Maricopa County SWAT Team Thrills Awful Fox News Reporter

Look through the eyes of the sheriff's SWAT team" is brought to you by Fox News 10 out of Phoenix. And brought to you by reporter Troy Hayden, who goes on a "first of its kind training mission" with the team as they go drug cartel hunting. 

Also there's electric guitar. In case you, the viewer, missed the tone that Fox was going for.

People hate on national journalists, such as the often-toothless White House Press Corps. But is there any alleged journalism worse than this — this bottom of the barrel, local puffery of not inane or cute stories, but serious state actions with serious policy consequences? And the reporter is treating it like an adventure and nothing else.

There is no questioning of tactics, no distance from official policy, no semblance of objectivity even, coming from Fox News 10. Only 3 minutes and 13 seconds of breathless praise of police who look like soldiers; police who work under the vile, xenophobic mini-tyrant Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Police who fight cartels are police who also fight cock fighters, and who always, always, keep fighting the drug war, no matter how non-violent the criminal. Because that's, I guess, what police in Maricopa do to kill time when they're not staging immigration raids.

This report isn't even sycophantic, it's not even offensive in a Walter Duranty covering up evil on purpose sort of a way. It's just yee-ha! gleeful. It is the journalistic equivalent of a six-year-old making light saber battle sounds with his mouth. Hayden expresses only delight for the fancy cop toys (like a Blackhawk Helicopter) and catching bad guys is just like, we must assume, games Hayden played as a boy. And is still playing. Because he's definitely not reporting here.

Reason on the militarization of police, on Joe Arpaio, and previously gleeful local news coverage (this time in Washington state) towards the action-movie sexiness of SWAT.