As any journalist knows, you keep your political opinions to yourself.
No yard signs. No endorsements. And, as local TV anchor Ted Perry found out this week, no partisan Facebook posts.
Perry, long the anchor at WITI-TV (Channel 6), posted an item on his personal Facebook page about the death this week of "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek. But Perry decided to add a little political twist to make his point.
"2020 takes Alex Trebek but leaves Mitch McConnell? Just end already," Perry wrote.
Of course, Mitch McConnell is the Republican leader of the U.S. Senate. He just won another six-year term earlier this month.
McConnell is disliked by Democrats for any number of reasons, including his effort to hold up a stimulus bill even while pushing through confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett in an election year.
No matter. Perry's tasteless joke crossed a line, and conservatives and dozens of people on Facebook and Twitter let him know it.
"Fox 6's Ted Perry bemoans that Mitch McConnell didn't die but Alex Trebek did," wrote conservative talk show host Mark Belling.
"Wow," wrote one Facebook critic. "I guess we know his bias."
Said another, "He should be an ex-anchor if he really said this."
Not long after, Perry took down the post and apologized. He did not appear on Monday night's news.
"I made a statement on my personal Facebook page that was insensitive and does not reflect my journalist values and I was not speaking on behalf of my employer," Perry wrote on Facebook. "I deeply apologize for my inappropriate and outrageous comments and have deleted them accordingly."
Interestingly, several conservatives said Perry had paid the price for his highly questionable post and shouldn't lose his job.
James Wigderson, editor of the conservative website Right Wisconsin, noted Perry's long history of community service.
He also said conservatives shouldn't be in the business of "cancel culture," the practice of pulling support for someone who expresses an inappropriate opinion. He noted all those openly joking about the death of 78-year-old President-elect Joe Biden.
Besides, Wigderson said he doubted McConnell cared what Perry said about him.
"So let’s save our collective social media outrage for something really important, like whether boneless wings are better than bone-in wings or if you can put ketchup on a hot dog," Wigderson concluded.
Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.
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The Link LonkNovember 12, 2020 at 01:15AM
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Bice: Fox 6 anchor Ted Perry apologizes for joking about the death of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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