Accidental Reporter?

I remember reading a book about NBC Anchorwoman Jessica Savitch - really depressing, by the way - and the detours and deadends and fast highways she took to be on network TV. There was a passage in there that bears repeating:

"First of all, the news industry attracts immature people, because it allows you to be an adventurer, and to make a lot of money doing it. Second, it's a perfect world to hide out in, especially if you're one of the walking wounded, where something is wrong and you never quite grow up. And third, the news industry attracts antisocial people, because you can observe, rather than participate. Life is one big Halloween party, and you just keep changing costumes."

- Former NBC news reporter, quoted in "Golden Girl"

Okay, granted that I never really watched Ms. Savitch (except on YouTube) and her saga happened in the 70's and 80's and the news industry has changed so much since then - but still, maybe there's some truth to that observation.

Jessica Savitch - RIP, beautiful blonde cokehead lady - knew she was going to be a newscaster and everything she did in her life was towards the fulfillment of that goal. But Delia did not set out of San Francisco telling herself that she'd be on cable news someday. Somehow, I don't think that was the path she had chartered. There's nothing in her background that screams "TV woman", and 18 months after her much-heralded welcome, Delia seems as tentative on TV as ever.

Or maybe being on air at 6:00 a.m. just isn't fun. Like today's appearance on American Morning to talk about that James "I am Da King of Da World" Cameron's documentary about the "tomb of Jesus":

GALLAGHER: So then historians will come back and say, well, you know, those were common names at the time and the location, some have suggested, is not the location where Jesus's family would have been. That Jesus's family was in the north. This is in the suburb of Jerusalem. Jesus's family was very poor. Why would they have had this kind of mausoleum type burial.
S.O'BRIEN: But more than all of that, I mean if you have a mausoleum type burial, that works completely against the idea of the resurrection.
GALLAGHER: Precisely. Right. So there are a number of different points, of course, that people will be arguing about. But the larger point is that the story itself sort of challenges what is the major Christian belief that, you know, Jesus, first of all, ascended, you know, into heaven and so that there shouldn't be any remains of his left.
S. O'BRIEN: Wouldn't need the casket.
GALLAGHER: Right. And that he wasn't married with a child. So those are, you know, kind of the central claims that this is going to challenge.
S. O'BRIEN: Of course, the timing's very interesting, because we're in Lent.
GALLAGHER: And that is another thing that you'll hear a lot from Christians. You know, sort of, here we go again. Why is it every year this rolls around?
S. O'BRIEN: Because it suddenly makes documentaries very interesting, if you put sort of salacious information out.
GALLAGHER: Well, and the information can be interesting. I mean, people are interested in this kind of archeological stuff.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, it can be fascinating, whether it's true or not.
GALLAGHER: And Christians will say, you know, bring it on. That's OK, too.
S. O'BRIEN: Delia Gallagher, our faith and values correspondent.

Seriously? Two smart women, one from Harvard and the other from Oxford, discussing a major theological treatise in about 2 minutes? Who schedules these things?! No wonder Old Irish Guy was angry when they - Delia among them- talked about the same subject on Paula Zahn last night.

Accidental or not, Delia is already in the lions' den. And we're watching - if we ever wake up that early.


(Delia doing her Bethany Hughes impression...)