On Wednesday, NBC’s Today devoted nearly three minutes to promoting some “never before-seen” photos of the Kennedy family while it gave a mere 18 seconds to Governor Bobby Jindal’s presidential announcement, burying it in a story on the new U.S. policy towards hostage negotiations.
CBS This Morning ignored Jindal’s presidential bid altogether whereas ABC’s Good Morning America demoted the presidential announcement to its on-screen crawl with ten words during its Wednesday morning broadcast.
Reporter Kate Snow beamed at how the photos show “images of our American royalty” before quickly doing her best to argue that the Kennedys are just a “typical everyday family”:
There's Caroline blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. Sharing a picnic with her mom, the first lady, out in the yard. John Jr., dozing off in his crib, then older, walking the dog in the park. And here, a smile from the president himself. These are just a few of the newest glimpses into Camelot we have, now going up for auction this week in Los Angeles.
The NBC reporter then turned to Laura Kirk of Nate D. Sanders Auctions, who is overseeing the sale of the Kennedy photos, to admire that the family “just have such a mystique and everybody loves them and the photos are so cute.”
After Snow detailed the different items being auctioned off she once again tried to downplay the “American royalty” label she gave the Kennedys “amid the prestige of Camelot, intimate everyday moments like these, ordinary snapshots from a life that was anything but.”
The NBC reporter continued to tout the public’s supposed love of the Kennedys and then played a soundbite of the Washington Post’s Robin Givhan who admired the long-running public affection towards them:
They don't age. They don't change. I mean, they are sort of captured in this one particular moment that we have romanticized and that we tend to view through rose colored glasses. And so I don't think we ever tire of that.
In contrast to the over-the-top puff piece on the Kennedys, during the 7:00 a.m. hour reporter Peter Alexander barely mentioned Governor Bobby Jindal’s presidential bid during a segment on the new U.S. policy towards hostages. The NBC reporter noted that Jindal is “announcing that he will be joining this race. That makes him Republican candidate number 13 for those keeping track.”
NBC’s love affair with the Kennedy’s is nothing new and over the years both Today and NBC Nightly News have run numerous pieces promoting the “American Royalty.” In 2013, the network fawned over memorabilia of John F. Kennedy provided by a close friend while ignoring how JFK and the friend shared an intern for sex.
In April of 2014 NBC’s Today swooned over Caroline Kennedy becoming the Ambassador to Japan with Peter Alexander labeling her “more dignitary than diplomat.” On February 16, 2015 the co-hosts of Today gushed over “striking” 50-year-old photos of JFK and Jackie vacationing on Cape Cod in 1961.
See relevant transcript below.
NBC’s Today
June 24, 2015
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Anyway now to a look inside Camelot; we’ve been talking about this this morning. It’s a series of never before-seen photos of the Kennedys and these photos are being auctioned off this week. Today National Correspondent Kate Snow is here with the story. Hey Kate, good morning.
KATE SNOW: Hey Savannah, good morning. 79 photos in all, many of them candid moments of the Kennedy kids, Caroline and John, Jr. Images of our American royalty as a typical, everyday family. There's Caroline blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. Sharing a picnic with her mom, the first lady, out in the yard. John Jr., dozing off in his crib, then older, walking the dog in the park. And here, a smile from the president himself. These are just a few of the newest glimpses into Camelot we have, now going up for auction this week in Los Angeles.
LAURA KIRK: Kennedys just have such a mystique and everybody loves them and the photos are so cute.
SNOW: The photos once belonged to the Kennedy's nanny, Maud Shaw. She took care of Caroline and John starting in 1958, through their father's assassination in 1963, until she retired in 1965.
KIRK: There is one where Jackie is leading Caroline on her horse which I think was called Macaroni and they just look so happy. There’s a lot of photos of them at the beach and just playing in the sand, just being normal kids. And there is just some really charming ones.
SNOW: Also being auctioned with the photos, this elegant custom made maternity dress worn by the first lady in 1960 when she was pregnant with John Jr.
ROBIN GIVHAN: The first lady might have worn it to a luncheon or just when she knew she was going to be out and be photographed.
KIRK: It just shows you how they were a young family in the midst of attending very prestigious events.
SNOW: But amid the prestige of Camelot, intimate everyday moments like these, ordinary snapshots from a life that was anything but.
KIRK: What I have read about Jackie Kennedy is that it was very important for her to raise her children in a way that seemed as normal as possible. And I think that does come through in the photos.
GIVHAN: They don't age. They don't change. I mean, they are sort of captured in this one particular moment that we have romanticized and that we tend to view through rose colored glasses. And so I don't think we ever tire of that.
SNOW: So, along with the dress and photos there is also a signed copy of the book that the nanny wrote about her days with the Kennedys. That's being auctioned off as well. And in case you guys are interested, the bidding starts at $10,000.
GUTHRIE: Well, if you don’t order it now.
NATALIE MORALES: Those pictures are priceless.
SNOW: Absolutely.
GUTHRIE: I was going to so say if you don't order the sparkling water, you can save up for that.
SNOW: I’m totally with you on that.
GUTHRIE: Thank you Kate.
