Geraldo rescues a woman and her dog... in TWO TAKES for TV. (Salon)

[VolcanoJen]

While I admire much of the work Geraldo did last week in getting the horrible story of the NOLA Convention Center and bridge out to the public, I did find this Salon article tidbit to be interesting...

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/09/05/cityinruins/index.html

From the article, "A City in Ruins" by Stephen Elliott.

Geraldo Rivera arrives in a Fox News truck. An elderly woman with blond hair grips his elbow. She's wearing thick dark glasses and a pink shirt. He carries her small white dog in his arms. He's wearing thigh-high waders unzipped to below his knees. We shake hands. "Her relative called one of our stations," Geraldo tells me, explaining how that call went to another station, and then another, and finally to him.

The woman had been stranded in her home for six days. Geraldo picked up the woman and her dog and brought them here. The woman looks frail on his arm, though not as bad perhaps as a lady collapsed on a chair nearby, unable to move. Or a woman in a wheelchair being lifted from the truck, carrying her prosthetic leg on her lap.

"That's the second time he brought her here," one of the doctors tells me, nodding toward Geraldo.

"What?"

"They did two takes. Geraldo made that poor woman walk from the Fox News van to the heliport twice. Both times carrying her dog."

"Are you serious?" I ask. He says he is.

[Tyranny_R_US]

1. Ah he's still an asshole!

[VolcanoJen]

7. Yes, I think we can probably let go of our temporary affection...

... for Geraldo. :-)

[Imagevision]

21. ONLY FROM FOX CAN YOU EXPECT THIS SH*T!!

[Warren DeMontague]

2. "they did two takes"

:eyes:

Hey, you know, business is business, particularly SHOW business, baby!

[TahitiNut]

3. Watch "Broadcast News" ... it was once regarded as unethical.

It's "staged" ... and typical of Faux.

[VolcanoJen]

5. Well, times have changed a bit, haven't they?

I loved that movie. Still do.

:hug: Hi TahitiNut! :hug:

[jane_pippin]

23. My thoughts exactly.

"Tom, while being a very nice man, is the devil."

(I will give due credit to old Geraldo for the good his broadcast may have done, though knowing part of it was staged makes me more than a little sick. Oh Albert Brooks, you were so prophetic.)

[TahitiNut]

26. (grin) Holly Hunter did really good work in that movie.

I love the way they 'introduce' the 3 major characters as kids. It's so true to life, in my experience.

[Drewskie]

4. he's about as genuine as the rest of fox then... (nt)

[Pepper32]

6. Well, that's Faux News situation ethics for you. (nt)

[MadeinOhio]

8. He can do that but Bush can't rescue even one sick child or dog?

His image is toasted. A politician who can't do ANYTHING right, except try to blame others. Lets make sure he's tarred for life. :grr:

[Tyranny_R_US]

9. You bring up a valid point why must his image get trashed....

for this yet Bush gets praises and hugs for SITTING on his ASS?

[gauguin57]

10. Last night I watched him "rescue" a woman from a house in the dry zone ..

... this woman's house had not one drop of water around it. But he made this grand gesture of "rescuing" her, with all this soaring elevator music playing in the background. Now, she was older, and may have had no other way out. But Geraldo was acting like he was plucking her off her roof from a helicopter, or something, when he actually just walked up to her house, put her in a car, took her to a helipad, and helped a burly National Guardsman put her in the helicopter. *soaring music swells to crecendo"

It was total bullshit. Al Capone's vault, to the 10th power.

[VolcanoJen]

12. Al Capone's vault!! LMAO

Is the photo in my original post the same woman in the report you saw?

If not... I wonder how many takes Geraldo ordered for the woman you saw, before he decided it was dramatic enough, and caught his good side...

[gatorboy]

11. Aaarrghh!!!

Welp...He had me fooled. :P

[SlowDownFast]

13. Why does this not surprise me. This needs to get out.

email this Salon story to other media. Geraldo needs to be humiliated for this.

[Emit]

14. I watched this whole thing on Fox last night

I almost vomited. The whole thing was sickening. While this lady obviously needed assistance to evacuate, the manner in which the 'story' was presented was enough to make any one of us in the reality based community gag.

In a very staged and exaggerated manner, Geraldo was giving a blow by blow account, gushing about her dog, repeating the 'miracle' of her calling out on an old-time telephone despite the fact that the electricity was out, and her reaching the FOX news station. I can't even begin describe the anger I felt at the obvious candy coating and staging of the whole event. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if they hadn't have planned it all in advance prior to 'rescuing her'. She was definitely being used.

Admist all of the horrific pics we've seen on tv unfold before our eyes, reading all of the chaotic and unconscionable accounts to date, there remains a horrific disconnect between the reality and the final scene where the woman is shown being gingerly escorted onto a plane or chopper by another worker and Geraldo, arm in arm, with the pooch on a leash, all with such pampering, while death and decay befall others. If only others had been treated with such dignity and respect, perhaps I might have been a bit touched by it all. Unfortunately, while my heart is with all of these victims, including this fine, elderly lady, it seems she got the red carpet treatment for the benefit of ratings.

It was really very difficult to sit through, but I forced myself to watch. Geraldo, you suck. You spoke truth to power a few nights ago, but whatever happened the day after, and the day after that...you musta' drank the kool aid again.

[rodeodance]

15. his ego was always big and this situation just builds it up again.

[VolcanoJen]

16. Wow, Emit

Thanks for that account... so the whole thing seemed fakey even on first glance, eh?

[Emit]

28. Yes. From the get go. n/t

[NNN0LHI]

17. Kick,,,for a second take n/t

[VolcanoJen]

18. Cute.

;-)

[mzmolly]

19. O.M.G - thi s is the epitomy of Geraldo. I am thankful for his outrage,

but this is why he's such a baffoon.

[txindy]

20. Ah, the real Geraldo is back

Good, the phony drama queen act of his wasn't all that believable, anyway. Shepard Smith, I believe. For Pete's sake, I even believe David Brooks' anger. But, Geraldo? Puh-leaze. Drama queen. Ratings wh@re. He saw the reactions Smith was getting and jumped on that bandwagon. The shill.

[gratuitous]

22. Geraldo's predicted response

Hey, they staged the flag-raising on Mt. Suribachi twice!

The first time:



The second time:



And we all know that Geraldo is far more interesting and important than any of that ancient history. You're lucky he didn't do three takes.

[BooScout]

24. He's such a twit.....

I can't stand him.........he makes me want to barf everytime he talks about "serving" in Iraq and Afghanistan with the troops. I'd like to serve him a dose of humility.

[VolcanoJen]

25. When did he claim to "serve" with the troops?

Seriously??? :banghead:

[walldude]

27. I said it the other day

he did a good job from the NOCC.. I'll go back to hating him tommorow. He didn't dissapoint.

[bleedingheart]

29. Oh Jerry Rivers....you are such a camera ham...

[Beaverhausen]

30. Keith Olbermann busted him last night...Geraldo won WORST person/day

[VolcanoJen]

31. I saw that and couldn't have been more pleased!

Rush Limbaugh had it locked up, until Geraldo did his second take. :-)

[Beaverhausen]

32. I loved his comment about Rush "finding a new doctor"

Keith rocks!!!

[NNN0LHI]

33. I like this story. Kick n/t