Back in 1975, when Saturday Night Live was new, and funny, and equal opportunity, it developed a catchphrase, Franco is still dead, to mock overkill news coverage.
In this case, the reference was to Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, who was in ill health. Networks, including NBC, repeated stories ad nauseam about Franco’s health. On slow news days, they led with reports he still was alive.
Eventually, this prompted SNL wiseguy Chevy Chase, on his parody weekend news update, first to report Franco’s death, then repeat weekly that Franco still was dead.
Not a lot has changed in intervening years, witness the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother and the cloying, insipid coverage it has inspired. For almost two weeks, the elderly, ailing woman has been missing and news types rush to their cameras hourly with breathless updates that basically amount to, we know nothing more than we did when she first disappeared.
Imagine my surprise Tuesday night when I attempted to tune in the Gutfeld show at 10 p.m. and instead found an insufferable Fox News talking head giving the latest Guthrie updates, which is to say nothing.
Eventually it came to light that some food delivery type, a “person of interest” had been questioned and released. For that I had no Gutfeld show.
To understand Fox’s idiocy on this, the network pre-empted its most successful, most well-done prime time show to run useless fluff and speculation, just because it could.
Allow me to speculate. Savannah’s mother is dead. Period. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t like the odds of her being alive.
Once you have arrested someone, get back to me. Until then, stop imitating Saturday Night Live with Franco is still dead updates.
It occurs me that it is curious that so much is allowed to be said about Savannah’s missing mother, but other topics, news happening even as we speculate about Mrs. Guthrie, remains largely in the background.
Were you stunned when it leaked out the Canada mass shooter was yet another trans type? I wasn’t. But such reality is not spoken about in polite company.
Similarly, we are to ignore that Josh Shapiro’s Pennsylvania government hands out CDLs like CrackerJack prizes, leading to carnage around the nation.
Voter ID, why that’s just discrimination. Yes, I needed ID — a driver’s license — to cash checks today at the bank I’ve used for about 50 years. Yes, I need such ID to board airplanes, enter federal buildings, secure a loan, buy alcohol, operate a car, carry a handgun, etc., etc., etc. But asking for ID from voters, that’s absurdly racist.
Pointing out widespread fraud in Minnesota, California, and other blue strongholds, that also is verboten. What’s a little fraud, especially when it supports left-wing radicals?
Olympians embarrassed to represent the United States, ridiculous Super Bowl political screeds passing as halftime shows, national politicians alleged to be on the payroll of Chinese interests, record low crime rates, massive job and income growth, all these seem to merit little or no mention. But give me the latest Guthrie non-update. Yes, please.
I long for a time when people tasked with reporting news understood what news was.
Those people are long gone, apparently, replaced with dull, largely brainless types who can spend an hour talking about stale developments and offering nothing new.
Because you accept this, you will get more of it.
Maybe in a year or so we’ll find out what happened to Mrs. Guthrie. But don’t hold your breath.
Sam Ross Jr's site 