Ever one to have people do the hard work of Asshat-ary for me, it is nice when people step up and broadcast it for millions to see, which brings us to the "Today" show. While gearing up for NBC's coverage of the Olympic games, the "Today" crew are all gathered around wondering just who it will be that will light the Olympic torch for the Vancouver Games. Merideth Viera chimes in that maybe it will be Betty Fox whose son, Michael Fox, died of cancer. Except, of course, that he didn't. Michael J Fox is very much alive and is an avid spokesperson for Parkinson's research, a disease with which he suffers. More likely is that Miss Viera is referring to Terry Fox, who did die from cancer. Most notable of Terry's achievements was his "Marathon for Hope", a cross Canada run which Terry did with one prosthetic leg to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Every September now many places have a Terry Fox Run in honor of his effort, and it has become the world's largest one day fundraiser for cancer research.
Bad enough that Miss Viera would confuse the two Foxes, but worse was that the production guys back in the truck followed suit, first by posting a picture of Terry Fox and then following it up with one of Michael J Fox, because apparently they didn't know which one was alive or dead as well, so it was best to post both pictures. In any event the combined efforts of the "Today" shows on air and production talents, or lack thereof, win this week's coveted Asshat crown. And for some video evidence, let's go to the tape.
shoddy performance all round.
ReplyDeleteThe actual Terry Fox story (not to be confused with the Michael J Fox story, which is notable in its own right)
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