What can we learn from RFK’s ‘erotic poetry’? That Americans need to get better at enjoying a scandal | Marina Hyde
In a recent article, Marina Hyde, a columnist for The Guardian, humorously critiques the serious tone often adopted by American journalism, particularly in light of a scandal involving U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and journalist Olivia Nuzzi. Hyde argues that the American media’s tendency to treat even the most absurd situations with grave seriousness misses the opportunity for levity and laughter. She notes that while the British press is often self-aware about its sensationalism, American journalists seem to be caught up in a self-important narrative, which can lead to an overblown portrayal of events that are, in essence, quite ridiculous.
Hyde references Becerra’s alleged romantic correspondence with Nuzzi, which reportedly included unconventional poetry, and compares it to a previous scandal involving a former UK health secretary. She highlights the stark contrast in how such incidents are reported across the Atlantic. While the British press might revel in the absurdity of a politician’s indiscretions, the American press risks elevating these stories to a level of seriousness that they do not warrant. The author suggests that instead of approaching these stories with somber analysis, a more humorous perspective would not only be refreshing but also more appropriate given the circumstances. Ultimately, Hyde’s commentary serves as a reminder that sometimes, laughter is the best response to the absurdities of political life, urging American journalists to embrace a more lighthearted approach to their reporting.
The US health secretary’s ‘digital affair’ with Olivia Nuzzi doesn’t need sombre analysis. Take it from this Brit: sometimes laughter is the only option
Literally nothing on this earth takes itself as seriously as American journalism. There are rogue-state dictators it’s more permissible to laugh at than the endlessly hilarious pretensions of newsmen and newswomen in the United States. The crucial difference between the British press and US press is that at least we in the British press
know
we’re in the gutter. The Americans have always imagined – and so loudly – that they are involved in some kind of higher calling. Guys, I love you and stuff, but get over it, because you’re missing one of the great jokes of the century. Yourselves.
I don’t deny that everything’s bigger in America. Our former health secretary had a knee-trembler up against his office door
in the pandemic
; their current one
apparently
wrote felching … poetry, is it … felching poetry? … to a superstar journalist who was worrying about his brainworm, yet the story is being written up like it’s Dante, instead of X-rated Italian brainrot.
Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist
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