When The Pope Came To Town
You may have heard Pope Benedict XVI was in Washington D.C. and New York last week. From the moment he got on US soil, every time the pope moved, he was covered by cable news networks like CNN and Fox News Channel and often by the broadcast networks as well.
It’s events like these though that bring out the worst in TV news commentators. Why do I say that? I’ll tell you why. Because they love to tell you what you’re going to see before you see it. They love telling you what you’re seeing while you see it. And they love to tell you what you just saw right after you see it.
For example, the pope arrived at the White House on his birthday. Right before he got out of his Pope Limo and waved to the assembled crowd, the CNN commentator said something like, “When the pope gets out of the Pope Limo, he’s going to wave to the assembled crowd and the crowd may just sing ‘Happy Birthday’” When the pope got out of the Pope Limo, the commentator said something like, “The pope is getting out of the Pope Limo now and waving to the assembled crowd. And listen, the crowd is singing ‘Happy Birthday’”
Come on guys. What do you think this is, radio? I can see the pope waving to the assembled crowd and I can hear them singing “Happy Birthday.”
Then as the pope goes up to greet President George and Laura, the commentator says, “The pope just got out of the Pope Limo, waved to the assembled crowd, heard the crowd sing “Happy Birthday” and is now greeting President George and Laura.”
When the pope finishes greeting President George and Laura, and goes to the podium to speak, the commentator said something like, “The pope got out of the Pope Limo, waved to the assembled crowd, heard the crowd sing “Happy Birthday,” greeted President George and Laura, and is now going to the podium to speak.” Guys, give it a rest.
The only thing that makes me even more nuts is when the commentators tell me how moving something is. They’ll say something like, “Look. The pope is shaking hands with that little girl. What an incredibly moving sight.” How the heck do you know I’m moved by the pope shaking hands with a little girl? Maybe I’m not.
This is not a sitcom where the canned laughter has to tell me when to laugh, or the commentator has to tell me when to be moved. When it comes to covering news events like this, just shut…the heck…up.