The Ethical Optimist

There’s an old saying in the news business, “If it bleeds, it leads.”  Media have long sought controversial angles, it can liven up an otherwise mundane story.

It’s interesting to watch it in full swing on the morning shows as they cover the DNC this week.  The feeding frenzy has begun…how many pundits can we put on the air with differing opinions? How many ways can we slice and dice a relatively straight forward speech or presentation?

I actually chuckled a bit this morning as Harry Smith attempted to get a sampling of delegates (originally Hillary supporters) to discuss their “angst” at moving away from Hillary and supporting Obama.  Much as he tried, they all looked at him like he had two heads and basically told him, it’s really not such a big deal…in the end, we’ll support the party…time to move on.  One of the delegates commented that reported rifts between Hillary and Obama supporters were “much ado about nothing.”

Another segment made much of a former FBI agent and his critique of Hillary’s body language…did what she say match what she meant? This guy’s take was that she wasn’t “emotional” enough…didn’t move her arms and hands enough, which according to him, meant she wasn’t sincere.  The anchor, Maggie Rodriguez, was playing right along.

Oh, come on Maggie!  As an anchor she ought to have known better and commented on it.  Anyone who’s done media training has told their client not to flail their arms about and gesture too much, it distracts from what their saying…especially when delivering a major speech on TV! Also, any trainer worth their salt is going to tell a WOMAN not to come off as too emotional…especially a woman who’s competing with men for political power and prestige.  Hillary has worked very hard to cultivate a professional leadership style that will put her in the same league as her male counterparts.

I think that these reporters and anchors have a responsibility to poke some holes in the theories of their pundits, rather than playing along with each and every schill that gets booked on the show.  How about telling it like it is, rather than playing it up as you’d like it to be so it makes a more interesting segment?