NBC’s Ali Weinberg at the SC State House, August 2011.
I alluded to this in my last post, but decided this point was worth a separate headline…
By this time four years ago, NBC’s Ali Weinberg (daughter of the famous Max) was already a fixture in the local media scene. She was here for the duration to cover the SC primary.
Week before last, I got an email from Alexandra Jaffe of NBC that began: “I cover politics for NBC News here in Washington and I’m emailing because I’ll be heading down to South Carolina in December or January to cover the primary there, and was hoping to connect with you because I’m a fan of your blog…”
Alex Jaffe
In December or January…
When we spoke later on the phone, she confirmed that her bosses figured that, since SC blew the call in 2012, it wasn’t worth the resources expended on it last time around.
Four years ago, SC Republicans were still known nationally for their habit of always (at least, for a generation) picking the eventual nominee in their presidential preference primaries. That’s why we’ve grown accustomed to seeing so many national candidates — and so much media — trooping through here every four years. South Carolina picks winners. Or at least, it did.
But after SC Republicans had a fit and picked Newt Gingrich in 2012, some of the gloss went off the reputation.
And now, at least one major news organization is making real, dollars-and-cents decisions based on that one primary. Of course, with Trump leading a poll with 30 percent of the vote here, the Gingrich victory is looking less like a one-off…
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Maybe I should have written this two weeks ago, when I first learned it.
Apparently, Alex Jaffe is in Columbia at this very minute:
As Emily Litella would say, “Never mind…”
So, if it wasn’t true when she said she wasn’t coming until December, should I doubt her when she says, “I’m a fan of your blog…”? 🙂
Please, world: Don’t shatter ALL my illusions!