Lester Holt did not go to Korea to eat dog, but duty calls.
Let me explain. Like every host country, Korea is trying to put its best face forward during the Winter Olympics. That’s understandable, but it also puts NBC in a tough spot.
As any dog can tell you, all is not rosy on the Korean peninsula.
(I know it’s technically “North†and “South†Korea, but they have sort of unified during the Olympics in hopes of averting a nuclear war that would destroy the dog-meat industry.)
About 2 million pooches are bred for human consumption every year in Korea. I don’t mean to rain on any country’s cultural parade, so I’ll put this diplomatically …
EWWWW!
With the world’s eyes focused on Pyeongchang, local authorities wanted the city’s dog-meat restaurants to close during the Games. Most have refused.
Enter the Peacock Network. Like all media in the Trump Age, NBC has been touting its vital role as watchdogs who speak truth to power.
The problem is NBC is loathe to offend the IOC or host locales. Its most daring bit of journalism in Rio de Janeiro came when Hoda Kotb rubbed oil on that dude from Tonga.
Cut to Korea, where Holt recently ventured above the DMZ and turned into a ventriloquist dummy for Kim Jong Un.
The host of NBC Nightly News did a cheery report from a bustling ski resort he said “is a source of pride for a country trying to present a new and modern face to the world.â€
In truth, the resort is a $35 million public-relations farce that’s usually deserted because 98 percent of North Koreans are too weak from starvation to go skiing. Every “skier†that day was decked out in identical outfits to serve as background props.
Fake News, take a bow.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/david-whitley/os-sp-cheap-seats-david-whitley-0211-story.html
