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FOX: Jan. 6 Committee hearings declared 'most important TV of the year' by the New York Times
FOX is losing its mind (what little there is to lose) over this New York Times Opinion piece.
When the reality of what they promoted bitch slaps them into wide eyed horror of their part in the last six years, of COURSE they would.
The hearings, produced by James Goldston, the former president of ABC News, succeeded not just through good intentions but also by being well-made, well-promoted TV. They may have been a most unusual eight-episode summer series (with more promised in September). But they had elements in common with any good drama...
Beginning the first hearing with footage of the mayhem at the Capitol was an unusual choice by congressional standards. But it was familiar to anyone who watches TV mini-series — the in medias res opening, dropping you at the scene of the crime and then doubling back to trace, step by step, episode by episode, the actions that brought us to this pass.
Each hearing, like the installments of a streaming thriller, focused on a discrete aspect of the attack on the election — the pressure on state governments, the incitement of the mob, the involvement of right-wing hate groups — each building on the last and drawing connections. Thursday night, the narrative came full circle, returning us to the climactic day, this time from the heart of the White House.
Like the graphics, the hearings’ structure gave viewers a map, making sure they knew where they were, where they’d been and where they were going...
this was possible partly because the Republican leadership, having first tried to put Trump ride-or-dies on the committee, declined to name any members.
This freed the committee and Mr. Goldston to do a rare thing in a modern congressional hearing: create a unitary narrative with a sustained argument, without one wing of the committee trying to kick up dust and derail the effort. Future committees may try to imitate this broadcast, but their detractors may not give them the same opportunity. This may be one more TV success that proves difficult to imitate...
... If the hearings end up accomplishing more than expected, it may be because they have expected more of their audience. However many reasons there are to be cynical, the committee took its shot, told its story and trusted that we still had decency, at long last.
Beginning the first hearing with footage of the mayhem at the Capitol was an unusual choice by congressional standards. But it was familiar to anyone who watches TV mini-series — the in medias res opening, dropping you at the scene of the crime and then doubling back to trace, step by step, episode by episode, the actions that brought us to this pass.
Each hearing, like the installments of a streaming thriller, focused on a discrete aspect of the attack on the election — the pressure on state governments, the incitement of the mob, the involvement of right-wing hate groups — each building on the last and drawing connections. Thursday night, the narrative came full circle, returning us to the climactic day, this time from the heart of the White House.
Like the graphics, the hearings’ structure gave viewers a map, making sure they knew where they were, where they’d been and where they were going...
this was possible partly because the Republican leadership, having first tried to put Trump ride-or-dies on the committee, declined to name any members.
This freed the committee and Mr. Goldston to do a rare thing in a modern congressional hearing: create a unitary narrative with a sustained argument, without one wing of the committee trying to kick up dust and derail the effort. Future committees may try to imitate this broadcast, but their detractors may not give them the same opportunity. This may be one more TV success that proves difficult to imitate...
... If the hearings end up accomplishing more than expected, it may be because they have expected more of their audience. However many reasons there are to be cynical, the committee took its shot, told its story and trusted that we still had decency, at long last.
Going out on a limb here to say this piece and the FOX outcry convince me that not only was the content and technical excellence of the Jan 6 Committee Hearings unbeatable, but also that we won't ever have occasion to need to hold such public hearings again. And if Republicans ever try, they'll flop like Faux news.
A detailed review of the Jan 6 Committee's "production":
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/22/arts/television/jan-6-hearings-tv.html
8 replies
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I'D BUY IT, TOO! FOR POSTERITY!
