I preface all of this by stating I wasn't really watching "The Today Show." I was at the laundromat, listening to a podcast on my iPod. The TV in the laundromat was tuned to NBC, so my one good eye was watching the visuals with entirely different sound. Having said all of that, when did Kathie Lee turn into a wind chime? Seriously, that woman needs to eat some buffalo wings. Or maybe a buffalo.
So a segment begins with some cartoonish graphic. The show sent someone to Vancouver. I think her name was Lara, but it might have been Sara. Whatever her name was, she was blonde and perky, and standing behind her in Vancouver, in typical Today fashion, were mindless idiots smiling and waving and saying "Hi mom." I naturally assumed she's one of those "lighter side" reporters, there to capture human interest/fluff pieces. And before I get accused, I am not suggesting women can't do hard news stories. As night follows day, perky blonde correspondents on "The Today Show" are simply more likely to be doing fluff. But, it turned out, my stereotype was baseless, as Kathie Lee engaged the perky blonde in a discussion about the luge accident. And the reason I know this despite the fact I have a podcast blasting into my ears via my iPod? Because they were showing still photographs of the recently deceased athlete as he neared his demise. For all I know, the perky blonde was the world's foremost luge expert, though if that is the case, I question the segment opening with her in cartoon form. For all I know, the perky blonde and the emaciated Kathie Lee were engrossed in a poignant discussion on the relative merits of banking turns on a luge course, though if that is the case, I question the perky blonde doing her stand up in front of a gaggle of goobers. What I think happened, and I freely admit that I'm making assumptions, is that "The Today Show" sent a perky blonde to Vancouver and created, for her, a fluffy cartoonish graphic, because never (not in a million years) did they expect her to have to cover the sudden death of an athlete. I have no problem with that. NBC sent their fluffiest reporters to Atlanta, too, a decision that backfired after the Olympic Park bombing. Where I have a problem is that, if you're the director or segment producer of "The Today Show" and you know your perky blonde reporter is going to have to talk about somebody's death, why would you open the segment with a cute cartoon? And why would you position her in front of chunkhead tourists? To set the record straight, they only showed still pictures of the luge, and not of the actual impact itself. But, towards the end of the segment, they showed somebody take a tumble while skiing, so one can only guess how that was related to the dead athlete. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
