, Columnist
Is the Media Blowing the Impeachment Hearings?
“Theater criticism” has its place when it comes to big public spectacles. But the press needs to get it right.
It’s not a movie.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty
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One flare-up after the first public impeachment hearing Wednesday was a heavy dose of anger at “theater criticism.” The media’s job, we’re told, is to cover the facts of the hearing, especially the accusations against the president and the evidence supporting them, not to speculate about how the event will play politically or how the public might react.