A Minnesota FOX News affiliate is taking an intensely hands-on
approach to reporting the news. To answer the question, “How easy is it to
abduct a child?,” Fox 9 News planned to…try to abduct children. Reporters were
going to drive around in an unmarked SUV and ask kids for directions. How’s
that for hard-hitting investigative journalism?
I think they were
planning to stop at the actual abduction part—kind of a, “You’re a candid
camera!” type stunt—but I’ve been surprised many a time at how far FOX is
willing to go in the service of the news (read: sensationalism and fear-mongering).
Fortunately, parents and school administrators have a lot
more commonsense than the good folks who bring us the news. After FOX informed
police of their intentions—the last thing these hard-working reporters need is
to get arrested for kidnapping, after all—police sent a message to the local
school. The principal, in turn, sent out an email to parents, which read, in
part:
This message details information about a "news"
story KMSP Fox 9 will be "creating". Thanks...
Molly Anderson of the Edina Police Department just informed
the district that KMSP Fox 9 will be driving around Edina neighborhoods between
2:00-4:30 p.m. today to "ask children for directions." She indicated
that the reporter, Trish Van Pilsim will be driving a 2004 silver Ford Explorer
or Expedition.
The police indicated while there is nothing illegal with
this, they do not endorse this activity.
As you can imagine, the parents of Edina did not endorse
this activity either, and they flooded FOX with complaints, succeeding in
getting the station to abandon the story.
Thank goodness. I don’t even want to imagine how terrifying it
would be for a child to be approached by a stranger in a truck on his way home
from school. Not to mention that trying to abduct a kid, then saying, “Just
kidding! We’re actually the news,” is not the best way to instill stranger
safety in children. FOX News, ever heard of a little story called The Boy Who
Cried Wolf?
Image: Fox 9 News
Related Post:
FOX News Hates Kids In Political Videos--Except When They Don't
