Media frenzy
Obama’s plane had to make an emergency landing in St. Louis today due to some kind of mechanical problem. I’m imagining a complete media frenzy in St. Louis, and I’m sure it’s about out of control.
It reminded me of a funny story from my past, something that always kind of summed up reporting for me.
I was covering Illinois state politics and I was based out of Southern Illinois (meaning I had to travel to Springfield a lot). Then-Governor Jim Thompson was at the small airport between Carbondale and Marion, the biggest airport in the immediate area. The bottom end of the state was courting a Finnish company that planned to manufacture planes made from a type of composite that had several advantages, and the governor was there to hold a press conference regarding the latest developments.
We (press) were hanging around waiting for the governor to set up when a plane landed on the runway. It said ABC news. It was absolute mayhem, all the reporters, cameramen, etc. flying towards the plane. (I confess I was among them.)
The stairs popped out, and down came Diane Sawyer. Turns out she was in the area to interview Noriega, who was housed in Marion federal prison at the time. The press surrounded her, and she laughed and said “Gee, you must really be desperate for news in this part of the country.”
And that was true. We often had to make news out of nothing.
St. Louis media, with the city’s high murder rate and other problems, doesn’t have to invent the news. It just has to slant it to fit the agenda. I suspect it’s going to be played as the second coming of Jesus.
