Geraldo Rivera ducks to avoid sniper shots while taping war report in Afghanistan

AP ^ | 12-06-01

[Oldeconomybuyer]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Fox News Channel correspondent Geraldo Rivera had a close call in Afghanistan on Thursday, ducking to avoid sniper fire that came so close the sound of the bullets was picked up by his crew's microphones, a spokesman said.

[weikel]

Hes been doin a good job as a war correspondent.

[Calvin Locke]

Not that strays aren't dangerous ...

Isn't there a saying "Don't worry about the bullet with your name on it, worry about the one addressed 'To whom it may concern'"? Or the one marked 'Occupant'?

We should be so lucky with Jerry.

[Flint]

If a sniper was shooting at Geraldo and company there would not be anything about the rounds being close enough for the crew to hear them. A sniper may miss but he doesn't miss by much or he isn't a sniper. Geraldo and companies ears would be ringing if the rounds were anywhere near close enough to do any dammage.

I have seen those Taliban clowns hideing behind a wall and holding a full auto rifle over the top of the wall with one hand and pull the trigger. The rounds would go in the general direction that the rifle is facing but if they hit anything it would be pure bad luck on the part of who got hit.

As usual Geraldo is full of crap.

[VOA]

Geraldo Rivera ducks to avoid sniper shots while taping war report in Afghanistan

Looks like MSNBC may have dispatched a special operative to make sure Geraldo never
spills the beans on left-wing bias in the media, a la Bernard Goldberg (I think that
he's the guy who's got CBS in a twit, isn't it he?).

[Flint]

Rivera has suggested he would try to kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden if they ever met face to face.

Ya know this makes Geraldo a combatant. He better be hopeing that we win, cause if we loose he'll be treated like any other combatant. In fact it makes him a very, very big target for Bin Laden. I can just see the smile on Osamas face if one of his men wacks Geraldo.

[ahariail]

Rivera has suggested he would try to kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden if they ever met face to face.

Regardless of what you think of Gerry, can you imagine hearing any reporter say something like that on any other network?

A pro-American network. What's the world coming to?

[steve-b]

Now, now, now. It's possible that he was visited by the Ghosts of Journalism Past, Present, and Yet to Come, or something.

[GreyWolf]

You hit it out of the park...and when you realize that his brother is producing this crap, you know it's the same old Whorealdo who kissed up to the Clintons for eight years.

[DWSUWF]

"...Now, now, now. It's possible that he was visited by the Ghosts of Journalism Past, Present, and Yet to Come, or something..."

LOL!

Could it be???

Nyahhh.

[Buckwheats]

That rock damn near hit Jerry in the head. LOL....what a dork. It's all about me, me, me, me ,em, ek, ukk, ark, argh.

[StayoutdaBushesWay]

I agree with you, it's refreshing to see some live reports from the frontlines. Whether or not you like Geraldo I have to admire what he's done so far.
A thought also came to mind today too, not only will Geraldo get recognition but can you imagine the publicity that is coming out of this for Fox News? I think Geraldo being over there and being part of Fox is a good thing, unless it is ever discovered that Geraldo staged that today if he did.

[Buckwheats]

And Sean Hannity just lost all credibility when he pumped up the ludicrous ducking joke that is Whorealdo. Just goes to prove that money changes everything.

[pt17]

Rivera is a goofy, wimpy poseur.

Having personally seen this guy up close, I'd say you're right. You folks who think he's great probably haven't met him and should consider the possibility he's more a showman than a reporter.

[motzman]

Back in 1998, when I worked for CNBC, I was in an elevator with Geraldo for a short time...just him and I. He's much smaller than you'd think, and much older-looking in real life. This was during the scandal, but pre-impeachment. I hated this guy; 99.99% of my being wanted to beat the snot out of him. But it was a short elevator trip, only 3 floors. We didn't speak; he didn't know me as I was working for the Wall Street Journal Report (down the hall from "Geraldo Lies") while in-between "real" jobs. As the elevator opened he turned to me and said "Hey, have a great day"

"Thanks, you too" I replied.

I thought about this "meeting" over and over again, and how much I despised this jerk during the next few years.

However, I must say that I'm very impressed with his reporting in Ashcanistan; he's doing a great job. Let's see what happens when this is all over. I'm willing to give him a chance.


Oh, BTW, I was there when that other slug, Charles Gronin', got canned. He was in the next office. After the whole thing went down and he left, I took his chair, sprayed it down with Lysol, and claimed it for my own. I did have a brief conversation wiht him once; we talked about the Mets. He was wearing a Mets cap that was having a little trouble staying put on top of his rug. He actually made me laugh, and didn't talk to me like I was some peon.

[Revolting cat!]

I was thinking over lunch about this episode during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco, when the day after it happened Dan Blather was posing in front of the collapsed freeway across the Bay in Oakland, unshaven and dressed in a cammo jacket. At that very moment there were people stil alive buried in the rubble behind him. A few feet off camera, and really it was just few feet so Danny boy wouldn't exert himself too much walking to his mark, was parked a long black limo with champagne and trays of fruit and cheese clearly visible to the observers on the scene. This, incidentally, was reported by a local humour/gossip columnist named Herb Caen before the anyone else in the media (probably conservative press, as i recall) picked it up.

So what was the news, you ask? The earthquake happened the day before, so it couldn't be news any more. The news was people dying on the collapsed freeway while a pampered millionaire actor playing a reporter was posing and making faces for the camera in between sips of Dom Perignon. That was the complete story.

Today, news isn't likely to be happening where Whorealdo is standing at the very moment he is reporting. And if it is, why is he in the picture? Point the camera at it, shoot and have a nameless narrator give us some background as necessary. But news isn't happening right there and right then as the camera's running, so Whorealdo, creative actor that he is, pretends it is happening - snipers, bullets, cut, cut, Jerry you missed your cue, let's take it from the top boys.

[DWSUWF]

"...he's more a showman than a reporter...

That's right.

'Reporting' to Geraldo is only one of the parts of his schtick, his little stand-up 'routine'.

Every performer has a persona, a 'legend'.

Geraldo affects being the cocky, street smart, tough little half Jewish, half Hispanic kid who had to scrap and fight for everything he ever had.

In reality, he's a pampered, whining little wimp who's had everything handed to him on a platter, who couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag.

The village idiot remarks attributed to Geraldo regarding killing Osama with his 'piece' reminds me of the moronic schoolyard boasts he made several years back about his seduction of that trainload of women he's supposedly bedded...

Pure, unadulterated BS, spoken by a fool who fights like a girl. (if you can get him cornered)

[pt17]

Let's see what happens when this is all over. I'm willing to give him a chance

That's probably a good attitude to have and I commend you for it. My encounter with the guy was less cordial than yours and, having watched him in a bounded situation, left the strong impression I previously stated.

[motzman]

My encounter with the guy was less cordial than yours and...

I can see where that could happen. I was wearing my CNBC badge; he probably thought I was another sychophant...

[JCH]

I saw the report this morning and found it interesting that camera guy didn't hit the dirt.

After an initial flinch he just kept filming . . . presumably in full stand-up mode and presenting a great target to the sniper.

O'Riley is gonna have more footage with Geraldo being shot at in a cave.

Should be interesting to watch this one.