fox news was on at the gym today, and while i was drinking some water i got to see the transition from the anchor in the studio to the reporter in the field. i'm not sure if it matters, but they were both women. the anchor launched into the transition with, "and now, judy loren reports from [someplace important in the world of constantly-breaking news]. j-lo?" and then, the feed cuts to loren, who stands there looking quite confused. soon, a moment of stunning comprehension. "oh, i'm... sorry, i was caught a little off-guard... you called me j-lo..." and then on to the news.
it got me wondering, was the anchor trying to make the reporter look as awkward as she did? is there some sort of bitter rivalry between the anchors and the field reporters? do the anchors all sit around in their news meetings and talk about the ways they can keep their colleagues down? "let's make 'em look real dumb, then they'll never take our jobs."
or maybe the anchor is just a naturally witty person, and realized the possibility for humor on the spot. but why use it? did she think that perhaps all those who care about journalistic professionalism wouldn't be watching tv? that all those people who really cared about that type of thing would be on tv at the moment, and those that weren't didn't matter? maybe she just wanted to see if she could get away with it.
in any case, i liked it. i think that the anchors and reporters should be encouraged to partake in some witty banter every now and again. obviously, there are times when this behavior woud be inappropriate. but if there's one thing i've learned by watching 24-hour news broadcasts, it's not all bad news. why not have some fun with the good?