TV News …
From The Newscasters: The News Business As Show Business:
Anchorman Bill Beutel had just read a news item about an alleged rape attack on an eight-year-old girl. Riger Grimsby then came on the air and introduced [Tex] Antoine and his weathercast.
Antoine’s first words, presumably spoken in the lighthearted spirit that flavors all Eyewitness newscasts, were of such blatantly bad taste that they even exceeded ABC’s permissive notions of propriety - a spectacular achievement in itself.
Quoth Antoine:
“With rape so predominant in the news lately, it is well to remember the words of Confucius: ‘If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.’”
In an altogether great book from the late 70s describing the downfall of TV news in the mid-60s, this passage stood out.
