Yikes! I was probably thinking Licht is more like Niven than Guinness… On Sun, 4 Jun 2023 at 8:33 PM Paul Murray <[email protected]> wrote:
> > The description of Licht in the immediate aftermath of the Town Hall is > pathetic, and almost makes you feel sorry for him. It reminds me of David > Niven at then of *The Bridge on The River Kwai*, when he suddenly realizes > what a colossal and dangerous asshole he has been (though Licht lacks the > good grace to sacrifice himself to fix things). > > *cough* Alec Guinness *cough* > > > For me, Licht’s problem is that newsmakers have learned to game the > system and weaponize their agendas. Interviews with politicians turn out to > generate some heat and no light and politicians have learned that they can > lie shamelessly and not pay any consequences. Trump specifically has no > fear of television cameras and he can quickly read whether he needs the > demeanor for a deposition or a rally and he can effortlessly adjust. > > Yep, another argument against live interviews. Of course, when ratings are > your primary concern, "live" is the bright shiny object that cable news > can't resist. > > And agreeing with the feedback, Licht probably shortened his runway with > that article. > > On Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 7:18:15 AM UTC-4 PGage wrote: > >> Errata: I was misled by a news report - I was able to copy and paste the >> piece into a Word file, and it is more like 15,500 words, not 9,000. >> >> I think there is no question Trump is newsworthy, andI disagree with some >> of my friends who argue that credible journalists should ignore him. But >> Licht makes an ass of himself when he arrogantly asserts (as he dies in the >> article, several times, prior to the Town Hall) that he doesn’t get >> whatever one is so worried about, as he has figured out how to handle Trump >> (he thought it was just to not overreact, and calmly confront him with >> contrary facts when necessary). Again, this criminally distorts or >> misunderstands the problem, both with Trump and with Zucker’s CNN. >> >> The description of Licht in the immediate aftermath of the Town Hall is >> pathetic, and almost makes you feel sorry for him. It reminds me of David >> Niven at then of *The Bridge on The River Kwai*, when he suddenly realizes >> what a colossal and dangerous asshole he has been (though Licht lacks the >> good grace to sacrifice himself to fix things). >> >> I don’t have an easy answer to the Trump problem, but I think giving him >> an audience of fanboys to play to live is not part of it. A public figure >> whose behavior is unconstrained by shame regarding bad behavior or lies can >> not be managed simply being fact checked, even by a more experienced >> journalist. They should have had a more balanced audience, with questions >> video recorded, and recorded all of Trump’s answers, and then edited it for >> broadcast an hour or two later. With his record, if you put him otherwise >> unconstrained live on your air, you become partly responsible for the >> damage his lies and misbehavior cause. >> >> And yes, if I had taken over CNN from Zaslov, the first think I would >> have done was fire Lemon’s smug and performative, “it’s-all-about-me” ass. >> >> And, in case it has not already been noted here for the record, best >> recording that David Leavy, a leading Zaslov-whisperer who no doubt will >> continue to report directly to him, was appointed the COO at CNN the day >> before the Atlantic pice was published, a move widely perceived as at best >> an ominous vote of no-confidence in Licht by WBD: >> >> https://deadline.com/2023/06/david-leavy-cnn-worldwide-coo-1235398003/ >> >> >> On Sat, 3 Jun 2023 at 1:56 PM Paul Murray <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> It's available in Apple News, for anyone with one of their devices. >>> That's how I read it last night. >>> >>> As much as I loathe the man, interviewing Trump is unfortunately >>> newsworthy. The town hall format only works when the subject is operating >>> is good faith and the audience composition is somewhat representative of >>> the population as a whole. Filling the audience with Trump supporters -- >>> *which Licht pushed for* -- was completely indefensible. As somebody famous >>> tweeted, Will CNN be reporting it as a contribution in kind to the >>> campaign? Not having people who have previously interviewed TFG provide >>> advice to the less-experienced interviewer, just plain dumb. >>> >>> The author clearly spent a lot of time with Licht, and at one point in >>> the article it becomes clear that Licht's personal trainer has more sense >>> than he does, at least in some respects. >>> >>> Also noted: Both Colbert and Scarborough advised him not to take the >>> job. And when the subject's biggest fan to appear in the article is Frank >>> Luntz -- well, that says something. (Zaslov played cat and mouse, not >>> wanting to go on the record, then agreeing to, then changing the terms -- >>> to which the author correctly said no.) >>> >>> I couldn't tell if Licht has lost all self-awareness, or is in >>> overwhelming denial about how poorly this is going. >>> >>> On the positive side, I completely got his frustration with Don Lemon. >>> >>> He's doing what Zaslov and John Malone want, so even if he goes, the >>> mission will continue under someone else. >>> >>> On Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 12:42:08 PM UTC-4 Bob Jersey wrote: >>> >>>> No, it isn't... the links must be shared by a $ubscriber to the >>>> provider in question, through whichever social channel (or through an email >>>> message, in my case, to b**j*****@ptd.net, figure it out) so that more >>>> specific codes are part of the URL (this is also how the NYT handles them). >>>> I can not go right to their tweetybox and open a story without seeing the >>>> *To >>>> read the full story, start your free trial today* box at bottom-window >>>> in the resultant page. >>>> B >>>> >>>> PGage, June 3rd, in part: >>>> >>>> Very long (9000 words) and very long awaited. I found it was easy to >>>> get around the Atlantic paywall be accessing it through the many links on >>>> Twitter (is it always that easy to get around paywalls?). >>>> >>>> -- >>> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> >> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/02e34642-b7b6-4af6-a683-3a07fe9c5a93n%40googlegroups.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/02e34642-b7b6-4af6-a683-3a07fe9c5a93n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- >> Sent from Gmail Mobile >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/5bc93dfa-e933-4bf3-ba40-28e14e064d0dn%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/5bc93dfa-e933-4bf3-ba40-28e14e064d0dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Sent from Gmail Mobile -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. 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