Ok, I REALLY have to disagree with FTV Live's (subscription) statement that Fox News "dropped the ball" with its on-air handling of the news that employees Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig have been kidnapped, writing:

Fox drops the ball on Kidnap story
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Newsrooms are always good at reporting the story until it involves one of their own.

Fox News is known for banging the "Fox News Alert" bell anytime they can.
But, yesterday, when their crew was kidnapped in Gaza, Fox News suddenly went silent.

The two kidnapped people were reporter Steve Centanni, a U.S. citizen, and a cameraman from New Zealand.

"It's always a tough line to walk," said one Fox News staffer to FTVLive.

Fox News VP John Moddy [TCG note: it's "Moody"] sent this email to the staff shortly after Fox found out their crew had been kidnapped:

The rumors are true: two of our employees have been abducted in Gaza. We will report this fact via our Israel correspondents. Do NOT do any other segments on it. Do not book guests on this topic. Do not comment officially and of course, not on the air, about it. DO pray for their release. I will keep you posted.

In other words the Fox Newsroom was told to mostly ignore the story. You know that would not be the case if say CBS's Lara Logan and a Photog were kidnapped. Fox would be all over the story and bringing in so called experts to weigh in on what would happen to the kidnapped crew?

Shortly after 6PM (hours after the crew was kidnapped) a check of the cable nets websites show that both CNN and MSNBC were reporting the kidnapping while Fox made no mention of it on their site...

...There is no question that when the story involves one of your own, it makes it much harder to cover, but Fox should treat this story just like they would if it did not involve them.

If John Q. Public was kidnapped, Fox News would be beating on the family's door trying to get information and reaction to the story. John Q. would not have the option of not letting the story get on the news. Fox should not use that option either.

When the news is about them, Fox decided to censor the story. And that is neither Fair or Balanced.

Fox News Dropped the ball on this one....

Now, to put it mildly, I am no genius/expert on kidnappings, hostage negotiations, international incidents etc. But having said that, I think it is incredibly obvious that the LAST thing you do when one of your own is kidnapped is to do a live play-by-play on the air of what have to be extraordinarily sensitive negotiations. To do so would endanger Steve and Olaf AND play right into the kidnappers' desire for publicity/positive reinforcement that they have indeed created an international incident. It is a NO BRAINER that the LAST thing you do, as a news channel, is make on-air hay from just about the most serious and sensitive situation that ever was. And I would put money on the bet that FNC is being advised/directed on strategy second by second by the FBI, CIA, NSA whatever, just as CNN and MSNBC would be similarly advised if God forbid this happened to one of their own. We are not dealing with news here. We are dealing with the most serious kind of crime and Fox News is doing the right thing by treating it accordingly.

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