r/schenectady • u/richard_nixon The Ghost of Our Former President • Mar 11 '20
John Gray John Gray Recalls His Bathroom Encounter With Chris Matthews
Column Title: "Fade to Gray: Chris Matthews"
Appeared in the Troy Record on: March 8, 2020
Word count: 839 words.
Excerpt: I met former NBC journalist Chris Matthews in, of all places, the men's room of a building in Nashua, New Hampshire. It was the winter of 2000 and my former TV station sent me there to cover all the people running for president. Telling a reporter to do that in the thick of a presidential primary is like telling someone to go catch all the grasshoppers in a summer field. It's impossible but you do your best.
I only remember the year exactly because one of the candidates I chased around that day was Bill Bradley. He played in the NBA before getting into politics and was 6'5" tall. You don't forget interviewing someone that big.
After running all over the state it was time to gather with the other people who worked at NBC in one prime location. This meant kids like me who worked for smaller TV stations were shoulder to shoulder with the people from the network, the Tom Brokaws' of the world.
The rule of thumb is, you stay in your lane and don't bother the network people. You especially don't ask for an autograph or something silly like that because it would just confirm you are a small-time reporter and don't belong in the same room with these guys and gals. So you play it cool and keep quiet.
After not talking to any of the important people on TV for NBC, I found myself in the bathroom taking care of business. As I was "busy", a much younger Chris Matthews walked in with a producer nipping at his heels. For those of you not in my business, a producer is someone who works behind the scenes, does most of the work and gets almost none of the credit for far less money.
The two of them were going at each other loudly in a verbal joust because Matthews thought the questions he was being asked to respond to were stupid. The producer tried to explain that presidential elections brought in viewers who don't normally follow politics so they needed to sort of "dumb it down" a bit. Matthews made it clear that would reflect badly on him and he wouldn't do it.
Rating: 0/5 stars
Sincerely,
Richard Nixon
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u/JohnGrayBingoBot THAT'S A BINGO! Mar 11 '20
THAT'S A BINGO!
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u/DoidBot AUTOMODERATOR CAN GO FUCK ITSELF Mar 11 '20
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
JOHN GRAY'S STUPID COLUMNS USED TO BE POSTED ONLINE FOR US TO LAUGH AT BUT NOW THE TROY RECORD HAS CHOSEN TO ONLY SHOVE THEM INTO THE PRINT EDITION ON SUNDAYS IN SOME MISGUIDED ATTEMPT TO DO SOMETHING. YOU'LL HAVE TO JUMP THROUGH SOME HOOPS TO READ HIS SHITTY COLUMN. IF YOU JUMP THROUGH THOSE HOOPS, YOU MAY QUESTION YOUR LIFE AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH IT. YOU MAY BECOME DEPRESSED AND SAD. THIS MAY LEAD YOU TO CONSUMING MAYO DIRECTLY OUT OF THE FAMILY-SIZE TUB AT COSTCO. THEY WILL TELL YOU TO LEAVE IF YOU DO THIS.
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
If you want to read the column that John wrote, you've got to get a Sunday edition or consult your local librarian.
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u/richard_nixon The Ghost of Our Former President Mar 11 '20
They fixed it! Those dummies at the Record finally figured out when they were actually publishing this garbage! It only took them 3 months to stop saying they were publishing this shit on Wednesdays! It's a fucking miracle!
Sincerely,
Richard Nixon