NATCHEZ &8212; Natchez politics may soon make national news.

The Fox News Channel was in town Tuesday gathering information for a story on former city planner Andrew Smith&8217;s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discrimination complaint filed against the city in September.

Smith was fired in June after Mayor Phillip West said he had received complaints from co-workers and citizens.

Jonathan Serrie, a correspondent out of Fox News&8217; bureau in Atlanta, said he was interested in the legal, social and moral issues involved.

&8220;The whole irony of this case where you have a former black employee that&8217;s making allegations of discrimination against a black mayor who fired him is interesting,&8221; Serrie said. &8220;This story begs the question, is it possible for a person of the same race to discriminate against someone of the same race? It&8217;s a twist on the usual story.&8221;

Serrie said he had been working on an unrelated story in Jackson Monday and drove to Natchez Tuesday.

He interviewed Mayor Phillip West Tuesday afternoon and talked briefly with Smith.

&8220;Just long enough for him to refer me to his attorney,&8221; Serrie said.

When he returned to Atlanta, he said he planned to talk with a legal expert or constitutional law expert as a third party.

The earliest the piece would be Thursday, he said, but it would more likely air some time next week.