Steve & Olaf: Should Laurence Apologize?

Earlier this week, San Diego Union Tribune TV critic Bob Laurence speculated that the Centanni/Wiig kidnapping wasn’t getting more coverage because #1 “the kidnapping or targeting of journalists in Iraq isn’t the story it once was” and #2 “there’s not a reservoir of kinship or good will with Fox on the part of the rest of the news media.”

#1, the kidnapping occurred in Gaza, not Iraq, Bob. #2, this isn’t about good will or lack thereof. As John Higgins wrote yesterday, “the other networks are pretty much giving exactly the coverage that Fox News executives want.” And today, a longtime observer wrote to TVNewser:

“I was so stunned I had to read this twice. There’s two journalist’s lives at risk and Laurence is spending time absurdly whining that other news organizations don’t agree with Fox’s fair & balanced mantra so there’s a lack of good will? If he had any knowledge of the story, he’d realize it’s a highly sensitive situation which calls for some professional courtesy from other news organizations — all of which have clearly complied and not reported this wall to wall. Regardless of whether Bob is a critic, the fact that he’s writing things like this about a network in a time of crisis really speaks volumes about his bias toward Fox… Not to mention his credibility as a journalist. This is no time for partisan hackery Bob — Fox deserves an apology.”

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