Be Careful What You Cluck
New York’s Fox 5 evening news anchor Ernie Anastos became an Internet sensation this week – not because of his compelling newscasts but because of an on-air gaffe that quickly made headlines both on and offline. The veteran anchor responded to the stations weatherman during a live broadcast “keep F****** that chicken” during some banter back and forth.
The comment baffled both viewers and his co-anchor, not just for the obvious use of profanity but because no one was quite sure what the comment meant.
Anastos apologized but his words have already left their mark via the Web. A Google search of the journalist yields almost an entire first page of search dedicated to news and blog coverage, as well as the video evidence itself. It’s a good reminder that viewers, readers and friends might forget an accident, but the Internet is extremely unforgiving.
In this day and age it’s critical to check and recheck everything you put out for public consumption, whether to the news media, or on blog comments or posts. If a potential client, employer or other audience were to Google you (take this opportunity to Google yourself now), what will they find?
Do you engage in healthy discussion and debate that showcases your expertise? Or do you argue for the sake of being heard? What happens when you search images? Or a blog search, Twitter search or video?
There’s no such thing as “off the record” anymore. Do you feel good about what a search brings up about you?
Rachel Kay
LMAO Rachel!
What was that guy thinking?!
He’s lucky he didn’t lose his job.
It’s like you say: ” readers and friends might forget an accident, but the Internet is extremely unforgiving.”
Will be sure to RT this for you.
Look forward to more good stuff in the future.
Thanks Brian! I think everyone is a little perplexed as to why it happened. But it certainly provided us with some great entertainment, didn’t it!
From your last paragraph:
There’s no such thing as “off the record” anymore.
Do we chuck journalistic integrity out the window, too? Let’s keep in mind if I tell you something and preface it with “This is off the record,” it is off the record. I can’t tell you something followed by the request; the request must occur up front.
If the content later gets online, the journalist or whoever was requested is to blame. So, if off the record remarks get online, what does that mean?
I think it comes down to more than just journalistic integrity as well, Ari – it comes down to integrity full-stop. As much as I’d like to believe in the good of humanity at all times, people sell out. It could be for money, fame, kickbacks, whatever – and I’ve seen this happen with people who have reputations for solid ethics.
The (sad) truth of the matter is like Rachel says; we may want it to be private, but there will always be ways and people that make it anything but.
Danny – Completely agree with you. That drive to share off the record information is what keeps the tabloids in print (that and readers like me who love gossip
)
I think that PR professionals and journalists have a completely different view of off-the-record. Frankly, you should never say anything that you don’t want out there – you never know when it will come back and bite you.
Ari,
I agree with you, but you are talking about what should be the case, not what often is. President Obama’s allegedly “Off the Record” comment about Kanye West was a perfect example. The network scrambled, but it was clearly too late and now the recording lives on forever. One of the most significant points we teach in media training is that you can’t rely on the old standard of ethics and hope things stay off the record – especially when someone eavesdropping or recording may not have agreed to your request. In addition, today’s plethora of citizen journalists don’t subscribe to traditional journalistic ethics. If you don’t want to see it in print, don’t say it.
Thank’s Ari – great points!
Rachel
Totally agree with Rachel. Everything can be broadcast so easily and quickly to the whole world those days that there is no such thing as ‘off the record’ anymore. Live with the thoughts that whatever you say or do, can be seen by the whole world, act and talk with uptmost integrity. If you are having difficulty to control your thoughts, words or actions see a life coach.
Ok, I definitely have thoughts on how unforgiving the internet is, journalistic integrity, etc. But to sum up, re-define privacy. Live your life openly. Learn to be guarded in public. And the internet is a public space.
However, I think the more interesting question has remained unanswered here. WTH did Keep f****** that chicken mean? It says he apologized… for mispronunciation? For poor taste? For overly creative imagery?
Did find this other reference from Super Troopers that someone else on a message board google pulled up posted:
“Live your life openly. Learn to be guarded in public.” I just re-read this, sorry. I meant just don’t do or say things you don’t want in public because everywhere is public now.
Good points Shannon – thanks for your thoughts!
LOVE THIS post!
(Other smart folks have responded perfectly to the PR point, so I’ll just stick to the poor attempts at comedy here!)
By saying “keep f-ing the chicken,” the anchor is implying that the weatherman was already in the act of defiling said fowl! Why isn’t PETA on this????
Did we miss part of the weather forecast where the guy said “Cloudy with a chance of chicken loving?”
If doing nasty acts to chickens was all it took to keep the weather nice…wait…I’m not going to go there…
Mike,
You are nuts.
Thanks for humor – I’ll call up PETA now.
Rachel
Wow — I only heard about this via your blog Rachel, and that’s crazy.
I think that sometimes people forget themselves, and it’s something you absolutely cannot do in our field or ones similarly.
Basically, you shouldn’t say anything that you are not comfortable with Google and Bing finding out.
Great running into you yesterday, Rachel! I LOVE your blog–fun, interesting, entertaining, great. And, as a former PR man (back in the day when we smoked, smiled and dialed our way through a media pitch…off of printed lists, no less!), this whole idea of “off the record” in this new media world is intriguing. The lines are definitely much blurrier. Regardless, I guess telling someone on live air to have sex with barnyard fowl–especially when the guy was just saying it might rain tomorrow–is probably not the way to keep something hush-hush. At least that hasn’t changed! Go Ernie.