Sign up for The Media Today, CJR’s daily newsletter.
Normally, we’d leave coverage of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show to, well, the dogs. But given that the winning pooch, a German shorthaired pointer named Carlee, has become both “America’s dog” (as television commentators reminded us repeatedly last night) and an instant celebrity, complete with appearances on network morning shows, we figured it was worth taking a look.
NBC, which recently extended its deal to cover the event for another ten years, thought enough of it to draft one of its cable news anchors to call the show. MSNBC’s Lester Holt, fresh off covering President Bush’s inauguration, provided commentary for the television broadcast on USA (another network owned by NBC Universal) — thereby providing a lesson in media ownership to go along with the discussion of canine pedigrees.
On the print side, USA Today, whose saturation coverage of the show included a Monday article handicapping the favorites and an online game testing one’s knowledge of various obscure dog breeds, managed only a brief “just-the-facts-ma’am” piece today.
The New York Times did a bit better. Writes Richard Sandomir, “Carlee’s victory does not necessarily set the stage for a run of victories by German shorthaired pointers. There are no New England Patriots-like dynasties at Westminster, and no handler who outgames his or her opponents with as much savvy as Bill Belichick.”
But the award for best in media show may go to John Markon, sports columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He writes, “‘Dog show’ is two words, not one. There’s a reason for this. It’s the issue facing every judge. Do you go for the dog … or do you go for the show?”
Of Coco, a hyperactive Norfolk terrier and finalist for the top award, Markon writes:
As a performer, the 6-year-old Coco would make Robin Williams or Jerry Lewis look subtle and understated. Last night was probably her final night in the ring — she took most of last year off to drop a litter of puppies — and she emptied her bag of tricks in front of judge Lynnette Salzman.
There were about 18,000 people in Madison Square Garden and Coco froze them all with one gesture during the finals. After one of her prancing walks up and down the green carpet, Coco stopped at Salzman’s feet and … you absolutely can’t make this up … looked Salzman dead in the eye, almost daring her to pick another winner. …
Another of the seven finalists was a border collie, identified a few years ago by Purdue University researchers as the most intelligent breed of dog.
This being so, he was probably smart enough to figure out he had no shot against Coco.
–Bryan Keefer
Has America ever needed a media defender more than now? Help us by joining CJR today.
