Join us
the kicker

Miss New York: Palin, Pageant Misunderstood

January 26, 2009

Sign up for The Media Today, CJR’s daily newsletter.

During the question-and-answer section of Saturday night’s Miss America pageant, Miss New York, Taylor Smith, fielded this question:

In Governor Sarah Palin’s campaign for vice president, the media [ed. note: meaning, SNL?] made an issue of her having been a Miss America* contestant. Is that fair?

Miss New York mostly declined the invitation to criticize (or defend) “the media,” using her allotted response time instead to stand up for “what the Miss America organization is all about.” Have a look:

*wasn’t Palin actually a runner-up for Miss Alaska and, thus, technically, never actually a contender for Miss America?

Has America ever needed a media defender more than now? Help us by joining CJR today.

Liz Cox Barrett is a writer at CJR.