On Wednesday, former Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife of four years, Heather Mills McCartney, confirmed that they were separating, blaming an intrusive media as a major factor in their split.
CNN responded by effectively proving the McCartneys’ point.
On Your World Today, the network turned to correspondent Becky Anderson for a live report from London. Perched in front of the McCartneys’ home holding an umbrella, Anderson informed viewers it was “a miserable day in London.” In an “ironic twist of fate,” she said, “the man who penned the hymn to happiness and compassionate and companionship will effectively spend his 64th birthday on his own at this point. Of course, he wrote the song When I’m 64.”
Then, as stock footage rolled of Sir Paul (age 63) and Heather (38) in happier times, Anderson delved into “what went wrong” — a feast of rumor, speculation and hearsay:
Well, many people say that Heather Mills resented living with a man who stole more of the limelight than she did. They say that Sir Paul McCartney is looking for a quieter life these days whereas Heather Mills, [25] years his junior, is looking to ramp up her charity events and commitments. There are also those who say that she was a shameless self-promoter who saw him as a means to success. Indeed, Stella McCartney, his daughter, is said to see her father’s wife as a manipulator.
Who are these people “saying” all these low, petty things? Anderson gave no indication, though it is likely she was referring to talk circulating in the British tabloids. But as it quickly turned out she had no interest in ascertaining how true the hearsay was — only in repeating it.
“Who knows whether any of these stories are right?” Anderson said. “What we do know is that they have decided to go their separate ways.”
For some balance, she quoted a statement from Paul McCartney in which he refuted the suggestion that Heather had married him for money and called her “a very generous person” — before Anderson threw in the towel on reporting.
“So what went wrong? We probably will never know,” Anderson said. (Attempting to get at the truth — who needs it?) She concluded with the obvious: “They say they have decided to go their separate ways — effectively, their marriage is over.”
It was a sad performance, especially compared with some of the other quality international fare on the Your World Today broadcast, which included a story on ethnic cleansing from the outer reaches of Myanmar and a lengthy interview with Madeleine Albright.
But then, “some people” say that CNN is getting fluffier. And “there are also those who say” that CNN’s standards are slipping.
Edward B. Colby was a writer at CJR Daily.