Hey, remember when the Rams bailed on St. Louis to head back to Los Angeles? St. Louis FOX affiliate KTVI does, and they made their feelings known during their coverage of Rams COO Kevin Demoff’s press conference regarding the removal of Jeff Fisher:
Nice job @FOX2now #FishFry #LARams @RamsNFL #losers pic.twitter.com/If56xFCXXx
— nehville13 (@nehville13) December 13, 2016
Professional liar! It’s almost too good to be true, but it’s absolutely what FOX 2 went with, as confirmed by various other tweets.
And with this, @FOX2now's graphics department wins the 2016 Local TV News Emmy Award. #Rams #30For30 pic.twitter.com/0PfGmzVDNR
— Tim McKernan (@tmckernan) December 13, 2016
Well played @FOX2now. My new favorite station. @RamsNFL #Rams #lovethis pic.twitter.com/tXqCoy6BkY
— Jennifer Workes (@jworkes) December 13, 2016
It was a very well-received editorial decision:
pure brilliance
— Ryan McQueen? (@RYAN_C_M) December 13, 2016
@Shields3L I could not love this more ! Thank you @FOX2now
— Shawn (@dasenor2427) December 13, 2016
— Ellis Codjoe (@Ellis1462) December 13, 2016
Demoff is viewed as having deceived season-ticket holders in St. Louis while working towards an eventual move to Los Angeles, if you’re wondering where the criticism comes from. This sort of local roasting is not without precedent; for example, in 2009 a Detroit affiliate ran a disclaimer during Matt Millen appearances noting his lengthy history of failures with the Lions.
But that was just on-field failure. Millen didn’t move the Lions across the country. The coverage here is also an interesting element; how long are local stations obligated to continue covering a franchise that leaves town? There must still be some local interest, but at the same time there’s likely plenty of local animosity. That’s a tough line for local news to walk, and this is a fairly effective method of doing so.
The Rams are 4-9.
[Photo credit: @nehville13]
