Elizabeth Trotta (born 28 March 1937) is an American journalist and conservative commentator.
Biography[edit]
Trotta was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Her parents, Gaetano "Thomas" Trotta, a successful pharmacist, and Lillian Theresa Mazzacane, were both Catholics who had emigrated from Italy.[1] Trotta also had a sister, Mary L. Juba, who died in 2002.
Trotta is a Fox News contributor and the former New York bureau chief of The Washington Times.[2] She began her career in 1965, covering the Vietnam War as a correspondent for NBC News and later working for CBS News.[3] Trotta has taught journalism at Stern College of Yeshiva University. She has won three Emmy awards and two Overseas Press Club awards, and is a graduate of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.[2] Trotta also holds a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from Boston University.
Controversy[edit]
On 25 May 2008, Trotta expressed on Fox News what some could claim as an apparent desire that presidential candidate Barack Obama be "knocked off" prior to the 2008 United States presidential election.[4][5][6] While speaking about Hillary Rodham Clinton's reference[7][8] to Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, Trotta said:
| “ | ... and now we have what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama. Um, uh, Obama. Well, both, if we could.[9] | ” |
Trotta apologized the next day.[10] A petition demanding that Trotta be fired was soon up on Care2 gathering over 14,000 signatures.[11][12]
In October 2011, Liz Trotta mocked the participants in Occupy Wall Street for being “people who like good weather”, and who spout “the ravings of what sounds like the Unabomber.”[13]
In February 2012, she made remarks on Fox News suggesting that women in the military should not be surprised by the increase in sexual assaults by members of the army. In direct response to a Pentagon report that indicated a 64% increase in sexual assault in the military, Trotta said "Now, what did they expect?" She went on to say that women "have demanded too much money to fund [military] programs for sexual abuse victims".[14] Trotta responded to criticism of her comments the following week.[15]
References[edit]
- ^ Hoffman, Joyce (2008). On Their Own, p 243. Retrieved on 2009-07-06 from http://books.google.com/books?id=ZaQlHPGbntwC&lpg=PA243&ots=ozK15cdfgX&dq=Elizabeth%20Trotta%201937&pg=PA243.
- ^ a b "On Air Personalities – Liz Trotta". Fox News Channel. 2004-10-04. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ "Fighting for Air: In the Trenches with Television News.". The Washington Monthly. 1991-06-01. Retrieved 2008-05-26.[dead link]
- ^ "Fox News Contributor Jokes About Bumping Off Obama". Editor & Publisher. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ Rutenberg, Jim (2008-05-27). "Same Joke, More Regret". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- ^ BET.com - News You Should Know » A Call For Liz Trotta’s Job After On-Air ‘Joke’ About Obama Assassination
- ^ Collinson, Stephen (2008-05-24). "Clinton tries to move past Kennedy assassination comment". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ "What Does RFK's Assassination Have to Do with It?". YouTube. 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ "Media Frenzy". Fox News. 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ Michael Calderone's Blog: Fox analyst apologizes for Obama assassination joke - Politico.com
- ^ "Fox News Commentator Criticized for Remarks". OhmyNews. 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ "In the context of no-context". Los Angeles Times. 2008-05-31. Retrieved 2008-06-01.[dead link]
- ^ "Fox News’ Liz Trotta: Occupy Wall Street Message Is Like ‘The Ravings Of The Unabomber’", Mediaite, 2011-10-08
- ^ "Fox News' Liz Trotta On Women Raped In Military: 'What Did They Expect? These People Are In Close Contact' (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
- ^ Video on YouTube