TV news anchors are even worse than what you think. Don Lemon is a good example. He was formerly with CNN and almost at Twitter/X.
I hope you have already read Victoria Taft’s report about Lemon’s list of absurd requests from Twitter/X owner Elon Musk. This includes a free Tesla Cybertruck and a $5,000,000 signing bonus. It also includes an $8,000,000 yearly salary. I was particularly impressed by this bit of chutzpah: veto power over changes to the editorial content at the company.
Freaking Don Lemon.
In 2014, this is the guy who asked if a “black hole” could have swallowed Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Lemon said, “That’s exactly what people say.” “I know that it’s absurd — but is it?”
Just a tiny black hole. One large enough to swallow a passenger plane but leave the planet unharmed. It’s not absurd at all, for someone who is too ignorant to discuss space with a fourth-grader or world events with adults.
Lemon was paid millions of dollars a year by CNN for “news” shows that were hardly watched.
Lemon is a symptom of what’s wrong in network news, which I will discuss shortly.
The agent and client relationship reaches a certain point when The Talk is necessary.
This is how it might look:
“Don, we have done great things together but you’ve always been trouble. You could not get along with others. Your ratings sucked. You know, I’ve told you a thousand times to shut up and not open your trap, but still, it didn’t work. You are a 58-year-old gay man with a great look. Your audience is middle-aged suburban women. Even if Nikki Haley was the subject, you can’t say they are ‘past prime’. You asked about the missing plane, and if it could have been sucked up by a black hole. Don, let’s be honest, I nearly dropped you. You know, I’m always shooting for the stars for you. Sometimes you can miss it. You’re done with Twitter. You’re done at CNN. NBC would prefer to have herpes rather than your back. Listen to me on this, There’s an open weekend weatherman position at WVTM Birmingham, and I recommend you apply before they change their mind.”
There’s too much money being spent on TV “news”. The egos were always huge, but now the money, the inflated egos, and the low standards of journalism have made it toxic.
Musk was correct when he stated that Lemon’s strategy “was basically ‘CNN on social media’, which didn’t work as CNN is dying.”
Since Rathergate, we’ve been aware that network news is dying. I cannot believe that CNN, CBS, and all of the other network news outlets, even if they are mere shadows, are still operating. This is a testament to the power of inertia.
Lemon is not to blame for aiming for the stars, but you have to wonder why a mediocre person would think he could get there.
