Alan Suderman at Washington City Paper (10/28/10)caught NBC host David Gregory moderating an education event at a Washington hotel, where the Meet the Press host lavished praise on controversial former D.C. schools chancellor (and media darling) Michelle Rhee:
Before we begin, we have Chancellor Michelle Rhee here, and I just want to say publicly what I say privately, which is, thank you for what you’ve done, thank you for your commitment, for your leadership, for your stick-to-it-ness and for the result that you have achieved. Washington, D.C., will miss you greatly…. But your commitment to kids and to education endures, and there will be a great many people lining up to support you and your efforts.
As Suderman notes, “It’s hard to imagine he would dare say something like that publicly about any other polarizing national figure.”
An audience member posed some critical questions to Gregory about his show, chastising the host for asking too many softball questions and ignoring important issues like military spending. Gregory was having none of it:
“Sir, sir, you know what, with all due respect, I don’t know which program you’re watching because every week–I’m not going to get in a debate with you–I ask about taxes, I ask about how you pay for taxes,” Gregory said, later adding: “And by the way sir, I’ve also dedicated the program to talking about education and about reform as well.”
At this point, the man tried to interject, but Gregory wouldn’t have it:”No, sir, I get the last word here, you asked the question…. Just because people don’t listen or don’t take action behind it is not something I can directly control.”
As for Gregory’s commitment to doing shows about education “reform,” here’s a taste of how that actually works (Extra!, 9/10):
On November 15, 2009, NBC‘s Meet the Press assembled a panel featuring Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Republican leader Newt Gingrich and community activist Al Sharpton–all of whom are more or less on the same side of corporate-friendly school “reform.” An opposing view could be found in a taped soundbite from the American Federation of Teachers’ Weingarten–which was then countered with a soundbite from Rhee. All of which served as a setup for NBC host David Gregory to pose this question to Duncan: “Why should anybody believe that a Democratic president, who relies on interests like the unions who are out there organizing and who vote, why should somebody believe that he’s really going to take them on, that you are really going to take them on to force accountability?”
Gregory squirms when asked a tough question, spinning and stonewalling. It’s hard to believe anyone takes David Gregory seriously. Watching his program is like panning for gold in the Potomac, a guarantee to disappoint. And, on this post, I have the final word.
You bet, know_then_do, but there is one person who takes Mr. Gregory very seriously: the person who stares back at him in the bathroom mirror every morning
Amen to “Know_then_do.” Right on the money. NBC has been making bad decisions for a decade, now. Gregory is just the tip of the iceberg.
Got that right. “Right on the money”. Gregory, like his fellow corporate media infotainers, only poses as a journalist. Anyone who has an agent is an actor, not a journalist. In Gregory’s case, a bad actor.
“Affirmative action” Gregory….or shall we say”heriditary action”?
David Gregory and NBC News in general is dedicated to the privatization of education, this despite the failure of the move towards privatization, when indication is defeat of Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty in the Democratic primary was due in significant part to his strong support for his schools chancellor Michelle Rhee. Illustrating their strong support for democracy, Gregory and NBC effectively dismiss the public’s revolt against Rhee and her policies, running a full week coverage of the anti public school film “Waiting for Superman.” Little to no attention was paid to why the public disliked Rhee’s policies. As Gregory says, “No, sir, I get the last word here.”
there was a good response by a former leader of charter schools who has seen the light is now against corporitization. In her review of “Waiting for superman” Diane Ravitch rebutted all the major falsehoods on this issue in The NY Review of Books.
The issue is not David Gregory, the issue is Michelle Rhee’s policy vs the tried and failed policies of Diane Ravitch and her union cronies. For those who are open minded, I urge them to study the background history of the issue and then make up their minds. Regarding the review by Diane Ravitch of, ‘Waiting For Superman’, in no way did she rebut so called ‘major falsehoods’ on this issue. Quite the contrary. Again, for those who are open minded, I urge them to see the film and then read the review and decide for themselves.
Mr. Gregory is another “lightweight” in the field of news reporting. He would do better to deliver the weather and traffic rather than try to give us a fair and balanced story on a major issue ; but then that’s the state of American “corporate” news reporting these days.