Nattering, inanity and an hour of utter magic (Globe & Mail)

[struggle4progress]

JOHN DOYLE
[email protected]
January 21, 2009

... Television is seriously challenged by such events. The technology allows for macro and micro coverage, but television always falls into the trap of nattering and punditry which leads, inevitably, to hours of inane remarks. Nobody in the TV business wants to acknowledge that language is beggared by the images, the pageantry and by the emotion of the event. The best and worst of television - especially American television - were on full display yesterday ...

On CBC, Peter Mansbridge decided to ask Paul Hunter, who was among the crowds on the ground, about the mood there in the cold. "It's like nothing I've ever seen or experienced in my life," Mr. Hunter said, redundantly. He noted that it was cold, but people were very cheerful. We could see that. All the TV cameras needed to do was show the ordinary people whose enthusiasm embodied the day. A little later, after Mr. Obama's speech, Mr. Mansbridge put it to Mr. Hunter that "the crowd was very quiet." Mr. Hunter pointed out that they were "enraptured," a concept that, naturally, puzzles a nattering TV anchor ...

But no amount of blather could diminish the hour of utter magic that began at noon. Mr. Obama's stern face on his first appearance. The broad smile of his wife, Michelle, and the giddiness of their daughters. Aretha Franklin's tattered voice rising to the occasion. Yo-Yo Ma's delighted face as he stroked the cello. Mr. Obama's wry smile as both he and Chief Justice John Roberts struggled through the constitutional oath of office. The wit and irreverence of 87-year-old Rev. Joseph Lowery's benediction. "Brown can stick around," he said, among other things. And the smiles and giggles that greeted the elderly reverend's mischievous eloquence ...

As Mr. Obama was shown signing some papers, CNN's Wolf Blitzer blurted, "Oh, his penmanship is excellent."

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