“Obviously, there’s a smell of marijuana in the air”: Don Lemon’s ham-fisted Ferguson reports
Footage of a journalist getting tear-gassed live on camera usually elicits sympathy, not jeers. But not when the journalist is CNN’s Don Lemon. His ham-fisted reporting from the Ferguson grand jury announcement and subsequent protests last night brought unintentional comic relief to an otherwise tragic and grief-filled event. If you didn’t already love to laugh at Don Lemon, you did after last night. From reporting in a giant puffy coat and gas mask ever-so-jauntily perched atop his head, to calling for post-gassing help as his colleagues soldiered on, Lemon’s on-camera antics continue to provide a handy release valve for CNN’s audience.
Thanks to social media, that scourge of St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch’s investigation, agrees. Of course, there’s already a @DonLemonGasMask Twitter account.
Lemon’s mock-worthy hit parade started as he described the scene on the streets immediately following the announcement that a Darren Wilson indictment would not be handed down: “We heard a gunshot and people started scattering. We’re watching people, they’re on top of the roofs of cars, the tops of cars. And obviously, there’s a smell of marijuana in the air as well.”
Oh, obviously. It’s that one word — obviously — that so handily encapsulates Don Lemon’s inappropriate magic. Supercilious when he should be grave, ridiculous when he should be dignified, self-important when he should be reflective, Don Lemon still hasn’t mastered the art of not making a live report all about him. After that point, Lemon could have been hit in the face by a beanbag round on camera, and people would have laughed, then memed.
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/25/obviously_there%E2%80%99s_a_smell_of_marijuana_in_the_air_don_lemon%E2%80%99s_hamfisted_ferguson_reports/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
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Seriously Don? WTF?
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Even Lawrence O'Donnell was pandering.
LO: "Yes, we see the police car on fire.
Reporter: "Yes, there is a police car on fire."
LO: "It looks like he's putting out the fire with a fire extinguisher."
Reporter: "Yes, that's what's happening."
LO: "It doesn't look like anyone is trying to stop him from doing that."
Reporter: "No, no one is trying to stop him from putting out the fire."
LO: "Did you hear any gunfire?"
This went on for 10 minutes and I turned it off. I won't watch any more of this. 
...has broadcast journalism seen such intrepid reporting. 
