Would the media overdo the inauguration coverage and commentary? That was the question posed by MSNBC pundits on the eve of the swearing-in.
“There’s no way of overdoing it,” presidential historian Michael Beschloss said.
Yes and no. The profundity of the moment, merely hinted at in the new President’s mention of restaurants declining to serve blacks in his father’s day, was the subtext of every picture on every channel on Inauguration Day. The media provided historic, racial and political context — not florid, but often quite profound. The older the witness, the more poetic the description. That deep significance, the media can’t oversell.
By mid-day the vamping was interrupted by the medical emergency, and that they may have overdone. (The networks temporarily cut coverage of the Capitol lunch, reporting that Robert Byrd was taken ill and had to be wheeled out. No, it was Ted Kennedy. Maybe it was both. Conflicting stories provided the sole non-scripted, and troubling, note of the day.)
“We weren’t expecting breaking news,” admitted NBC’s Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O’Donnell. Pageantry, yes; unplanned events, no.
While Obama’s speech wasn’t judged by political experts to be a lofty one for the ages, it spoke to the moment. TV commentators supplied the emotional language and backdrop.
Tom Brokaw, who became emotional recalling the way blacks were long “humiliated” in this county, credited television with having “a critical role” in desegregation. “It all happened in my adult lifetime,” he marveled.
Around the dial, reporters chuckled about Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts messing up the oath of office and let the pictures carry the day.
Before the swearing in, CBS News veteran Bob Schieffer neatly assessed the coverage: “The star of this show is the wide shot,” he said, as a cheering throng covered every inch of the Washington Mall.
Among wide shots, CNN scored the most novel: a satellite photo of the crowded mall from space.
Black reporters like Byron Pitts of CBS and Ron Mott of NBC relayed the pride of young black kids now empowered to aim for the Presidency. On BET, discussion of wider issues led to specific Obama appointments-his social secretary and domestic policy advisor are black. Black celebrities from will.i.am to Wyclef Jean to Stevie Wonder weighed in during a retrospective on the importance of hip-hop in the Obama campaign as a way to reach young people.
For political junkies to whom the gathering inside the Capitol rotunda is a star-gazing show to rival Oscar night, the parade of Washington’s marquee names was a highlight. There’s Jimmy Carter sitting with Robert Byrd; there’s Barney Frank sharing a hug with Teresa Kerry; the Clintons chatting with Charles Schumer.
“Imagine deciding the place-settings,” NBC’s Brian Williams marveled.
Responding to one note of controversy, HBO announced it would replay the special, “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial” on Wednesday (11:30 p.m. ET/PT), complete with the invocation of the Rt. Reverend V. Gene Robinson, which was cut from the original broadcast.
The armoured tank of a Cadillac driven in the parade was one more piece of trivia overdone by commentators. The thickness of the glass, the weight of the chassis — subject of graphics displayed onscreen — it was too much to resist.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
