There’s nothing new about the “Gotcha!” moment in teevee nooze. It was pioneered by some of the most respectable figures in journalism long ago, most notably “60 Minutes” over 30 years ago. Back then, it was a camera crew led by Mike Wallace openly hunting down people where they least expected it – as they got out of their car or on a golf course. More recently we’ve seen public figures such as NPR’s former chief Ron Schiller and Wisconsin Gov. Walker taken in by ruses that make the “gotcha” even more intimate than it was in the past. But is it really newsworthy, and is it really fair game?
These private moments where public figures are goaded into speaking their minds are only news because that they reveal that our institutions are run by actual humans. What’s shocking about this is that it’s considered shocking at all.
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 