Media Matters

* The death of Rush Limbaugh begs all kinds of reactions, including anger on the left, adoration on the right and angst among those who can’t speak ill of the dead. Although he stoked partisan bigotry, he was also the inexplicable recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Amid all the political friction and factionalism, Limbaugh called himself an “entertainer.” For context, he actually helped usher in the era of politics and political commentary as show business. As a result, we are all worse off as commentators, pundits and politicians need schticks, sound bites, mass-communication forums and ratings. I miss Eric Savereid.

* New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, now reeling from the revelation of under-counted nursing-home deaths that has drawn the attention of the Justice Department, won’t be going on his brother Chris’ CNN show any more. It had been a notable journalistic exception to the rule of thumb that discourages main stream media personalities from utilizing family connections on camera. BTW, fortuitous timing on Gov. Cuomo’s book, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic,” that was published back in October. “Communication is an art form,” noted the governor-author, “especially when emotion is running high.” As true as it is ironic.

* “I’m probably the only person who has been featured on the cover of Rolling Stone and AARP.”–Michael J. Fox.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *