Catching lies
In late 1994 I took a trip to NBC studios in New York City to do a behind the scenes story on “The Today Show.”
Back then it was hosted by Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric. Those two were big stars, so I spent lots of time waiting for my chance to talk to them on camera about their jobs. During that idle time, I had a chance to meet and chat with the newest cast member on the show, a news reader named Matt Lauer.
Having spent time in the Big Apple before I knew Matt’s name and face from his work at WNBC; that’s the NBC station people who live in New York City watch.
We shook hands, he politely asked which affiliate TV station I was from and I asked him how he liked going from a local news anchor to this big job on a national show? Lauer thought for a moment and said, “Well, I’ll tell you something and you’ll understand this because you’re a TV anchor in Albany” He continued, “Before, when I just did the news here in New York, I was only known in New York. Once you’re on the Today Show you can’t go anywhere without people knowing you and that’s a double-edged sword.”
He went on to explain that now when he travels, even out of the country, he has no privacy or anonymity. I remembered thinking after our talk that Lauer seemed like a decent guy.
Jump ahead a couple decades and we all know how that turned out; Lauer fired in disgrace amid a sexual assault accusation. My first thought when I saw the news was, “I guess all that fame and money changed him.” Then my next thought was, “Maybe he was always a creep and hid it well.” I’ll tell you this, I have no right to have an opinion on the man, or any of you for that matter, if I don’t know you personally, because I simply don’t know you.
When it comes to strangers, I figure keep your opinion to yourself and let God settle out the invoices and sins at the end of the day. I truly believe both the innocent and the guilty get their just due in the end.
I brought up Lauer because he was in the news twice this week. First the N.Y. Times did an article questioning the reporting style and accuracy of everyone’s media darling, Ronan Farrow. Without boring you with the details the Times says Farrow cuts corners and doesn’t follow basic journalistic protocol when researching and writing stories.
A day after the Times piece hit, Matt Lauer released a lengthy article making the same accusations about Farrow’s bestselling book “Catch and Kill.” I didn’t read the book for two reasons. First, I’m cheap and didn’t want to spend the twenty bucks on it. Second, as tantalizing as I’m sure the sordid details were, I didn’t have the stomach for reading a few hundred pages on sleazy men taking advantage of women.
The thought turned my stomach. It’s the same reason I don’t watch slasher, horror movies. It always leaves me feeling worse for the experience.
I don’t know if Lauer did all the things he was accused of and I don’t know if Farrow only spoke to former NBC people who hated Lauer and had an ex to grind. I do know as a journalist you shouldn’t write or report things unless you have multiple sources confirming it. And that part of the job stinks because sometimes you know right down to your bones you have something right but without the proof you are stuck.
To quote Tom Cruise, as he yelled at Demi Moore in “A Few Good Men,” “It doesn’t matter what I believe. It only matters what I can prove.”
All of this is on my mind because of two emails I received after my column last Sunday. One man called me a coward for not vigorously attacking President Trump and his handling of the coronavirus. Another man called me a coward for not vigorously attacking Governor Cuomo for his handling of the coronavirus.
These were two people on opposite sides of the political spectrum, mad at me for the same exact column but seeing it entirely differently. Go figure.
I tried to explain to them it’s not my job to attack or “hate” anyone. If I wanted to do that, I’d quit my day job and go sit on a panel on MSNBC or FOX. They love attack dogs. My job in this column is to share my thoughts on the things I see and, on occasion, make you laugh, cry or think.
I’m not perfect and if I could go back and rewrite the 1,500 columns I’ve penned in 25 years I’m sure I’d change things or as Bob Seger says, “What to leave in, what to leave out.” These days we are all running against the wind.
Just know I’m doing my best.