What Has Britt McHenry Taught Us?
One of the first rules of journalism is that in order for a reporter to be truly effective, they should never become the story. Issues arising from questionable conduct, controversial opinions, and other such matters are difficult for anyone to shake, let along for a person whose job it is to relate to people in a variety of different professions.
As ESPN sideline reporter Britt McHenry has discovered this week, the line between reporting the news and becoming part of the news has blurred tremendously. In a week when two major leagues in the country have started their playoffs, the men’s national soccer team recorded a victory over a traditional rival, and early season pacesetters light up the MLB world, McHenry’s now-infamous tirade against a towing company employee while picking her vehicle up has thrust her and the network into the center of attention for all the wrong reasons.
Just in case you might have missed it, here is the video that was recorded by the Advanced Towing Company in Arlington, VA:
(Warning: video contains profanity)
Reaction to the release of the video was swift and as should be expected, overwhelmingly negative. McHenry was placed on suspension by ESPN, and she issued an online apology:
The masses have not been satisfied, and many have been openly lobbying for ESPN to take things a step further and dismiss her. Headlines like “ESPN should fire Britt McHenry over mean tirade” (Chicago Tribune) and “Tow company forgives Britt McHenry for rant, others out for blood” (LA Times) have become commonplace, even from as far away as Australia (“ESPN reporter Britt McHenry’s ‘Mean Girls’ routine evokes little sympathy” – Canberra Times).
On common decency
McHenry’s comments, to be frank, were completely out of line. There was plenty of irony to consider how McHenry cited her education and position of privilege to lord her status over the tow company employee, when someone of her standing should know precisely how to respond in a situation like this.
Having a vehicle towed is a major inconvenience. We here at TheAOSN, as we are sure most others do, understand that. However, it is worth remembering at this point that McHenry was in this situation entirely because of choices she made, most specifically in violating parking regulations that led to her vehicle getting towed. Even if she did so unknowingly, that detail becomes insignificant when considering her response to the situation, which remains unjustified and inappropriate.
With or without surveillance present, a person also has choices to make when interacting with other persons. No matter how difficult or uncomfortable the circumstances may be, common sense and decency as human beings dictate that we are to rise over our base instincts and carry out those interactions in the proper manner. This is not an unusual struggle for anybody, but as someone who has been a fast riser in the sports journalism world and thus becoming more of a public figure, McHenry should have known better.
Look in the mirror
While many of us might be able to safely declare that in the same situation, none of us would have reacted in the same manner and shown more class and patience, especially without stooping to personal attacks, there is a tough question that remains:
What does this incident say about the general culture surrounding public figures nowadays? In the grand scheme of things, McHenry pales in comparison to many others when it comes to celebrity exposure, especially considering that her airtime has become limited with the NFL in its offseason (even with the draft approaching).
Other (bigger) names have done even more outrageous things and been caught on camera doing so, and yet Britt McHenry’s boorish behavior has now become part of a national conversation. TheAOSN is not attempting to justify McHenry’s actions, but we also feel strongly that there is something to consider in terms of how obsessed we have become as a society where an incident like this becomes a national headline.
It is not a stretch to make the argument that a celebrity-driven culture combined with the rise of citizen journalism, two strong social forces today, have put us in precisely this position. Full accountability rests with Britt McHenry, of course, but how much have we contributed, if not in causing such incidents, then in allowing them to develop into bigger stories?
Ultimately, Advanced Towing may have left all of us with the most important lesson of all. Below is their statement, which was released on Friday:
“Ms. McHenry is our neighbor, and, as she said, to paraphrase, made remarks that were out of line. She is human and errors in judgment can be made in the heat of the moment,” according to the statement.
The company also talked a little bit about the woman on the receiving end of McHenry’s irate rant.
“Gina is a single mother of three children who works a difficult job to provide her family,” according to the statement. “Gina holds no ill will toward Ms. McHenry.”
As a small regulated business, we saw no benefit to releasing the video, except to highlight personal attacks employees in jobs like towing, public parking enforcement and others sometimes encounter. The video was not licensed or sold to anyone.