Cronked Out
Did you know Walter Cronkite was once sick on live TV?
They only had one camera on the show and no other presenters were ready, so they couldn't quickly switch to another talking head. They had no VT cured up at the time so they couldn't run that, and for some reason no one thought to put up the colour bar pattern and announce technical difficulties.
And so it was that, on August 21st 1978, the great anchorman brought up his lunch in front of the nation, and still managed to be professional and dignified about it - saying he was terribly sorry and joking that normal service would be resumed as soon as possible.
After nearly two minutes, it was resumed, and Mr Cronkite - with a slightly stained tie - finished the report, before handing over to the weatherman.
Okay, none of that happened - I just made it all up. It's all horseshit.
But the thing is...did you believe it? Did you want to believe it, in spite of the somewhat implausible details? And do you think other people would believe it if you wrote about it on your blog?
I wonder if we could try a small experiment here. If you feel like participating, could you recast the above story in your own words, put it on your blog - possibly as an aside to something else - and see if anyone calls you out on it?
could we even start a meme here? Pump some bullshit into the internet and see if it travels anywhere. Maybe even the dizzy heights of wikipedia.
MJ? Eroswings? David? It might be...fun.
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Did you know Walter Cronkite was once sick on live TV?
ReplyDeleteThere’s a one hour special about him airing in ten minutes.
I wonder if they’ll mention it?
*reads down*
Oh damn.
I’ve already drafted Monday’s post so maybe someone else will play.
Looks like fun.
I'll admit it, I'd believe it. It certainly seems plausible. I would have flown a plane sick if the weather hadn't grounded me. (And that's no lie.)
ReplyDeleteI had my doubts, but only because I don't recall seeing a youtube clip of it! I'll see what I can do.
ReplyDelete