This afternoon, one of the more bizarre incidents at an introductory press conference that I have seen in about 40 years took place in Indianpolis.
The scene was a news conference for newly signed Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark. During the conference, remarks were made by Indianapolis Star writer Gregg Doyal which were, frankly, demeaning. In response to a question about how Clark makes a heart with her hands as a signal to her family, the reporter said, “Start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine.”
The last time I saw anything like that was in 1989, when the newly crowned Miss America was brought to New York City for a news conference, as is usual the Monday after the end of the pageant.
What happened? Let the former Miss America tell you:
“At the very first press conference, a very well-known New York reporter, a woman, deliberately tried to take me down. And she decided to give me a test, because I had been dubbed the ‘smart Miss America.’ She basically gave me a test of 20 questions, ending with ‘Have you ever done drugs?’ and ‘Have you ever had sex?’ And the entire press corps room booed her, which I have never seen happen ever again in New York City.”
You might know that former Miss America as news personality Gretchen Carlson.
For writers like me, neither situation covered the reporters with any sort of glory. It’s a bad, bad look for the current organized (and very corporate) news media, which are supposed to report the news, not be the news.
I think Doyal may have talked himself out of a career. Let’s see what happens.
