Reporters occasionally have to demean themselves to get a story. The boss never wants a reporter to saunter back into the newsroom after being assigned to cover something only to say, “Well, nothing really happened.”
So one of the first lessons reporters learn is to bring something back. I once yelled through a chain-link fence at then-presidential candidate Al Gore as he walked briskly by, asking if he had “any words for West Virginia?” I think he responded with a smile and a wave.
I thought about that last week while watching, listening to and reading about Hillary Clinton’s two-day swing through Iowa to start her 2016 presidential campaign.
The Associated Press, the world’s largest and oldest news-gathering organization, reported on Clinton’s stop at a LeClaire coffee shop where she was quoted as saying, “Hi, everybody. I’m happy to be here.” We learned that Mrs. Clinton ordered a masala chai tea and a caramellow latte.
CNN provided live continuous coverage of Clinton’s meeting with seven community college students and educators in Monticello. The news photos showed the small gathering, but in a wide shot you could see the media outnumbered the meeting participants.
When the Scooby van stopped for lunch, Clinton ordered a burrito at Chipotle. It was noted by some that she did not leave a tip, though a Fox reporter rallied to her defense saying he didn’t think you were supposed to tip at Chipotle.
The best video came not from a Clinton event, but rather from members of the press corp chasing after the Scooby van. “The hyperventilation over every Hillary hiccup is just cringe-worthy,” said Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz. “And you see these sophisticated journalists, these experienced correspondents and analysts saying, ‘Well, she ordered a chicken burrito. Was this a play for the Latino vote?’”
But then again, if a reporter is assigned to the biggest political story of the week, could they get away with saying there was no news? The media beast must be fed.
Much of the “news” focused not on the content—because there wasn’t much—but the style. Clinton was criticized in 2008 for being cold and distant, so the cadre of 2016 advisers has set out to make her at least appear more like the rest of us.
Only in the current American political atmosphere would it take so much scripting and planning to make an event look casual.
While Clinton was nodding and taking notes, another potential 2016 candidate was saying something quite remarkable. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, speaking in New Hampshire, was proposing significant and controversial changes to Social Security.
Christie’s plan calls for reducing benefits in the future for retired seniors making more than $80,000 and eliminating benefits entirely for individuals making $200,000 and up in other income. He also proposed raising the retirement age from 67 to 69.
The mainstream press may have already dismissed Christie’s chances, but his Social Security proposal is a real idea. The nation’s retirement system is speeding toward bankruptcy, but most politicians, particularly those running for president, stay a safe distance from a realistic solution because the hard decisions are politically unpopular.
In terms of content, Christie’s proposal trumps by a mile Clinton’s ad hominem criticism of “the average CEO (who) makes about 300 times what the average worker makes.” But the preeminence of content is a quaint notion.
Can 2016 get here soon enough?