Hollywood and Political Journalism Don’t Mix

Poor CNN. It and its Turner brethren have absorbed some brutal beatings over the years at TCA.
Still, like the veteran fighter it is, CNN and Turner come back for more punishment.

Would this year be different? It seemed so in the early rounds.

CNN got out of the box fast at TCA this morning, trumpeting “the best political team on television” its coverage of the primaries, the crowded set, the liberation from the anchor desk, the technology, CNN’s number one ranked online site (ie, the usual line CNN spouts when it  wants to avoid talking about ratings not during the primaries). The TV critics, eyes blurred from a week of TCA panels, were lapping it up without so much as a semi-tough question.

John King, Gloria Borger, Suzanne Malveaux and Wolf Blitzer (via satellite in Washington, hurting from a pulled tendon suffered on his treadmill) were talking up the conventions and how “dramatic” they would probably be. When will Bill Clinton speak? (a yawn from the critics) Who will introduce Hillary when she speaks? Will it be Chelsea or Bill? (another sound that resembled a yawn) Will the VP candidates be introduced before the conventions or at them? (stifled grunt) How will the Republicans say good-bye to Dick Cheney? (incredibly disinterested snort).

Finally, a TCA critic questioned the emphasis on drama at the conventions that the CNN talent were pushing. Shouldn’t you folks be discussing analysis of what’s said at the conventions? A word or two about how what is said at the conventions will make a bit of difference to those trapped by a slumping economy? The mortgage mess? The war in Iraq?

A good counter punch from the CNN talent. All chimed in that the questioner was absolutely correct and that both drama and substance could, should and would be part of CNN’s coverage. Potential crisis avoided. And, despite being in Hollywood, the word drama never was uttered again during this panel.

Then a clever but fair question got the room’s temperature up. “There’s a question from the best TV critic in Philadelphia,” said a TCA scribe, which resulted in knowing laughter from the rest of the critics, roused from their  morning haze. The questioner, of course, was referring to the above referenced tag line “the best political team on television.”

Give the injured Wolf credit. He jumped in fast to avoid another Star Jones debacle (Anyone remember the mess caused by Star when she refused to answer TCA critics’ questions about her dramatic weight loss?). “I  wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe it,” Blitzer retorted, proving that he can play in pain. He dug in deeper, noting it’s really a team, on camera and off. “We have wizards back there [off camera] who are analyzing what’s going on…I happen to believe we are” [the best political team on television.]

Bully, Wolf. Good that you jumped in, but you should’ve left that one for your boss, CNN/US President Jon Klein, to handle that silliness. Coincidentally(?) it fell to Klein to cut off the debate, time was up. “We’re glad you’ve noticed” the tagline was all he could manage before calling the session to an end. But with all those bloggers in the room, was it really over?