NBC Fires Matt Lauer

Once again, reporters know so many things they haven’t published. So much locker room stuff, off the record stuff, background stuff and open secrets. How about working on the stories that are years old? How about stop the off the record stuff on felonies?
It seems that everyone in Alabama knew about Roy Moore’s propensitities, but never put out the story. And now his defense is : “Where have all these women been, must have been lying”. They aren’t lying, they have been covered up by journalists.

 

What does this mean?

 

Just watched the clip from the top of the Today show.

What a bullshit move by NBC prez Andy Lack, making the show's two women be the face of the story. Can't believe they didn't just toss to a clip of Lack reading his statement.

Seriously, that was a total shit move by NBC to make Savannah read that statement.

 

Or, as the admiring Jill Filipovic calls her, Samantha.

 

Covered up? I'd say what's more accurate is: Can't get it confirmed or haven't tried hard enough or been supported enough by management to unearth it.

Cover up involves actively suppressing the evidence. Purposeful misdirection. Let's be frank here: Investigative reporting is really hard. Most people don't have the stomach for it. Give the Times and Post credit. It's clear Baquett and Baron said "This is a priority this year. Go after these stories. And make sure they're as airtight as they can be."

If I hear a rumor about an NFL coach banging a yoga instructor employed by the team, what should I do with it? Is it consensual? Does it affect his job? Does it reflect a larger pattern of his behavior that needs to be dragged into the night? These are easy questions to discuss on message boards, much harder to have in newsrooms with news organizations that might entirely collapse if you make a mistake. Gawker learned that, in some ways. Would they rather have that Hogan thing back and still be publishing or was keeping it real and showing the world that Terry Bollea is a racist loser who boned his friend's wife worth handing a super villain the gun that killed them?

 

HE INTERVIEWS MOVIE STARS ON PRESS JUNKETS AND SIPS COFFEE IN FRONT OF A CAMERA!!!

 

He tells us when people are speaking out.

 

I’m not one to bag on people’s jobs. Plenty of others around here to fill that role.

 

When Lauer originally forced out Curry and got a $25 million a year raise or something, I started a thread here expressing dismay that he got paid so much for such a benign job, but one of the TV people here pointed out that whether it was even journalism, Today is a HUGE money maker for NBC and he was extremely good at that role of being human vanilla yogurt; smooth in handling various changes in tone and subject, capable with various guests, etc. If you need your morning show to be that, he was really good at that. And that made him worth the money.

It made many good points.

 

I'm not bagging on his job. I do not understand why people admire him.

Its the same when I read the wishy washy condemnation of Louis CK around here. Yeah, he's a shitbag, but he is so fucking talented!1!

I was watching a WWII thing on the history channel last night. Goddamn, I admire those guys in the jungles in the Pacific. I admire doctors and nurses who work in emergency rooms. And people who work with the disabled. And volunteer their time.

But admiring Matt Lauer? MATT FUCKING LAUER?

 

That's a bit ... heavy handed.

What it means is that he was/is good at what he did/does; well, no longer for NBC, anyway.

But being good and versatile doesn't make one human vanilla yogurt.

 

I get why he makes $25 mil. I don't even begrudge it. But nothing and I mean nothing he does is admirable. And that was before today.