September 8, 2014

NYT correction: "David Gregory... displayed a gun magazine on the air, not a loaded gun."

An embarrassing "editing error" in the TV critic's review of Chuck Todd's debut as host of "Meet the Press." Imagine thinking Gregory had waved a loaded gun!

That review is linked at Drudge for the observation that "TODD TURNS ORANGE ON 'MEET'..."

But the critic, Alessandra Stanley, wasn't mean enough to say "orange." She said:
Even though he lost weight and gained a tan for his debut on Sunday, Mr. Todd doesn’t look like other anchors. For one thing, he has a goatee and speaks in a direct, conversational manner, without punchy diction or pomposity.
Stanley doesn't mention that Todd called attention to the new beardsiness of the show at one point, as he switched a second time from the Obama interview to a panel discussion:
... Joe and Nia are back. John Stanton of Buzzfeed is here, because we didn't have enough goatees on the desk for the first time as well....

24 comments:

James Pawlak said...

If I understand the applicable law, the possession of that magazine was a criminal offense in that jurisdiction.

Anonymous said...

exactly.

Imagine thinking Gregory had waved a loaded gun!


he wasn't arrested for the magazine, though others are, why oul he be arrested for a gun?

PB said...

Hey, "journalists" (and you're only a journalist if you're left-leaning) get a pass on laws that would trap normal people. Coke, meth, pot, heroin, what difference does it make?

Big Mike said...

Pawlak is correct. Under District of Columbia law, not only is possession of a high capacity magazine -- loaded or not -- illegal, but even an empty shell casing is illegal. The District considers an empty casing sans bullet to be the same as a loaded cartridge.

A good discussion of the draconian laws and strange regulations in the District of Columbia can be found in the book Emily Gets Her Gun by Emily Miller (use the Althouse Amazon portal to buy it).

People are very strange on the other side of the Potomac River from where I live.

chillblaine said...

"For one thing, he has a goatee."

Oh, that's what that thing on his face was! Because it looks like a prostitute's pubic beard.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

...displayed a gun magazine on the air...

What, did he hold up a copy of Guns & Ammo?

Humperdink said...

From the article

"Luke Russert, another MSNBC star ...."

Does that not speak volumes - for both the NYT and MSNBC?

Lukie Russert graduated from the same school of media stardom as Marie Harf and Jen (Lake Winna)Psaki.

Anonymous said...

If only David Gregory had displayed integrity, instead.

Carnifex said...

chillblaine said--"Because it looks like a prostitute's pubic beard."

I believe the word you're looking for is merkin.

And why should Todd be arrested for having possession of a banned magazine. He's part of the intelligentsia...they're better than us. I know so because they told me.

Just ask the tyrant in chief.

MadisonMan said...

A goatee describes hair below the lower lip only -- much like a goat's beard.

Michael said...

A magazine is the same as a gun, right? If it was filled w/ bullets and you dropped it something terrible would happen to the nearby children, right? Same same.

Insufficiently Sensitive said...

Imagine thinking Gregory had waved a loaded gun!

What with the level of 'journalist' knowledge of firearms, and the additional journalist love of symbol over substance (ever so effective in bulldozing public opinion, don't you know), it's no surprise at all that the discussion took that turn.

William said...

The NYT critic saw a different show than I did. I suspect that her beau ideal of a television newscaster is Rachel Maddow.

lgv said...

"A magazine is the same as a gun, right? If it was filled w/ bullets and you dropped it something terrible would happen to the nearby children, right?"

No. It is not the same. Besides, I believe it is against the law regardless of whether the bullets are in the magazine.

As noted, gun or magazine, a distinction without a difference according to the law.

Larry J said...

Michael said...
A magazine is the same as a gun, right? If it was filled w/ bullets and you dropped it something terrible would happen to the nearby children, right? Same same.


Nope, not even close. Drop a loaded magazine and nothing happens. Nothing will happen when most loaded guns are dropped, too.

Brando said...

Guys, I'm pretty sure Michael was being sarcastic.

If what Gregory did technically violated the law in D.C., then there's a pretty clear message that the local law enforcement authorities are sending--committing crimes is only going to get you in trouble if you're poor and unconnected.

On principle, they needed to arrest him and at least make him pay a fine.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Imagine thinking Gregory had waved a loaded gun!

Imagine making possession of an empty "high capacity" magazine apart from any ammunition of weapon a serious felony! No, wait, you don't have to imagine, sorry.

Well, imagine someone brazenly flaunting that law in the most public manner possible and somehow facing no legal consequences whatsoever while others who accidentally violate similar laws in the same district are harshly punished. Oh, damn, wait...

Michael said...

Larry J:

Rent an irony detector.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

Making Gregory's offense worse is the fact that NBC ran the magazine story by DC Metropolitan Police beforehand, and were told unequivocally that possession of the magazine was illegal, whether in commission of journalism or not. NBC and Gregory went ahead with the story anyway, believing that they were above the law. Given the actions of the DC Attorney General, they seem to have been correct. Unfortunately, private citizens have no get-out-of-jail-free cards.

Insufficiently Sensitive said...

If what Gregory did technically violated the law in D.C., then there's a pretty clear message that the local law enforcement authorities are sending--committing crimes is only going to get you in trouble if you're poor and unconnected.


You left out the biggest half of that story: Executive-branch operatives "technically" violated a whole encyclopedia of laws beginning with Fast and Furious, and running through their stonewalling of all those Congressional investigations and all those hard drives 'mysteriously' crashing just when their information had been requested.

The message is that White House allies exempt from the laws in Washington DC. As are black mobs exempt from hate crime laws when playing the knockout game with whites, no matter how poor and unconnected they are.

RecChief said...

I'm a bit surprised there isn't a blog post regarding the en banc review by the DC circuit court, and the Democrat Party packing of same. they've even agreed to rehear halbig v. burwell. Is this a law blog?

holdfast said...

When an $8 accessory that is nothing more than a piece of folded sheet aluminium with a spring and little platic tongue is a "lethal weapon", then the law is truly an @ss.

Chuck said...

Althouse, why do you lavish all of this attention on Meet the Press? How many blog posts have you done, for Tim Russert, David Gregory and now Chuck Todd?

You want to see the best Sunday Morning interviewer of our time? It's Chris Wallace, on Sunday's best show, Fox News Sunday.

RecChief said...

Chuck said...
Althouse, why do you lavish all of this attention on Meet the Press? How many blog posts have you done, for Tim Russert, David Gregory and now Chuck Todd?"


What analysis of MTP with Chuck Todd? the post about his beard?