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I have my reservations about Hug a News Person Day, which is coming up on April 4.
For one thing, they’re probably thinking of the kind of newspeople you see on TV.
“C’mon, admit it. You’ve watched your cute newsman day in and day out. You’ve always told yourself if you ever see him, you would give him a great, big hug. Well, today is your opportunity.”
Nope. Not even once.
See, because I worked for newspapers, my image of “newsman” comes closer to the iconic Lou Grant after he got fired from the Mary Tyler Moore TV station.
Gruff, disheveled, angry and impatient — Lou was the stereotypical city editor.
Except that, if you actually knew city editors, you realized that Lou Grant was a cleaned-up, lovable version of the real thing.
Real city editors had bad breath. They cursed, a lot. Their sense of humor consisted of sending a cub reporter out on assignment without telling him it was a double homicide in the worst part of town.
They kept a bottle in the bottom drawer. They smoked at the desk, in the bathroom and in the lunchroom. As far as I could tell, they never went home.
And those were the sociable ones.
I never once had the urge to hug one, and I would never have recommended anyone else trying. They risked getting punched.
OK, I admit it. That’s the long-gone image of the newsperson.
Now there are “10 Hottest News Anchors,” a list I don’t believe Walter Cronkite ever made. Probably because there are no men on it at all.
Even in the day, I doubt Barbara Walters ever posed quite like Megyn Kelly. Walters was delivering the news you need, not the news you want.
Regardless, I think you probably should ask permission before you hug any newspersons on April 4.
You still could get punched.
