Today’s minor flap with local blog Tobacco Avenue and WRVA morning host Jimmy Barrett didn’t prompt more than a shrug from the man at the center of the (fake) story — Channel 12 anchor Gene Cox.

In case you didn’t hear, the blog http://tarichmond.com, which is clearly a “Daily Show”-type site of satirized news, reported that Cox went “absolutely ape****” that Style Weekly didn’t include him in its annual Power List. 

This morning, WRVA’s Barrett mentioned the story, which some listeners may have perceived as fact, and turned it into his Question of the Day on the WRVA Web site (http://www.wrva.com/pages/jimmysnewpage.html). 

Barrett has criticized Style for ignoring media figures on its list (although, along with our own Michael Paul Williams, there are other media folks on there, including Times-Dispatch publisher Tom Silvestri, Richmond Free Press editor/publisher Ray Boone and the creators of http://www.RVAblogs.com) and used the (fake) Cox story as an opportunity to ask listeners if they believed Cox was overlooked.

(You can read the whole list here: http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=17417).

Barrett couldn’t be reached for comment, but Cox was unruffled by the trifling situation.

“I don’t really care,” he said Thursday evening. “The only thing that bothers me is if someone were to think it were true. I didn’t hear it. I never listen to WRVA, but I guess somebody does. I didn’t know about it until I got to work and someone sent [the blog post] to me .¤.¤. I know I’m open game because I hang my face out there.” 

For the record, Cox couldn’t care less about not being included in the Style ranking. 

He also wasn’t particularly impressed by the Tobacco Avenue post, which noted that the venerable anchor is “rumored to bench-press nearly 900 pounds” and “has killed several wild species of animal.”

“If they’re going to stretch it that far, they ought to try to be funny,” Cox said. “I enjoy [satires] when they’re funny, but this one really wasn’t.”

(Cox left a message later in the evening to say, with a chuckle, that he looked at the Tobacco Avenue posting again and, “It’s kind of humorous; it’s not bad,“ and to note that the people who told him about the story said WRVA made it sound as if it were true.)

The Webmaster behind Tobacco Avenue, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the site, which gets about 600 hits per day, is meant in good fun.

“The point of the blog is to satirize, not to be mean .¤.¤. Everyone loves Gene Cox, he’s the dean of Richmond’s news. It was all in jest.”