Republican pundit Nicolle Wallace and former George W. Bush Communications Chief was the only woman on one of the several panels Chuck Todd used to critique the media. She was the only one who had a sensible statement.
Republican pundit Nicolle Wallace continues to call as spade by its name
Nicolle Wallace has been calling a spade by its name throughout the election. As the media looks inward to their failures, she urges them to come clean.
Chuck Todd attempted to deflect some of the press’ dereliction on to Democratic and Republican actors trying to delegitimize the media. Nicolle Wallace did not want to entertain some false complexity for the problem.
“I think we’re staring at trees and missing the forest,” Wallace said. “We’ve just elected a man who bullies female reporters at his rally as an applause line. We have just elected a man who started a hot war with a female anchor instead of intending a debate she moderated. We are in a new place. And I don’t think it’s good. And I don’t think it has any parallels to the past. And I don’t think Trump needs the press. But I think he wants them like an addict craves their drugs.”
It is evident she was attempting to open up the discussion to be more reality based. But her statements were basically ignored. The purpose of Todd’s several panels was commendable. He wanted to examine why the media is held in such contempt and what they could do to improve it. Unfortunately, he failed miserably to have a serious discussion mostly because all his panels were insiders, predominantly white males of somewhat congruous viewpoints, a few white females scattered in, and one black man, the executive editor Dean Baquet of the New York Times, an establishment newspaper whose gravity gives its leader little leeway.
Based on what I saw with Todd’s introspection, the media has no desire to leave its country club stature. It only wants someone to say they will be okay with minor changes on the edge.
The reality is as Wallace said, for more than one reason, they are missing the forest for the trees.
The media needs a drastic change. It needs to reflect those that it serves. The media need people familiar with the distinct communities they fail to cover accurately. Only then can they hold politicians, bureaucrats, and themselves accountable.