NBC Fires Matt Lauer

Wasn't Springsteen married to some hot, non-Jersey model and then found Patty during the Born in the USA tour?

 

We don't care about adultery. I'm talking harassment/assault/groping/etc.

 

I believe you. I know they're hard, especially when Charlize Theron, say, now, vs. right after Monster came out, when her work was the story.

I am, in a sense, calling for a world that doesn't exist, where the profile isn't 3,000 words, where we're not waxing philosophical on actors who don't deserve it because an honest piece isn't possible. But, at some point, this coverage of celebrities has diminishing returns in culture. We've reached those returns.

 

Watch Tom Brokaw Pre-Tapes Gerald Ford's Obituary from Saturday Night Live on NBC.com

Gerald Ford is dead today, and I'm gay

 

Why not?

Stories about affairs drive traffic, so clearly people are interested in it.

Why isn't it newsworthy? Because the people gathering the news would rather it wasn't? Because it's not against the law? Do you want a politician sleeping around on his wife? If virtue and decency means something with our politicians - and in a Trump presidency, journalists of all political persuasions keep telling us it does - and we have this giant sexual harassment scandal going on, you really think there's some clear, bright distinction that makes extramarital affairs - like, say, the one John Edwards had - not newsworthy?

 

It's a weird line. You can't write a JFK biography without delving deep into his extra-marital affairs. But if you caught Donald Trump stepping out on Melania tomorrow, I don't consider that newsworthy. Though I'd probably include it in a biography.

It's situational.

 

Ah, right. Yeah. I don't disagree. I didn't like writing about a lot of the celebrities I wrote about. (There are exceptions, and they are notable.) The sad fact is, celebrities sell. I've been at places where we've tried not to put celebrities on covers. They sold significantly less. Most outlets can't afford to make that stand.

 

Oh, the shit you wouldn't. It'd be all over the TV, news Web sites, everything. Of course it'd be newsworthy.

 

Reporters doing a profile talk to the most obvious people regarding that person. Usually people the subject has pointed them to.

Even adversarial articles often only scratch the surface when looking for sources.

I’ve said it before, but a lot of people wrote about Rudy when I worked for him. Investigative books were published. But, my girlfriend at the time, who handled all of his events and appearances, and her sister, who ran the executive mansion where he lived, were never contacted by a single reporter.

Between the two of them, Rudy was rarely out of their site during the day.

Their names, titles and phone numbers were published in the “Green Book” which was available to the public.

But reporters sought out the usual suspects for comment.

It’s not that hard to track down a former personal assistant, secretary, or production assistant.

Talk to the people who spend the most time with your subject, not just the best friend, co-star, director, or co-anchor.

 

It would be, and that would be a travesty.

 

@Alma, I think it's difficult for you and I to meet eye-to-eye on this. I would guess you include adultery as "sexual misconduct" on a plane with sexual harassment and assault.

I consider it a private marital problem between two individuals. And maybe not even that.