Tag Archives: Diane Sawyer

News Media’s Minimalist News

BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON

For millions of us the evening news is a ritual. There’s a lot of star power from which to choose. There’s muscle man Scott Pelley on CBS, ABC’s drama queen Diane Sawyer, and breathless Brian Williams on NBC. They all dish up a tossed salad of news, usually with the tastiest and most attractive morsels atop the more nutritious ingredients buried beneath.

Take for example the NBC Nightly News on May 31st.  According to the Peacock network the most important story that day was the hung jury in the John Edwards case. The Edwards trial wasn’t just the lead story. It was also the second story and the third story, taking up about seven minutes of the 28-minute news cast, and I use the term ‘news’ loosely.

We got long clips of Edwards talking about God. Then a sleepy Matt Lauer, sitting in for Brian, went to Lisa Myers who droned on about Edwards and his family. On came legal correspondent Savannah Guthrie with even more analysis. It was mostly favorable to Edwards, who has long enjoyed a place on the altar of media adoration. Continue reading →

Random Thoughts

BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON

 Some things to ponder, just not too long:

 I was watching ABC World News with Diane Sawyer and complaining about the blurriness of the picture. I thought I’d better call Comcast when my wife, who knows about such things, said it wasn’t the TV.  It was ABC softening the lighting to make Diane’s wrinkles and the bags under her eyes less noticeable.  The next day the Washington Examiner ran a picture of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s cover shot in Capitol File magazine that makes her look half her age.  The reason: “There is airbrushing around her eyes…her upper lid has been airbrushed to make it look like there is less fat on the inside…and there is airbrushing on the line of her jaw…her neck has been blended, and the lines on her face are very subtle,” according to a plastic surgeon.  The next day in the Washington Post, a big Style section splash about Rep. Kevin McCarthy and colleagues toning up the muscles with celebrity trainer Tony Horton in the exclusive House gym.  I guess it’s important to look good when you’re doing well.

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