- Erika Erickson, on Twitter
We were defending Governor Gretchen Whitmer against the internet trolls who make baseless comments about women and the "double standard" used to judge leaders based on their gender or what they wear. Please watch the entire story. Thanks.
— Huel Perkins on Fox2 (@Huelfox2) February 15, 2019
Governor, I believe @FOX2Erika was actually trying to defend you against internet trolls. I hope you reconsider your position on this. https://t.co/NBY2NY5Iip
— Ryan Ermanni (@RyanEFox2) February 15, 2019
Yes, a reporter hopes the offended governor reconsiders calling his station's coverage "way out of line" and "garbage." Not exactly a humble or contrite attempt at damage control.
In her second column on all this, Demas notes that Fox 2 news director Kevin "Roseborough ended [his statement] by saying the station has 'extended an invitation to the governor to talk to us about this further.' I'm sure she'll get right on that."
► Update: In a new column Saturday, Demas comments: "It's always deeply sad to see an outlet that diminishes the profession of journalism like Fox 2 does. . . . Fox 2 clearly has a culture problem. . . . It's a new day, boys. Try and keep up."
Earlier coverage:
Whitmer and GOP House Speaker Slap Fox 2 Detroit for Crude Report on Her Appearance, Feb. 14
