ABC's Overnight Anchor Jokes About a ‘Skinny Death Match' Between Paris Hilton and Ann Coulter

NewsBusters ^ | 6/28/2007 | Matthew Balan

[Pyro7480]

ABC's "World News Now," a news program that airs at 3:30 am Eastern, when most people in the U.S. are fast asleep, replayed Jake Tapper's earlier "World News" report on the war of words between Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Democrat presidential candidate John Edwards, and Ann Coulter during its broadcast on Thursday.

At the conclusion of the report, hosts Taina Hernandez and Ryan Owens had a brief exchange, in which Owens proposed an "Ann Coulter blackout," similar to a "Paris Hilton blackout" that the program apparently has, and Hernandez, as a counterproposal, joked, "Or we can pit them together in some kind of skinny death match." At the end of Owens and Hernandez's exchange, and as the weather report began, someone in the control room at ABC queued-up Elton John's "The B**ch is Back."

Video (1:11): Real (1.93 MB) or Windows Media (2.18 MB), plus MP3 audio (463 kB).

I guess ABC News isn't above the "politics of hate," or to paraphrase Elizabeth Edwards' words to Ann Coulter, "the debasing of political dialogue."

Below is the transcript of the Hernandez-Owens exchange on Thursday morning's "World News Now:"

RYAN OWENS: "Ok. I have an idea."

TAINA HERNANDEZ: "Ok?"

OWENS: "You know how we have a Paris Hilton blackout? "

HERNANDEZ: (Laughs) "Yes?"

OWENS: "How about an Ann Coulter blackout?"

HERNANDEZ: "Ah, no Coulter cash for us."

OWENS: "No."

HERNANDEZ: "No. All right. Or we can pit them together in some kind of skinny death match?"

OWENS: "Skinny death match?"

(Unidentified person off-camera) "Or go to jail together."

OWENS: "Here's your weather."

HERNANDEZ: "Or go to jail together. That's Peter. Here's your weather."

[Hat-tip to FreeRepublic.com poster L.N. Smithee's thread.]

[RonDog]

See also THIS thread:

That was no lady - that was my husband [ANN COULTER responds to Elizabeth Edwards]
	Posted by Dan Evans On News/Activism 06/28/2007 1:23:15 PM PDT · 49 replies · 1,755+ views WND ^ | 6/28/2007 | Ann Coulter

[Fawn]

Ann was supposed to be interviewed by her local radio station. She canceled on them Wed and then again on thurs. They were advertising she would be on.
Now they are advertising that she was the one who canceled on them....(and were not happy about it).
This is WIOD--the famous station where the commissioner wanted to stop hurricane announcements. I'm surprised at Ann.

[herMANroberts]

Lighten up! It’s a funny idea. Or a pie eating contest.

[herMANroberts]

Moore vs Rosie. Now that’s another good one. We’re building a PPV card I would enjoy.

[real saxophonist]

I sent both threads to them, and demanded they make fun of Michael Moore and Bill Maher, in the interest of equal time.

8~)

[L.N. Smithee]

Nice going...but I taped this morning’s broadcast, and it should be noted that while Taina apologized for having earlier in the broadcast calling people in line waiting to buy iPhones “suckers” and Ryan apologized in advance for saying golf wasn’t worth his time, they said nothing either Thursday morning or this morning making amends for their sneers about Coulter or “The Bitch is Back.”

[real saxophonist]

Well, we’re still friends.