Or whatever the broadcaster’s equivalent of a medal for suffering injury on the battlefield might be, a credit to his persevering in the face of adversity during a segment on the Fox 4 9 p.m. newscast last night.
It was an interview with a 4-year-old Plano boy (and his parents) who’s become a viral video sensation via YouTube thanks to a clip his dad made of him crying while listening to Christina Aguilera and A Great Big World’s song “Say Something.” It’s cute, and it’s been viewed more than 1.8 million times since it was posted January 29.
But who thought putting a young boy on the air live was a good idea? Steve Eagar futilely attempts to use a toy to occupy young Jackson Blitch’s attention while he questions the parents, but Jackson is far more interested in lying on his stomach at the back of the set for some reason. That’s after he grabbed the microphone and requested an opportunity to sing his ABCs on a newscast in the fifth-largest television market in the United States. Eagar seemed to be counting the excruciating seconds until he could pull the microphone away and take control of the interview.
He never quite succeeded, but he kept his cool anyway. For that, he deserves praise.