Oh this is rich. The headline on Drudge right now claims the Fox affiliate in Chicago ran - once - a story with Chicagoans who didn't want the Olympics. The Drudge report claims the Chicago Olympic Committee told the station such a report would harm the city's chances of landing the games. The news director allegedly told the staff not to run the report anymore.
What's really going on, after the jump.
Sorry this is a short entry, but it's just a matter of time before we all start getting those emails from our right wing family and friends about this "story". I thought it might be useful to have the perspective of someone who's worked in TV news for many.
Almost every week, some group in the community calls a TV station hoping to kill a story. They may try the news director, the GM, their sales rep. The more serious ones have an attorney call. Their plea is noted, the report is usually vetted once more to be sure the facts are straight and the story is balanced, and then the station airs the piece.
If the Fox station in Chicago killed this story, it's a reflection on no one except the Fox station. Right wingers will seized on the word "ordered" in the Drudge report, and the implication that the Obama Administration is seizing control of the media. In fact, the case stated on Drudge says that "order" came from the Fox station's management. The request from the Chicago Olympic Committee was to be expected. They could have ignored it, but apparently, lacked the testicular fortitude to do so.