“Everyone knows that Rick is an industry joke, he shows that he’s a hack everyday. And he doesn’t have to worry about working at Fox because we only hire talent who have the ability to generate ratings.”
-- Fox News Channel spokesman on CNN's Rick Sanchez, who spent last Friday night sending out a series of slightly incomprehensible, testy Twitter messages claiming that if he wanted to be rich he'd work at Fox but doesn't because for a Hispanic that would be selling out and how he's doing the right thing by staying at CNN, etc. etc.
The most amusing (read: kind of horrifying) thing about this isn't Rick's inexplicable decision to start ranting on Twitter; he's been doing that for some time now. No, what's really noteworthy is Fox's response -- Fox's official response via a spokesperson which eviscerates Sanchez in pretty much the harshest language possible. I mean, hell, they may as well have made fun of the guy's mother.
By now, nothing the schoolyard bullies at Fox say against their adversaries should surprise me, and yet I find myself still shocked at the kind of venom these people regularly unleash against anyone who dares to antagonize them or accuse them of wrongdoing. By comparison, think about the reactions of your average high-brow spokespeople for just about every other company in America when negative publicity is aimed in the direction of the organizations they represent: They're typically a quick "no comment," or "we won't even dignify that with a response." But Fox -- well, Fox has never claimed to be long on dignity. Their guys don't bother with any of that sissy "we're above these kind of cheap theatrics" crap; in the finest tradition of Nixonian dirty tricks, they add your name to an enemies list somewhere and set out to verbally assassinate you.
As I've said before, it's almost admirable how these guys don't take any shit from anyone. Almost.
Oh yeah, and not to bring this up again, but didn't CNN fire me for exactly the kind of thing Sanchez is doing on Twitter these days?
Rick, my old friend, if you can get away with it -- more power to you.
MEDIAite: CNN's Rick Sanchez Pokes at Fox News, Fox Smacks Him Away/7.25.09
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