September 7, 2007--Suri and Kiko
The overnight ratings for Katie Couric’s first appearance in the Walter Cronkite anchor chair swamped the competition. 13.6 million viewers tuned in while only 7.8 million watched Brian Williams on NBC. (Even more watched WWF wrestling.)
There of course was the curiosity factor, including from the mean-spirited (me included) who wanted to see what she was wearing (inappropriate post Labor Day white), check out her hairdo (frosted), and of course to see if she really did lose twenty pounds (no).
But then maybe folks stayed tuned because she was giving them the news and scoops they craved. Forget Lara Logan’s fine piece of reporting from southern Afghanistan (once again controlled by the opium farmers and their protectors, the Taliban), I suspect people hung in with Katie to get to the happy news (in El Salvador’s poor having their portraits painted) and of course, of paramount interest, to catch the first glimpse of the Vanity Fair photos of Tom Cruise’s new baby, Suri.
Caryn James, in today’s NY Times, gets the Suri story right—how the 22-page spread in VF is a calculation by Tom to show that he is just a “regular human being.” He is so shameless that he even dragged the children he adopted while married to Nicole Kidman out to his Telluride ranch so that they too could be included in this “family album.” (See article linked below.)
OK, that’s what Vanity Fair and Annie Leibovitz are all about—publicity and of course vanity. But the Tiffany Network’s Evening News? And mind you, they didn’t offer the Suri photo as an afterthought at the end, to help us sip back into our self-imposed comas. Rather, after the voiceover of Walter Cronkite introducing Katie, the first words out of her mouth after, “Hi, I’m Katie Curic,” were about the photo scoop.
Not at all mentioned on the show was the news, actual news, about another baby, a story of significant political and cultural consequence—the birth of a male child to Princess Kiko, the wife of the younger son of the Emperor of Japan. After 40 years of having no boy-child in line to become Emperor during the next generation many in Japan have been into a frenzy about what to do. All of this has literally driven the wife of the crown prince crazy since she has not been able to deliver a son. (This Times story also below.)
Some in Parliament have been attempting to pass a law that would allow a female to become Emperor, saying it is after all the 21st century. But conservatives there have blocked that, even suggesting that the Crown Prince should take a concubine and have her have his son. That has occurred many times through the centuries.
Unspoken in all of this is that maybe the fertility problem is with the Crown prince himself! If that’s the case, perhaps then his wife should take whatever the male version of concubine is—sperm donor, gigolo?
If it gets to that, trust me, Katie will be the first to cover that story.
There of course was the curiosity factor, including from the mean-spirited (me included) who wanted to see what she was wearing (inappropriate post Labor Day white), check out her hairdo (frosted), and of course to see if she really did lose twenty pounds (no).
But then maybe folks stayed tuned because she was giving them the news and scoops they craved. Forget Lara Logan’s fine piece of reporting from southern Afghanistan (once again controlled by the opium farmers and their protectors, the Taliban), I suspect people hung in with Katie to get to the happy news (in El Salvador’s poor having their portraits painted) and of course, of paramount interest, to catch the first glimpse of the Vanity Fair photos of Tom Cruise’s new baby, Suri.
Caryn James, in today’s NY Times, gets the Suri story right—how the 22-page spread in VF is a calculation by Tom to show that he is just a “regular human being.” He is so shameless that he even dragged the children he adopted while married to Nicole Kidman out to his Telluride ranch so that they too could be included in this “family album.” (See article linked below.)
OK, that’s what Vanity Fair and Annie Leibovitz are all about—publicity and of course vanity. But the Tiffany Network’s Evening News? And mind you, they didn’t offer the Suri photo as an afterthought at the end, to help us sip back into our self-imposed comas. Rather, after the voiceover of Walter Cronkite introducing Katie, the first words out of her mouth after, “Hi, I’m Katie Curic,” were about the photo scoop.
Not at all mentioned on the show was the news, actual news, about another baby, a story of significant political and cultural consequence—the birth of a male child to Princess Kiko, the wife of the younger son of the Emperor of Japan. After 40 years of having no boy-child in line to become Emperor during the next generation many in Japan have been into a frenzy about what to do. All of this has literally driven the wife of the crown prince crazy since she has not been able to deliver a son. (This Times story also below.)
Some in Parliament have been attempting to pass a law that would allow a female to become Emperor, saying it is after all the 21st century. But conservatives there have blocked that, even suggesting that the Crown Prince should take a concubine and have her have his son. That has occurred many times through the centuries.
Unspoken in all of this is that maybe the fertility problem is with the Crown prince himself! If that’s the case, perhaps then his wife should take whatever the male version of concubine is—sperm donor, gigolo?
If it gets to that, trust me, Katie will be the first to cover that story.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
10:52 AM
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