There was a mini-brouhaha <$NoAd$>this afternoon when a purported internal Fox News memo, which announced the suspension of Carl Cameron over the Kerry quotes, was revealed to be a hoax.
This is the actual memo that Fox Senior VP John Moody sent to Fox employees …
PLEASE READ: Last week, we experienced separate lapses of judgment, resulting in the posting, on our website, of inaccurate material.
Credibility is our lifeblood. When we make factual mistakes, we affect adversely all the hard work that we’ve done for eight years to become the country’s leading news channel.
There is enough blame to go around. In last week’s incident, a stupid parody of a quote was included in the script queue. It was picked up unthinkingly and included on the website.
For that reason, we are implementing a number of changes: first, and immediately, the scripts queue is OFF LIMITS for editorial use until the item has been broadcast or the script is approved for use. Second, the use of scripts queue for humor, sarcasm, parody or other unprofessional conduct is strictly forbidden.
Failure to follow this directive is a dismissable offense.
Asked for a comment, Fox News spokesman Paul Schur told me, “This note speaks for itself.”
And in case you’re wondering, given recent events, a Fox News representative confirmed to me that this memo is authentic.
I think this memo leaves the key issue entirely unstated. But there you go.
Late Update: I see now from a link on Atrios that Media Bistro posted this same memo about a half hour before I posted mine. This just shows that you really shouldn’t get that dinner before you finish a post you’ve been working on. In any case, this is independently reported.
