Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate. I won’t be posting too much today, but definitely stop by in case I do post something of value to you (I know, I know, it’s all so valuable).
The New York Times spoke with Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes, and, even though he is a Yankees fan, he had the following to say about interviewing Roger Clemens (January 6th, 2008) in regards to the Mitchell Report and Brian McNamee’s allegations.
Wallace said Monday that he had already begun to map out the questions he wanted to ask Clemens.
“Why would McNamee say these things he said?” said Wallace, a point that has been asked by others because McNamee was compelled to meet with Mitchell’s investigators by federal prosecutors and could be in legal jeopardy if found to be lying.
“Mitchell is thorough, fair and careful,” Wallace added, “so you have to take that into consideration as well when you are thinking about questions to put to Roger.”
Wallace acknowledged that some might perceive him as a less-than-perfect questioner because he is a Yankees fan. He has been a frequent guest of George Steinbrenner in Steinbrenner’s suite at Yankee Stadium, where Clemens played for six seasons and helped win two world championships.
“I like Steinbrenner, he liked me, we became good friends,” Wallace said. “I spent a lot of time in his suite.”
But Wallace added: “A reporter wants to be objective. You know that.”
Among those with great interest in what Clemens may say on “60 Minutes” are several thousand high school coaches in Texas who, in light of the Mitchell report, remain undecided about having Clemens speak at their annual convention Jan. 12.
In a telephone interview Monday, Jim Long, the president of the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association, said the group wanted to see what Clemens would say about the Mitchell report on “60 Minutes.”
“We are not asking Roger questions like reporters,” Long said. “He has denied the allegations and we are just like everybody else, and want to learn more. We are trying to get as much information as possible before we make a decision.”
You know, there’s no such thing as subjectivity. It’s simply an impossible task to explicitly maintain objectivity throughout an entire news segment. A smile, a laugh, an understanding nod or a particular follow-up question are always indications of subjectivity’s presence. Wallace and Clemens “trust” each other, so it will be interesting to see how the entire interview plays out.
However, Wallace knows that, when he says his job is to be “objective,” what he really means is that his job is to suppress his subjective feelings (as much as possible) towards Clemens as a player and Yankee great, and ask him logical, meaningful and critical questions. This is his job as a journalist. The big question is why would McNamee lie and Wallace definitely has that one down.
So, I expect to see an insightful interview and one that tackles the tough stuff. Hopefully, Clemens will bring some form of hard evidence to the table in his attempt to clear his name.
