Fox News Adds CNN Logo to Mugshot of Former Producer Arrested on Child Sex Charges

A CNN logo made its way into the mugshot of fired CNN senior producer John Griffin in a FoxNews.com article on Wednesday.

CNN was quick to terminate and distance itself from Griffin, who spent eight years at the network. He was arrested by the FBI on Friday and accused of grooming young girls for sex. Griffin’s arrest was the latest in a string of bad news for CNN, including the suspension and eventual termination of top-rated anchor Chris Cuomo for his involvement in aiding his brother, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, fend off harassment allegations.

“The charges against Mr. Griffin are deeply disturbing. We learned of his arrest Friday afternoon and terminated his employment Monday,” a representative for the network said on Tuesday.

The Fox News article entitled, “Longtime ex-CNN producer John Griffin had marital trouble prior to sex trafficking arrest,” further detailed the allegations against Griffin and the deterioration of his marriage in recent months.

The article included several photos of Griffin, his wife, and his home. The mugshot, which had the CNN logo superimposed on it, was credited as being from the “Vermont State Police.”

It’s one thing to add a logo or to alter imagery in a news story. It’s another thing to then pass off a mugshot as a state police image that has been altered. It’s not uncommon for major publications, especially magazines, to use images that are illustrative of a subject.

However, such images are generally captioned as “photo illustrations” or as “artwork.” In tying Griffin to CNN, Fox may have gone overboard here or simply made an error in captioning the photo.

Griffin was arraigned on the sex trafficking indictment in Vermont. Griffin is charged with three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.

CNN reported that the former New Day producer could face anywhere between 10 years and life in prison if convicted.