John Gibson (media host)

Infobox actor
name = John Gibson


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birthname = John David Gibson
birthdate = birth date and age|1946|7|25
birthplace = Los Angeles, California
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occupation = talk show host
yearsactive = 1969 – present
spouse = Susan McHugh (February 3, 1979 - present)
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children = 1
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John David Gibson (born July 25, 1946) is an American conservative radio talk show host. As of September 2008, he hosts the syndicated radio program "The John Gibson Show" on Fox News Radio. John formerly was the co-host of the weekday edition of "The Big Story" on the Fox News television channel.

Early career

Gibson earned a BA from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. He began his reporting career with "The Hollywood Reporter" (1969-1972) and worked for Atlantic Records (1972-1974). Gibson worked for KFWB-AM (1974-1975) and KEYT-TV (1975-1977). At KCRA, he was a feature reporter on the "Weeknight" magazine show (1977-1979) and San Francisco bureau chief (1979-1989)."John Gibson Named Anchor For Daytime Programming on MSNBC Cable", PR Newswire, April 30, 1996]

Beginning in 1992, Gibson worked as an NBC News correspondent in Burbank, California. In 1994, he became the first West coast correspondent for NBC News Channel. He covered the O.J. Simpson trial for NBC News Channel and "Rivera Live" on CNBC.cite web|title=John Gibson - Bio|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,1240,00.html|publisher=Fox News|date=2007-09-14|accessdate=2008-01-31] In 1996 he was named anchor for daytime programming on MSNBC.

Career with Fox News

Gibson joined the Fox News Channel in September 2000 as the host of its news program "The Big Story". He also wrote the "New York Times" bestselling books "" and "The War on Christmas".

On March 12, 2008, Fox News Channel announced that they would be replacing "The Big Story" with a program more directly geared toward following the 2008 U.S. presidential election [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/arts/12arts-FOXVOTESOUTT_BRF.html?ref=arts "Fox Votes Out the Big Story"] , "New York Times", 2008-03-12. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.]

Controversies

Cleveland school shooting

Following the 2007 SuccessTech Academy shooting in Cleveland, Ohio, on his radio show Gibson commented "I knew the shooter was white. I knew he would have shot himself. Hip-hoppers don't do that. They shoot and move on to shoot again. And I could tell right away because he killed himself. Black shooters don't do that. They shoot and move on." ["The John Gibson Show", October 10, 2007]

Gibson's comments were heavily criticized by colleagues in the media. Keith Olbermann of MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" called Gibson a racist, ["Countdown", MSNBC, October 11, 2007] Rick Sanchez of CNN called the comments "outrageous" and said Gibson "has some explaining to do", ["Out in the Open", CNN, October 13, 2007] Dan Abrams of MSNBC's "Live with Dan Abrams" said Gibson was "out of line", ["Live with Dan Abrams", MSBNC, October 11, 2007] and Media Matters for America criticized him as well. [ [http://mediamatters.org/items/200710110004 "Gibson knew school shooter was white because "black shooters don't" shoot themselves; "they shoot and move on""] , Media Matters for America, October 11, 2007] [ [http://mediamatters.org/items/200710120008 "Gibson defended his comments about race of school shooter, attacked "Soros-backed" Media Matters"] , Media Matters for America, October 12, 2007]

"Following the wrong religion"

During a November 17, 2005 appearance on the radio program "Janet Parshall's America", Gibson said "Minorities ought to have the same sense of tolerance about the majority religion -- Christianity -- that they've been granted about their religions over the years." [http://mediamatters.org/items/200512010018 Media Matters - "Fox's Gibson: Christians tolerate those who are "following the wrong religion ... as long as they're civil and behave""] ] A few minutes later in the same interview, he said "I would think if somebody is going to be -- have to answer for following the wrong religion, they're not going to have to answer to me. We know who they're going to have to answer to." Gibson's comments were criticized by Frank Rich of the "New York Times" [Frank Rich, "I Saw Jackie Mason Kissing Santa Claus", "New York Times", December 25, 2005] , Keith Olbermann (who dubbed him that day's "Worst Person in the World") ["Countdown with Keith Olbermann, MSNBC, December 2, 2005] , and Media Matters for America.

Gibson charged that Olbermann had "repeated a misquote to justify saying some truly disgusting things about me." ["The Big Story with John Gibson", Fox News, December 23, 2005] [http://mediamatters.org/items/200601030002?f=s_search Media Matters - CNN's Reliable Sources cited Media Matters item in noting "nasty spat" between Olbermann and Gibson over Fox host's comment about those who "have to answer for following the wrong religion"] ] "Reliable Sources", CNN, January 1, 2006] Olbermann responded "The audio clip is the definitive answer, and I would hope John would have the self- respect to acknowledge what he said and to leave the airwaves for good, because between the remark and the denial, he has, sadly, forfeited his right to stay here." ["Countdown with Keith Olbermann, MSNBC, December 27, 2005]

Gibson vs. the BBC

Gibson claims that the British Broadcasting Corporation is anti-American, accusing the BBC of having "a frothing-at-the-mouth anti-Americanism that was obsessive, irrational and dishonest". [ [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds14717.html Television - News - Ofcom criticises Fox News Channel - Digital Spy ] ] [ [http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/paper410/news/2005/12/09/Opinion/Fox-News.Bastion.Of.Irrationality-1126132.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailytexanonline.com The Daily Texan ] ] He also claimed that reporter Andrew Gilligan, who was covering the 2003 Iraq War for BBC Radio 4 in Baghdad, had, "insisted on air that the Iraqi Army was heroically repulsing an incompetent American military". [" [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,109821,00.html Liar, liar] ". Editorial by John Gibson., published on FOXNews.com on January 29 2004.]

Gibson's criticisms were rejected by "Ofcom" when it investigated viewer complaints of Gibson's item. [ [http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/obb/prog_cb/pcb_11/upheld_cases Standards Cases - Upheld Cases - The Big Story: My Word] - Published in Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin Number 11 on June 14 2004.]

Heath Ledger

On January 23, 2008 following the announcement of the death of actor Heath Ledger from a prescription drug overdose, Gibson opened his show with funeral music and used an audio quote of Jake Gyllenhaal saying the line "I wish I knew how to quit you", taken from the movie "Brokeback Mountain", and commented "Well, he found out how to quit "you"!" Laughing, Gibson then played another clip from "Brokeback Mountain" in which Ledger said, “We’re dead,” followed by his own, mocking “We’re dead” before playing the clip again. Throughout the course of the show, Gibson continued to bring up Ledger's death, jokingly claiming that current events may have caused him to commit suicide, suggesting that Ledger killed himself because he had "a serious position in the (stock) market" or perhaps "watched the Clinton-Obama debate last night. I think he was an Edwards guy, cause he saw his Edwards guy was just completely irrelevant." [ [http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/23/gibson-mocks-ledger/ John Gibson Mocks ‘Weirdo’ Heath Ledger’s Death: ‘He Found Out How To Quit You’] , Think Progress, 2008-01-23] . He also referred to Ledger as "a weirdo" with a "serious drug abuse problem". [ thinkprogress.org/2008/01/23/gibson-mocks-ledger] The episode provoked a wave of severe criticism. Several media sources called for Gibson to be fired, including the Catholic "America Magazine", which called his comments "hateful". On MSNBC's "Morning Joe", hosts Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough and Willie Geist expressed disgust at Gibson's remarks. Scarborough commented "This is about as callous and harsh as anything I've heard. It is unspeakably rude. I don’t know who syndicates this guy, but that is absolutely stunning, that John Gibson would be that mean-spirited and hateful". Brzezinski stated that "I've got to tell you, that makes me nauseous...I don't know how you stay on the air after doing something like that, quite frankly". On his January 24, 2008 radio show John Gibson responded to widespread criticism of his comments, saying that it was “a little "Brokeback Mountain" joke” and there is “no point in passing up a good joke.” Gibson defended his comments by claiming that “for months and months and months,” his show has consistently made fun of the line, “I wish I knew how to quit you” from "Brokeback Mountain". “I’m not giving that up,” said Gibson. On the same day, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation denounced Gibson's behavior and released a statement:

“Gibson’s remarks are vulgar and disgusting,” said Rashad Robinson, GLAAD’s Senior Director of Media Programs. “It’s sickening that Gibson would exploit Heath Ledger’s tragic death to promote such hurtful intolerance. And to do so at a time when family and friends are grieving shows a level of insensitivity that is beyond the pale.”

On the January 25, 2008, edition of "Big Story" on the Fox News Channel, Gibson attempted to make amends by issuing a statement during the "My Word" segment. In the statement, Gibson said, "I am sorry to those who found my remarks to be offensive," and also stated that he was "sorry that Heath Ledger was no longer with us". The Hollywood Gossip (who reported the statement), criticized the "apology", calling Gibson a "fraud" and insinuated that he was being disingenuous. [www.thehollywoodgossip.com/categories/heath-ledger/page/2]

"Make more babies"

On "The Big Story" on May 11, 2006, Gibson responded to a "Washington Post" story which noted that the US Census reported "Nearly half of the nation's children under five are racial or ethnic minorities, and the percentage is increasing mainly because the Hispanic population is growing so rapidly". [D'Vera Cohn and Tara Bahrampour, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/09/AR2006050901841.html "Of U.S. Children Under 5, Nearly Half Are Minorities: Hispanic Growth Fuels Rise, Census Says"] , "Washington Post", May 10, 2006] Gibson instructed viewers: "Do your duty. Make more babies... half of the kids in this country under five years old are minorities. By far the greatest number are Hispanic. You know what that means? Twenty-five years and the majority of the population is Hispanic. Why is that? Well, the Hispanics are having more kids than others. Notably the ones Hispanics call gabachos, white people, are having fewer." ["The Big Story with John Gibson", Fox News, May 11, 2006]

"Time" magazine's Massimo Calabresi wrote that Gibson's interpretation of the census data was "wildly wrong". [Massimo Calabresi, [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1195250,00.html "Is Racism Fueling the Immigration Debate?"] , "Time", May 17, 2006] Gibson's remarks were criticized by Keith Olbermann ["Countdown", MSNBC, May 12, 2006] and Media Matters for America, [ [http://mediamatters.org/items/200605120006 "Gibson: "Make more babies" because in "twenty-five years ... the majority of the population is Hispanic""] , Media Matters for America, May 12, 2006] which later named his remark one of the top 11 "Most outrageous comments of 2006". [ [http://mediamatters.org/items/200612220013 "Most outrageous comments of 2006] ", Media Matters for America, December 22, 2006]

Books

* Gibson, John. "The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought". (Sentinel, 2005). ISBN 1-59523-016-5.
* Gibson, John (2004). "". (ReganBooks, 2004) ISBN 0-06-058010-0.

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.johngibson.com John Gibson's official website]
* [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,1240,00.html Fox News biography]
* [http://dir.salon.com/topics/john_gibson/ Stories on John Gibson] from Salon.com
* [http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/tags/john_gibson Stories on John Gibson] from Media Matters for America
* [http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2863 "He's Being as Hateful as He Can: Why can't John Gibson make the big time at Fox?"] , Peter Hart, "Extra!", Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, September/October 2005