Media Log
The security folks might not like this shot, but oh well....Kudos to the AP.
Thank God the CTV (Centro Televisione Vaticano, for you EWTN fans) has a web feed now. If you're watching EWTN, you're watching non-liturgical homilies from American priests who like bloviating. If that floats your boat, fine. It doesn't do a damn thing for me.
But guess what? Thanks to Vatican television, I'm actually getting to watch THE POPE! Last time I checked, he's the star of the show here, not chatty types in plastic hats. B16's having a great time, and if you weren't watching EWTN, you could actually see that.
The Mobile is slowly winding its way through the streets of Cologne. It's beautiful, exciting -- and there's no commentary whatsoever besides the cheers of the crowd.
And EWTN fiddled while the Pope went out into the people.
What's new about that? Hats off to the CTV and Vatican Radio for a job well-done.
-30-
posted by Rocco Palmo at 13:42
7 Comments:
Um, me-ow.
I've gotta concur with Rocco. Part of what drove me nuts about EWTN's coverage of the death of JP2 and the Conclave, et alia, was that Neuhaus and Arroyo wouldn't pipe down.
Flambeaux,
You have the advantage of experience, so I'm not about to argue with you, or with Rocco for that matter. I just know that EWTN did have live coverage of the pope's arrival on the boat, and that Rocco's claws were showing here. I'm sure the news pleases him - when The Revealer took note of Whispers, he said that catty was what he went for.
I'm glad that someone finally mentioned the overpoweringly loud Neuhaus/Arroyo yack fest at JPII's funeral. It is curious that Anderson Cooper at CNN did a much more sensitive job of narrating the funeral service, mostly letting the mass speak for itself, with only gentle interjections and explanation.
Full disclosure: Matthew and his dad did an hour on Life on the Rock a couple weeks back... Sure it helped the book sales along quite nicely.
If I got that kind of publicity from EWTN, I'd be calling valid criticism of it "catty" and complaining about "claws" too. But I'm conflict-free in that department, so I roll on....
Oh, Rock. To quote Culture Club (yes, I am a musical dinosaur): "Do you really want to hurt me?/Do you really want to make me cry?"
Do you really think that was what drove me to comment? Book sales? (And even if you do think it, it's a helluva thing to impugn my motives in public like that.)
I was on the phone with my mother when EWTN covered the pope on the boat. Seeing it made Mom very happy. So I knew EWTN hadn't completely dropped the ball on showing the star.
But even if that particular criticism was valid, what scratched me the wrong way was the generalization that followed: "And EWTN fiddled while the Pope went out into the people. What's new about that?" That, combined with your earlier charge that "EWTN is insane" struck me as catty.
A word on word-choice: I used "catty" because of this bit from your April archives: "Lastly, I want to thank the good folks at The Revealer, who have given me a privileged pew in St. Blog's Parish. They've called this commentary 'pious to biting.' Biting? I'm really aiming for catty."
But here's the main point, Rock: I don't much care about EWTN, because I don't watch television. I rejoice in the good that they do and lament the ways in which they fail, but it's all a bit abstract. I do, however, read blogs. I posted the comment because I care about this blog - not because of EWTN, and not because of book sales.
I suppose EWTN could be livened up by a "Point/Counterpoint" or Crossfire" like segment co-hosted by Rocco and Diogenes.
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