NationStates Jolt Archive


An open letter to Paula Zahn.

Silliopolous
22-09-2005, 16:02
(Note: Don't know how many others witnessed last night's CNN broadcast, but Paula's performance just cried out for commentary. Take it as you will.)


Paula, I should like to take this moment to thank you for your stellar performance last night with so clearly illustrated all that is wrong with the media today. I know, I know, if it bleeds it leads, And if they won't say so publicly - every reporter dreams of being the lucky schmuck in the right place at the right time. To get to be the Scud Stud. To be the dumb-assed jerkoff who thought they got the shit job of reporting on a man walking from a car into a building, and ended up as the one on the street when Rompin' Ronnie got shot, to stand over the twitching body of Brady and wring your hands in contrived over-emotion.

The timing Gods haven't been kind to you lately has it Paula? Anderson Cooper has got to have all the fun along the Gulf Coast while you get stuck back in the booth showing off your legs and chatting with dull "experts".

But for a brief shining hour, you thought you had hit the lottery. Not one, not two, but THREE stories exploding off the screen as the graphics flipped back and forth between the satellite shots of Rita, the radar maps of the storm around Mineapolis, and those poor souls circling the airport in California.

The excitement mounted, and it showed. you could hardly keep the smile off your face and the flush from your cheeks as you flipped back and forth through the stories. The eyes shining, the excitement mounting, the promised climax of an attempted landing impending as you gushed "Well Jacqui, I don't know about you. I've been doing this almost 30 years. I cannot remember a night like this when we're watching two major weather stories and the potential of a serious emergency landing out on the west coast all at the same time. ".

I swear at that moment had the cameras pulled back from your glowing face and sculpted hair that we would probably have caught the sight of you rubbing yourself, so caught up in the moment were you. Look at me! I'm an anchor when the shit's hitting the fan! Woo-hooo baby! Hit me with another! And had we witnessed a tragedy at long beach, I can almost see the way it would have looked. The image of the burning wreckage on one side of the split screen while on the other we would have been treated to you throwing your head back and screaming out "yes, yes, yes!" in the best onscreen PG rated orgasm since When Harry Met Sally. Frankly, I'm not sure if you could have held it back at that point.

It was grotesque Paula. It really was. All the more so from the excitement pre-occupying you to the point where your questions sank to depths of inanity formerly only seen on Fox.


"So Mr. Pilot expert-dude we called up - besides trying to land, what are their options?"


They're in a plane you dumb bitch! There ARE no other options!

"And what is the optimal thing these pilots are hoping for?"

To live Paula. Yes, even if it costs you ratings points they really want to see their loved ones again... go figure.


If there was any justice to last night's horrific display of self-indulgent, lustfull excitement, it was watching the plane circle around for one last circuit before finally landing on Larry's watch instead of yours. A landing that he covered with the proper dispassion expected of correct news reporting instead of the info-tainment crap we get subjected to most of the rest of the time.

But Paula? Really. you need to learn something.

Anchoring the news is NOT supposed to be all about you. I know it is to some extent, but you're supposed to have the professionalism and good grace not to show it.

So maybe for Christmas we'll send you a video montage of recent disasters and a vibrator so you can practice achieving orgasm without showing it. Because I don't think I want to see another night like last night, even if it does take another 30 years before you get the chance to repeat your performance.
Longlunch
22-09-2005, 16:37
Hmmm... I had never heard of Paula Zahn before today... didn't even know that she existed... but she doesn't seem to be any different from any other TV journalist.
Relax man... that's the standard for the profession... and "they" couldn't care less about what you think.
Sabbatis
22-09-2005, 16:53
That is too funny! I concur.
Free Soviets
22-09-2005, 17:00
i remember watching her interview ward churchill back when the right-wing noise machine figured out he existed. it was almost sad watching her try to talk to him without having the first clue as to who adolf eichmann was or about hannah arendt's work.
Silliopolous
22-09-2005, 17:01
Hmmm... I had never heard of Paula Zahn before today... didn't even know that she existed... but she doesn't seem to be any different from any other TV journalist.
Relax man... that's the standard for the profession... and "they" couldn't care less about what you think.


Didn't used to be that way. Infotainment is a recent and unwelcome intrusion into mainstream news and is why peole like Jon Stewart now have careers lampooning it.

As to whether they care - of course they do, but not for the resons one might hope. News serves one purpose: to sell advertizing. And losing viewership results in losing revenue.

And yes, that has always been the case, but 20 years ago at least you got the impression that the newsmen were about the story even if the company paying them wasn't. That is what has gone missing these days.
Alinania
22-09-2005, 17:02
Who is Paula Zahn? (ahaha! it's Miss 'Tooth' in German... I find that wildly amusing :))
HotRodia
22-09-2005, 17:05
I wonder what the public reaction would have been if Paula had actually had an orgasm on live television. *ponders*
Silliopolous
22-09-2005, 17:05
Who is Paula Zahn? (ahaha! it's Miss 'Tooth' in German... I find that wildly amusing :))


One of CNN's prime-time anchors, revered mostly for her legs which get displayed prominently in each and every newscast.....
Drunk commies deleted
22-09-2005, 17:22
One of CNN's prime-time anchors, revered mostly for her legs which get displayed prominently in each and every newscast.....
CNN is just plain dumb when it comes to showcasing hot news anchor women. Paula Zahn isn't all that attractive. They should ditch her and get Robin Mead from CNN Headline News to replace her.

Paula Zahn

http://www.catchoursmile.com/paula_zahn_photo.jpg


Robin Meade

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/images/meade.robin.jpg

There are actually MSN groups that feature photos of Robin Meade.
Free Soviets
22-09-2005, 17:23
I wonder what the public reaction would have been if Paula had actually had an orgasm on live television. *ponders*

it would be the outrage of the month, with clips played over and over on every station. "this is outrageous! how dare she?! let's watch it again in slow motion, so we can really let the outrage sink in."
Kryozerkia
22-09-2005, 17:38
I have to wonder if they had her on auto-playback... She was worse than usual last night. And I was only watching it because my dad had it on and I was too damn lazy to leave the room.
Silliopolous
22-09-2005, 17:44
it would be the outrage of the month, with clips played over and over on every station. "this is outrageous! how dare she?! let's watch it again in slow motion, so we can really let the outrage sink in."


and they'd probably bring back the repeats of Janet Jackson's nipple to remind the folks that we are all supposed to be offended by such things...
Kryozerkia
22-09-2005, 17:55
and they'd probably bring back the repeats of Janet Jackson's nipple to remind the folks that we are all supposed to be offended by such things...
And other such "sinful" acts that prove that the moral fabric of our society is going to hell in a handbasket... :rolleyes:
HotRodia
22-09-2005, 18:02
And other such "sinful" acts that prove that the moral fabric of our society is going to hell in a handbasket... :rolleyes:

Sinful? I dunno. Even under Catholic teaching I think you'd have a hard time suggesting that having an involuntary orgasm is sinful.
Iztatepopotla
22-09-2005, 19:20
Last night was very funny indeed. She just ran out of questions and kept making the same three of four to her experts over and over again. The question about the other options apart from landing almost made drop out of my chair with laughter, though. Oh, and the cellphone going off every 30 seconds or so.
Silliopolous
22-09-2005, 19:21
Sinful? I dunno. Even under Catholic teaching I think you'd have a hard time suggesting that having an involuntary orgasm is sinful.


An "involuntary orgasm"?


There's a joke there somewhere.... but I can't just put my finger on it...
BerkylvaniaYetAgain
22-09-2005, 19:24
I wonder what the public reaction would have been if Paula had actually had an orgasm on live television. *ponders*

Considering that it would be the first truthful, honest thing she's ever done on television, I imagine a lot of people would be quite surprised.

Go Go Gadget Zahn-bot!