Re.#1: According to Scott Simon who interviewed the Cosbys, it was Cosby's people that contacted NPR about being interviewed re. the exhibit. So NPR did not exactly reach out to them, They requested the interview and NPR (not surprisingly) agreed. It was done last week and aired on Saturday.
------- Original Message ------- >From : Joe Hass[mailto:[email protected]] Sent : 11/17/2014 4:22:19 PM To : [email protected] Cc : Subject : RE: Re: [TV orNotTV] Bill Cosby cancelled on the Late Show Sorry to be late to this, but two things popped in my mind over the weekend: 1. There's a bit of what I'll call "The Grey/Rose Dilemma" going on here: is it appropriate to ask a subject who is being interviewed for one reason about an entirely unrelated subject. (where the journalistic answer is "Of course!" and the fan answer is "Hell no!"). I agree with this panel that feels it is appropriate, but I also understand the other side of this argument: If you have Bill Cosby in for an interview on his loan of African and African-American art, and suddenly ask him about something entirely unrelated to that without warning, it does, from an outsider perspective, seem like a somewhat of a sucker punch (especially if you aren't *used* to the idea of a journalist being, you know, a journalist, which most of America is not). Simon tried his best to use a reasonably soft touch to the questions (simply referring to "serious allegations" and "charges" instead of being more pointed), figuring I think both (a) I'll give him a chance to address it and (b) it's at the end of the interview, so what do I have to lose? 2. What really sent this interview into orbit wasn't as much the questions as the response. It's one thing to say you have no response. It's quite another to literally *have* no response (the shaking of the head excepted, which can be read in so many ways as to not qualify). And that silence just screams, louder than saying "I'm not responding to that." would have. As they say in baseball, I think he'd like to have that pitch back. On Sat Nov 15 2014 at 12:00:24 PM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: On Sat, Nov 15, 2014 at 2:26 AM, JW <[email protected]> wrote: Bill Carter discusses it: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/business/media/appearance-by-bill-cosby-with-david-letterman-canceled-as-rape-allegations-swirl.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0 Scott Simon posted a short radio interview the Cosby's about an art donation, which ended with a very awkward silence that followed Simon's first apologizing for, and then asking, The Question. Simon had to describe Cosby's physical movements ("you are nodding your head no") because, after all, it was radio and Cosby literally made no audible response. The comment section pretty much takes Cosby's side and skewer's Simon for asking "irrelevant" questions that were more appropriate for the tabloid media than NPR, where all we want to hear about is art. For example: "You will now be known as Scott "Sucker-punch Simon... You brought in the Cosby's on the pretext of discussing their philanthropic generosity, got them all comfortable with small talk, and then went for the jugular. What a pathetic excuse for "journalism" Of course it is a story, but you clearly were going for effect, and are no better than the O'Reilly's of the world. Yet another disappointment from the ever increasingly sensationalist NPR. I will never be able to find you worthy of my attention again. Maybe FOX is looking for more "Journalists"." This is ridiculous of course - no self-respecting interviewer can talk to Cosby at this time and not ask about the allegations, which is why I suspect it is Cosby himself who is canceling appearances like the ones with Dave. http://www.npr.org/2014/11/15/364289549/cosbys-start-a-conversation-with-african-american-art?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social Cosby has become in the last stage of his life a difficult and tragic figure, in several ways. He has made come important and in some ways needed critiques of African-Americans, but often in brittle, rigid and simplistic way; he admitted to having an affair with a woman in the 1970s, and to later paying her $100,000 to keep it quiet, though he denied that he is the father of her daughter. Most troubling of course, 14 women have accused him, at various times throughout his life, including during the run of the Cosby Show, of drugging them and then sexually assaulting them. He has denied the allegations, and has not been convicted of any crime, though he did reach some kind of undisclosed settlement in 2006. Aside from his iconic television show (itself controversial in some ways) by any measure Cosby will go down as one of the top 3 stand-up comics of all time. I saw him live several times in the 70s and 80s and of course grew up on his albums as a kid, and he was one of those acts that literally would make you laugh so much, so hard and so long that it would hurt. He was not just funny, he was a master performer, and is recognized as a formative influence by most of the successful comics of the last 40 years. He has obviously long been one of Dave's favorite guests, not just because of his influence has a comic, but because he was always one of those uber successful guests who insisted on actually performing when he came on the show - something Dave clearly respects and appreciates. I grew up with OJ Simpson's poster on my bedroom wall; when reports first surfaced in the late 80s I think that he had physically abused his wife, I was crushed - fortunately for me I suppose, as it drained most of the childhood affection I had for him by the time of the murder charges. Cosby is not OJ Simpson, but the alleged charges are very serious, and even more discrepant from his public persona and universal esteem. I would love to hear Dave's take on Cosby, but pretty clearly it would not be appropriate for him to talk about it at this point. I suspect he is torn, wanting to be loyal to someone who has been influential and good to him over the years, but also not wanting to participate in a public whitewash of his reputation. -- -- 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. 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