I’m Still Waiting for Dan Rather to Apologize for Being a Parrot and a Stooge
September 21, 2007 by Eric Eggertson
Filed under Marketing
I’m a frequent advocate of the heartfelt apology. But there are times when they may not be the best approach.
Take Dan Rather, who claims he was a puppet, dangled in front of the camera by manipulative TV producers, then pushed out of a prestigious job because of the fallout over the words placed in his mouth. He says he was forced to read an on-air apology, written by a (shudder) publicist, that ruined his career.
So, am I way off base when I urge organizations to consider a quick apology to defuse the situation?
Nah, an apology was definitely in order. If Rather had nothing to do with the piece, and only parroted the words in the teleprompter while accusing the president of shirking his duty while in the National Guard, maybe he should apologize for imitating a journalist.
There’s no disclaimer on news reports and documentaries, explaining that the talking head trusted by millions is a stooge, reading whatever is put in front of them. Maybe there should be. It would give reality TV a shot of credibility in comparison if the actual role of some on-air presenters was explained at the beginning of each story.
I can just see the disclaimer scrolling across the bottom of the screen:
"The celebrity journalist presenting this story never met the people featured in the story. In fact he was in another country when most of this footage was shot. Didn’t read the research reports. Didn’t craft the questions. Didn’t check the facts. So, when they close off saying, ‘This is (name), reporting from (place)’, take it with a grain of salt."
You can sometimes spot the shading of truth in the way the items are introduced. The anchor will sometimes introduce the item saying the report "brings us this report from Afghanistan," instead of "reports from Afghanistan". It’s probably an innocent turn of phrase, but in many cases, there’s some truth to it.
The face of the documentary report isn’t necessarily the one who did all the work, and who chose the subjects, determined the angle for the story, and wrote the text of the report. But if you haven’t studied media, you probably are only vaguely aware of the producer’s role in a news report.
I’m not going to hold my breath until Rather apologizes for being a mindless parrot. It ain’t going to happen.
But a guy can dream… "This is Dan Rather. I want to sincerely apologize to the millions of viewers who for years have been under the impression I cover every story I voice. That’s not true. Sometimes, I just hop around like a monkey, while my producer plays the organ."
Thanks to Steven Silvers for the link.
Tags: journalism, journalists, media, news, transparency, apology, cbs, dan rather, lawsuit, tv, monkey, parrot
Dan worked well beyond his prime, and I think this judgment error as well as others were a result of that. It reminds me of a pitcher like Randy Johnson who goes three years too long in the majors and just ends up tarnishing his rep.
There’s no question it’s a gruelling business, so I’m not surprised when I see signs of burnout. I don’t know how a lot of those folks do it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not in my armchair, explaining why they could do better.
Egos are rampant in the news industry. When you’re young and inexperienced, you only have two coping mechanisms that allow you to go back on air the next day after an embarrassing screwup.
Self-esteem.
Ego.
Most kids in the business don’t have the first, and instead artificially inflate the second.
I kept my ego in check, and if I didn’t I was fortunate to have coworkers who would do it for me.
My favorite photog (I miss you Steph) used to have a pat response to the question “What do YOU do?”
Her answer? “I press the button that turns on the red light that makes the monkey dance.”
She also referred to me as “nothing more than lens meat.”
If more broadcast journalists understood their real value instead of their perceived value, we’d all be better off.
I agree with all of your comments, but let’s add one more. At the local news stations, the competition is so fierce that one can’t afford to create enemies. Similar to the quarterback who takes his entire offensive line to dinner after a great game where he never got sacked.
But if you do offend, the offended party will retaliate regally, without missing a beat. I will never forget when I interned at the CBS affiliate in Jacksonville, FL. One morning anchor had royally upset a photographer was one of the “good guys”. The next day she was sent to cover a story about some flooding. The shot started out with her being viewed from the waist up. And yes, you guessed it. The shot panned out to reveal her wearing slippers.
Now, we all hear about Katie Couric’s issues as the CBS personnel talk about her being a “diva”, etc. Yep, ego is a big issue in television (and in many other places). Ironically, I don’t think those that believe in theirs understand that the public has too many other options to read the news, so I always think of Will Ferrell’s character in “Anchorman”, when I see them.
Perhaps Dan fell victim to his beliefs at CBS. Perhaps he is smarter than everyone realizes and is generating publicity for his cable show.
Regardless, it’s unfortunate he and others don’t have real friends who could them all to grow up.