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Volume 27, Issue 10, october 14, 2004

Opinion

Lights, cameras, FBI agent?

mugBryan Goodland
Columnist

Clichés’ become clichés by often being true and this case is no exception. Apparently, as the “cliché” goes, truth really is stranger than fiction. Just take a look at prime time TV. Brady Finta appeared on the popular television show, “Survivor,” but prior to that he was in the Marines, and today works on the SWAT team in Los Angeles for the FBI. If all of that weren’t enough he is going to be assigned to a counter-terrorism unit.

I don’t consider myself an expert in security, foreign affairs, or counter- terrorism, but I do find it interesting that the FBI would let one of their agents be on prime time television.

It would seem that at some point someone would have approved his appearance on national television, and it would also seem that someone should have said no. I don’t think FBI agents really need to be recognized on-sight by someone who caught a rerun of a “Survivor” episode.

Fortunately for the FBI and national security, the powers that be have decided Finta can no longer appear on the television series.

Unfortunately for Finta, he will have to return to his day job of keeping peace in the greater Los Angeles area.

The FBI probably could have saved a lot of time, hassle, and, no doubt, money if someone would have simply told this agent that appearing on television might not be the best idea.
On the other hand, maybe the FBI was looking for some publicity and needed national exposure for one of their agents.

Whatever the case may be, I think the whole thing was an immense miscalculation by the FBI.

What kind of world do we live in where keepers of the peace appear on national television, and don’t’ even think twice about it? In an era of terrorism and counter-terrorism I would think the FBI should safeguard not only its citizens, but also its reputation. This makes them look like an organization that doesn’t take its job very seriously and lets its agents seek publicity.

Whether any of this is true or not, doesn’t matter; it’s appearances that count. People now can associate the FBI with “Survivor.” To me, that doesn’t seem like a good thing.
In the end, maybe it’s not that big of a deal. After all, police, fireman and other civil servants regularly appear on shows like “Jeopardy,” “Survivor,” and the like. It just seems that the FBI would want more of a secretive position within society given the nature of their work.

But as they say, the show must go on. I’m just waiting for the next “Big Brother” episode, and maybe this time they’ll have people in the witness protection program. Now that would be some television.