But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
(from "Sailing to Byzantium" by William Butler Yeats)
As you may know I'm not a big fan of David Greene's work on NPR (see this post for example). He identifies with the President more than a journalist should. And so I had to laugh when this evening featured a report on the shuffling of military, intelligence, and diplomatic personnel by the White House. Michele Norris says, “NPR’s David Greene is watching all these changes from his perch at the White House.”
Squawk!
1 comment:
Perch. Cute!
Yes indeed, Greene is just a little too smiley, too blithe, not to mention too smug. Of course, the latter characteristic is hard-wired into any self-respecting NPR newsperson (I do not use the term 'journalist'). And in addition, David's just having a wonderful time!
So were Bob Siegel and Andy Seabrook as they shuffled around the House Chamber in search of yucks. I noticed that both of them weren't able to win Tony Bennett over with their lame attempts at humor, so that end of the hour 'fun feature' had to be conspicuously brief.
Just a personal footnote regarding humor; Now it's my turn to be smug. As far as comedy is concerned, I like everything from the borscht-belt to Colbert, but I have to strain my memory banks to recall much of anything that passes as humor from the regular newsies at NPR that registers past 'mildly amusing'. Of course it’s not necessarily their job, but it seems they try hard at the stand-up sometimes, especially Scott Simon, who bombs so often and so pathetically. They're hardly a very creative bunch. I do recall however, a letter written by somebody who was complaining about the quasi-Caribbean music that accompanies the 'Now For Your Letters' segment of Morning Edition. They said it reminded them of a creaky, rickety and ramshackle pushcart that was being wheeled along, or some such. Pretty hilarious, but the source was a listener, not NPR!
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