Whether I’m working or not, each year I geek out and watch The State of The Union address. Much like the Super Bowl yet very unlike the World Series, it matters not who’s playing or standing before the houses of Congress, it’s the event that counts, not so much who’s speaking.
In years past, especially at a network level, it was really a night you wanted to be working. In radio especially.
Edit rooms were afire, churning out cuts for the affiliate feeds, the news briefs, status updates, and special reports as well as the top and bottom newscasts for those stations inexplicably not taking live coverage.
It’s always nice that the radio and most television affiliates who do opt for full coverage always are afforded the choice of an anchored or unanchored feed.
It’s a benefit now with more and more relevance.
Nowadays, for me, it’s more about watching from home, remote in hand. Between 8:00 and 9:00 PM, it’s all about flipping around to each network and cable outlet as I bet with myself whose pregame coverage will irritate, frustrate, or amuse me the most.
Don’t misunderstand, I have great admiration and respect for those anchors and political reporters up on the desks. I just don’t care for the pageantry that continues to envelop what’s increasingly become an Academy Awards red carpet presentation.
We’re watching people walk in, they’re taking their seats. There’s an overlaid commentary about this leader, that congressperson, or the senator from wherever.
As always, ladies and gentlemen, here come the SUPREMES.
I could make a Diana Ross joke here but that would age me considerably.
It doesn’t stop there, it bleeds over to social media. Tweets galore from the gallery of respected journalists telling the world who’s wearing what, who’s getting shunned and dissed, and who’s sitting with who. Hints: Senator Kyrsten Sinema and the yellow dress, Congressman George Santos by pretty much everyone, and Bono with Paul Pelosi.
Every station, every outlet, hell, every platform is trying so hard to stand out, to differentiate with their coverage of the same program with the same lineup. Nothing has changed in decades, except there are more stations meaning there’s a need for more and more people crowding the anchor desks or jockeying for standup positions.
“Here’s what the president is going to say.”
Speculation. Well-informed speculation of course, especially when an excerpt or the entire transcript is released ahead of time.
But the blathering on about who is going to react to what and how all before it happens is exasperating.
Doesn’t anybody conduct polls or do focus groups anymore asking people what irks or aggravates them about news and news people?
If we want people as an audience, we need to let them act the part of an audience.
Or has all that time and effort for market research gone to TikTok postings and Instagram reels showing morning anchors and reporters getting ready for work at 1:30 AM?
“I finish my hair at work”.
“On Mondays I meal prep”.
“Oh, how I need a bottomless coffee cup.”
Come on, everyone needs a critic, folks.
Remember again, this is a speech, not football or baseball. There can be no color commentary or play-by-play as the game is played. You can tell us who is playing and then recap the highlights after the clock runs out or the last out is made.
Trying to tell us what’s going to happen before it happens at least in this environment is annoying and blatantly self-serving. It’s prioritizing facetime over substance.
Now to be fair, offering a summation of the SOTU content and the response seems to make sound, journalistic sense. Especially when there are developments in the form of actual, salient reactions from lawmakers.
“Here’s what the president said”.
Very helpful.
We are certainly going to know very early the next morning everything that happened anyway.
How about this?
I think the SOTU and similar addresses should have dry lead-ins, a very basic intro by the busloads of anchors, correspondents, analysts and bartenders and then straight to the speech content.
Don’t ruin it for everybody.
Because what’s happening here is a SOTU play up that’s becoming harder and harder to discern from the Golden Globes or People’s Choice Awards. Like, remember when the guest list at the White House Correspondents Dinner was made up of Correspondents?
Let us watch, listen or read it for ourselves, it’s the only way we’re going to learn. Well, maybe if you like, you can tell us who the designated survivor is. Everyone wants to know that.
Bill Zito has devoted most of his work efforts to broadcast news since 1999. He made the career switch after serving a dozen years as a police officer on both coasts. Splitting the time between Radio and TV, he’s worked for ABC News and Fox News, News 12 New York , The Weather Channel and KIRO and KOMO in Seattle. He writes, edits and anchors for Audacy’s WTIC-AM in Hartford and lives in New England. You can find him on Twitter @BillZitoNEWS.
