NYT: News Channels' Challenge: How to Fill the Airtime (covering Rome)

[DeepModem Mom]

News Channels' Challenge: How to Fill the Airtime
By DAVID CARR

Published: April 7, 2005


Given Pope John Paul II's global footprint in life, it is not surprising that all forms of mass media have converged on Rome to honor and document his death. And given the appetites and needs of modern journalism, it was inevitable that the sacred and the profane, the solemn and the silly, would cross paths again and again.

Covering the pageantry of the pope's death and burial, for all of pomp of the Swiss Guards and the parade of cardinals, carries with it some difficulties. The pope's passing defines Big Story - a religious icon who left the world a changed place is about to be replaced - but the pace of the story has left 24-hour news channels, which did not exist the last time the Vatican chose a new leader nearly 27 years ago, searching for ways to fill all that airtime.

The challenge was apparent almost immediately, whether it was when Larry King of CNN tried to gauge the pope's chances of entering Heaven or when other anchors expounded at length on their Roman Catholic bona fides.

John Paul, who described mass media as the source of iniquity, evasion and hedonism even as he deftly used it to get his message across, has become its chief preoccupation, with a welter of television broadcast and cable outlets, radio, and Web sites clamoring to cover a funeral that has global implications.

James Carroll, who writes about religious matters, said that dating back to the burial of President John F. Kennedy, the first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, introduced viewers in the United States and the world beyond to the Roman Catholic rite of burial and its symbols. Since then, televised funerals have offered the opportunity and solace of a kind of electronic pilgrimage. But covering the burial of a pope requires special care, said many news executives.....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/07/international/worldspecial2/07media.html

[thebigidea]

1. if I hear yet another explanation of how they vote for a new Pope...

... i'm going to scream.

Blah blah blah conclave blah blah blah cardinals blah blah conclave blah blah after the break we'll explain it yet again blah blah blah here's a picture of a black cardinal blah blah blah blah blah blah

[tanyev]

2. They seem to have no trouble filling the airwaves

with their verbal diarrhea.

[Bob3]

3. Oh I don't know

How about covering Ton Delay's scandal of the day? Or that weird WMD report or maybe the fall out from the GOP's threating judges, the American public's misgiving on the GOP forcing them to live under the word of god, or the election in Zimbabwe, or the economy or that * still has not presented a SS reform plan or maybe cover something other than Rome. Oh that's right - they would have to work to do that. It's more cost efficient to just let a story happen and send talking hair do's to stand in front of a building and tell us what they have been told (when the hell did that become reporting)

or failing that they could say "there is no big story today so until something breaks please enjoy these pictures of kittens" (I would paste some in but I dont' know how}

[southernboy]

4. how about reporting a rumour that the pope died a day earlier?

Rumours sweep Rome death was kept hidden
April 6 2005

http://www.smh.com.au/handheld/articles/2005/04/05/1112489490671.html

[demgurl]

5. This is so funny.....

They have covered every aspect of the Pope's death. After a few days of respecting the coverage, my husband has now started making his own commentary when the death coverage comes on. He always announces, "This just in, the Pope is still dead."

How much more can they possibly cover? There is only so much information out there. Let's turn to something constructive like Tom Delay or Shrub.

[rocktivity]

6. I knew we where in trouble when Larry King interviewed James Caviezel

the star of the Passion of The Christ. I guess he'll have Whoopi Goldberg on next, because she's played a nun TWICE! So don't be surprised if you see an interview with the Vatican's cleaning ladies, or someone who lives next door to a member of the Swiss Guard!

:headbang:
rocknation

[LibDemAlways]

7. How quickly they've reached the

bottom of the barrel. My favorite filler so far was a "reporter" who tagged along with a couple of women in line to see the Pope's body. "It's been an hour now and we're stopped at this intersection....After two hours, my feet are starting to hurt.....Three hours and fatigue is setting in...The family over there in front of the cafe gave up after four hours...."

Talk about inane.

King ought to do a whole show on actors who've played members of the clergy. Mary Tyler Moore once played a nun in an Elvis movie. And I'm sure Sally Field would love to give her insights about how the Pope never missed an episode of The Flying Nun. Definitely a potential ratings grabber.

[daleo]

8. Popeathon.

Pope-alooza.
Pope-athon of Hope.
March of Popes.
Pope Opera.
Endless Pope.
Wide World of Pope.
All My Popes.
The Pope Network.

and so on.

[calimary]

9. LOL! "All Pope All the Time." And I do love "Pope Opera!"

I don't mind it, I must say.

Hey, they held a week-long orgy for Reagan. At least THIS is one I can stomach. And it makes it kind of fun being a Catholic, however briefly. Besides, it buried the Sandy Berger update last Friday, which was beneficial. And every so often you get a handy reminder of what a crappy situation our country is in. I saw (I think it was) the cardinal from New York answering the question - "might an American be chosen as the new pope?" - by saying it wasn't possible, considering - er, um - how poorly the rest of the world views America these days. Plus, they're forced to mention the snubbing of Jimmy Carter by the White House. Anything that makes the bushies look bad is also beneficial.

Meantime, they can always fill with prayerful photos of george and his wife and his girlfriend. I wonder how Laura really feels, having Contradicta along ("criminy! I canNOT get rid of that woman!")...

[daleo]

11. Yes, the Reagan thing was worse.

They may want to make this pope a saint, but they seemed to want to promote Reagan to a god. And the snubbing of Carter shows how small minded the Bushs really are. They even mention the pope's abhorrence of the Iraq war, now and again. So, there are some dispensations.

[Zerex71]

10. Anything to keep the Iraq war crimes off the tube.