Marsden: Update…
The Canadian Press writes about Rachel Marsden’s departure from Red Eye and has Marsden shooting down Page Six’s story on her…
In an e-mail exchange, Marsden denied the Post claim, and said it was standard procedure to be escorted from the building when given a pink slip at Fox News.
“They are always concerned that someone will take a laptop or a computer or something,” Marsden said in the e-mail. “Truth be told, the show started off being newsy and political, but the content had changed drastically from its inception.”
Marsden added: “I have nothing but the utmost respect for Fox News CEO Roger Ailes and the other show hosts at Fox News who have been very professional and supportive of me, and I prefer to leave `Red Eye’ with my own professionalism and integrity intact – and that includes staying clear of any mudslinging.”
I hope her comments about the show “heading in a different direction” were just an excuse. It’s a great show but screwing around with the format could mess everything up.
Comment by TBDave — May 31, 2007 @ 11:36 pm
Well, if it were just a matter of “taking the show in another direction,” why were the ties to FNC totally severed? Why didn’t they just drop her from the show, but still keep her around to put on other shows as a correspondent or pundit?
Comment by Amused — May 31, 2007 @ 11:54 pm
If her contract was to do Red Eye, then she’s gone if she leaves the show. That’s how it works. Besides, how would it look if she’s shuffled to “safe ground” and Red Eye is left to flounder? Whether we’ll see her on other shows now remains to be seen. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Comment by Anonymous — June 1, 2007 @ 1:59 am
I know that the show content has changed over time (not that it was strictly political at the onset), but I thought Marsden adapted pretty well. She would inject some witty comments about the obscure “studies” that they cover, and at other times would provide comments that the others could have some fun with.
In any event, I still have a feeling that this had to do with behind-the-scenes affairs because she didn’t seem to not fit in even as the show evolved. That, or perhaps she wanted to be known as a pundit and felt that the odd topics covered on Red Eye and her involvement would diminish her credibility….eh, who knows.
Julie Banderas filled her seat tonight and did alright. And just to note - of course they had what has become the required long shot of the legs.
In regards to the “different direction” the show it taking, I hope they include more of the Fox News staff to sit in. It is interesting to see the pundits and anchors “let their hair down” and engage in casual conversation. They seem to focus on the females on the network….they should get some of the guys on as well.
Comment by FishOil — June 1, 2007 @ 5:04 am
Fishoil - I agree they should have more FNC staff sit in on the Red Eye shows. It’s great to see some of the Fox people let loose and joke around. I’d never seen Julie Banderas like that before, and it took a while to recognize her. Some of their best shows have been with Janice Dean.
Comment by TBDave — June 1, 2007 @ 5:48 am
Since The Post is owned by the same people who own FNC my guess is they had their facts straight before they ran this.
Comment by Dead Air — June 1, 2007 @ 8:38 am
Well what do you expect her to say really though? She’s going to put the best spin on it, just like anyone else would do in that situation. And if you read Greta Van Susteren’s book, when CNN started firing people back in 2001/2002, they also had security escort everyone out of the building. It’s an emotional situation that lends itself to some very heated reactions, and having security there minimizes the chance for things to get out of hand. And there’s also the whole theft issue that she mentioned, which may not be the whole story but is a legitimate reason to involve security.
Comment by OverHere — June 1, 2007 @ 8:38 am
OverHere: Marsden’s blog still says “Rachel is a New York City based Fox News Channel Contributor .”
Even as she spun her tale of being let go from “Red Eye” (not exactly “Crossfire”…or even “McLaughlin Group”), she implied that she’s still with FNC. But most people would assume that being escorted out of the building by security would mean that one is no longer welcome at the network, not just that one show.
Comment by Amused — June 1, 2007 @ 8:58 am
What was it that Gut said in that interview?
Jon Stewart?
“His show is an arena built on self-congratulation,” said Mr. Gutfeld. “He meets his audiences’ assumptions, and that makes them feel good. And I think that’s weak. At times he’s funny, but that’s the easiest job in the world—to show up and have people kiss your a**.”
Looks like he couldn’t handle Rachel there. She was different, had her funny moments, could add some insight to the hard news stories and lots of funny moments when the guys played off what she had to say. Looks likt the schtick of the guys against her wasn’t a schtick afterall since she’s gone now.
Comment by Lurker — June 1, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Amused, first of all what is your personal investment in this story? You seem to be touched very closely by it based on your comments in the three threads Spud has had about it.
And I have a blog, and you don’t want to know when the last time I updated it was. If she still has a contract, then they are most likely working out the details of how they will handle this split, so technically that is not incorrect.
Comment by OverHere — June 1, 2007 @ 9:10 am
The only other time I’ve ever seen here was on w/O’Reilly.
Over Here, can you lead us to your blog? I like reading about all this cable news stuff, and I’m sure many of us would like to see what you have to say.
Comment by Missy — June 1, 2007 @ 9:47 am
Oh it’s not cable-news related at all, and I prefer not to share it Missy, if you don’t mind.
Comment by OverHere — June 1, 2007 @ 9:48 am
“her”, not “here”! And I meant to say that like others, I wonder whether she’s gone from FNC entirely, or just from Red Eye.
Comment by Missy — June 1, 2007 @ 9:48 am
OverHere: You have to admit that it’s kind of funny that you ask me to reveal something you perceive as personal, and then turn around and decline to share something personal asked of you. :)
And for the record, her blog was updated the same evening Fox cut ties with her.
Comment by Amused — June 1, 2007 @ 10:22 am
Amused, I asked you a question, your replies have already revealed a lot about you, and everyone has different preferences for what they reveal online. You choose not to answer it, that’s fine with me. I didn’t “turn around and decline” anything. Missy asked for my blog under the belief that it was cable-news related. It’s not, and as it contains information about members of my family who are minors, I keep it private in any event. So, even if I gave out the link, all you’d be able to see is a page saying you must be registered and logged in to see anything. :)
The first page of her blog was updated, but there are a lot of pages that may not have been touched. (I had never seen her blog before, honestly didn’t care enough to see if she even had one, but I went and looked for it after reading your post.)
I respect your decision not to reveal more than you already have, but it’s pretty clear you have some personal stake in this.
Comment by OverHere — June 1, 2007 @ 10:45 am
Lurker: The recent New York Times story about Gutfeld seemed to hint that Marsden was a loner and did not share in the camaraderie of the rest of the crew. I thought that aloofness carried over into the show.
But I think Rachel’s oint about the topics on the show changing are valid. Unless you count Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, the Playmate of the Year and super sized cats, “Red Eye” is not particularly newsy.
BTW, you just don’t know about the guests. Bobby Miyamoto, the stand-up comic who appeared last night was dreadful. OTOH, David Pollak, co-chair of New York State Democratic Party was again very funny.
Comment by Ira — June 1, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
Ira - Yea, For a comic that guy sucked bigtime!!! I agree, that dem guy is always funny. Julie B. did okay the second time around. The 1st time she sucked imo. Seems she doesn’t feel sure about just letting loose completely because she might be thinking I’m a serious journalist, maybe I shouldn’t say this or that etc….
Some of the non FNCer’s I really liked are Billy West, Katie Lazarus, that bald comic and also that Newday guy they had on together a few weeks back, Sherrod Small, Chuck Nice, Michael Musto and Michelle Collins.
As for Rachel, I think Gut didn’t like her from the beginning and you could see the tension just build and build. From the articles, she wasn’t picked by him for the show. Bill and Levy were his guys and she was dropped on him.
The NYSun guy sort of got it right on Rachel. He could see it but I don’t agree with most of the article.
http://www.nysun.com/article/54478?page_no=2
Comment by Lurker — June 1, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
The fact that she says she’s going to stay clear of any mudslinging implies that there is mud to sling. And note the absence of the Fox “We wish her well,” comment. I’m thinking this hasn’t played out yet. We’ll see.
Comment by daubermaus — June 1, 2007 @ 7:00 pm
Lurker: My all time favorite “Red Eye” guest was comedianne Judy Gold. In addition to being hilarious, she was also jumping all over Shulz.
I’d still love to see Samantha Judge permanently get Rachel’s chair.
Comment by Ira — June 1, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
I don’t think there’s really any argument here. The show changed; part of the evolutionwas RM moving on. End of story.
Comment by erljr — June 1, 2007 @ 8:23 pm
Actually, OverHere, whatever I have “revealed” is what I want you to know, or believe. ;)
There was no need for the long, analytical rationalization - I just thought it was funny that right after asking me to reveal more about myself, you turned down a request for the same from someone else.
What can I say? I’m easily amused! :-)
Comment by Amused — June 2, 2007 @ 9:08 am
Amused, you’ve revealed quite a bit about yourself, whether you choose to admit that or not. It was a simple request which had nothing to do with Missy’s request of me. That’s all. But please, come back to defend yourself again.
Comment by OverHere — June 2, 2007 @ 7:02 pm
I’m a faithful viewer of Red Eye (on west coast). Even gave up Jay Leno’s monologue in favor of Red Eye! Since no subject is “off limits” (supposedly), I wish they would discuss the departure of Rachel Marsden. Also, Mike Baker should become a regular–(I just like looking at him!) IlogufaT
Comment by Diane — June 4, 2007 @ 12:05 pm