Griff Jenkins is the new quirky young media figure to be celebrated. Everybody rally for him now! He's pretty young, he wears sort of hipster-ish black frame glasses, and he's not afraid to take on quirky assignments like reporting live wearing only a Speedo (LOL), or inciting riots. The only thing is he works for Fox News. But he's totally not that kind of Fox News guy! When all the famous TV personalities rushed down South to cover Hurrican Gustav, who was left to cover the anarchist protests at the Republican convention? Our friend Griff! And you can't say he didn't do it quirkily:
The crew crested a hill. There, they came upon a hipster marching band. Mr. Jenkins flipped on his microphone. "Who are you guys?" said Mr. Jenkins. "What are you protesting?" A tuba player looked at the Fox News microphone and shook her head. A snare drummer for the Rude Mechanical Orchestra sidled up to Mr. Jenkins and drowned out his questions. The band's standard-bearer draped a flag in front of the camera. Mr. Jenkins walked away. "Those antics show that they're not serious," he said.
Actually Griff spent most of his time at the convention getting cussed out by protesters. And occasionally connecting with them on a personal level!
A couple of post-collegiate kids approached and apologized on behalf of the knuckle-draggers in the crowd. One of the guys was wearing a surf shirt. Mr. Jenkins pulled out his BlackBerry and showed the kid a photograph of a man surfing mid-wave. "That's me in Costa Rica," said Mr. Jenkins. Everyone looked baffled.
At least he seemed to put up well with being followed around by the Observer and CJR on the same day while was trying to report. You'll have a Facebook fan club before you know it Griff, you cornball. [NYO]