Puff-Piece Trilogy: ABC News’ Softball Linda McMahon Interview With Kate Snow

Yesterday the co-anchor of Good Morning America, Kate Snow, profiled Linda McMahon for the Saturday edition of World News Tonight. The story was more dumb than a corrupt puff piece — characteristically so for TV news.

The segment was promoted with a straighter text story — probably written by producer Joel Siegel — on the ABC News website. There McMahon was quoted, albeit cursorily and perfunctorily, on the obvious question of what was daintily referred to as “all these health issues” of pro wrestlers. What a polite way to avoid mentioning directly that the talent in the industry McMahon’s company dominates have dropped dead in amazing numbers. Still, this was better than nothing. (See “ABC News’ First Pass at Linda McMahon Coverage Is a Dud,” http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/abc-news-first-pass-at-linda-mcmahon-piece-is-a-dud/.)

Today ABC News has published an online transcript of Snow’s interview with McMahon. The transcript shows Snow — who had turned her arm-wrestling challenge to McMahon into a frivolous thread on Snow’s Twitter feed — asking not a single question about occupational health and safety issues on the watch of a businesswoman running for the U.S. Senate.

Disgraceful performance.

Irv Muchnick