Classy BBC, Olivia Nuzzi and RFK Jr. Reactions


Welcome to The Addition, where I cover the crossover between culture, media and sport.

The BBC's International Correspondent Jeremy Bowen conducted an interview with the senior Hamas official Khalil Al Hayya on Tuesday, that was broadcast on Thursday. There are arguments both ways as to whether such an interview should take place. If it's done properly, I'm probably in favour of it happening. However, the day the conversation was broadcast just so happened to be the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and one of the holiest days in the calendar for Jews around the world. Many will have been, to varying extents, offline and not tuning into TV or radio. It means that most Jewish and pro-Israel groups will have been unable to respond until this evening at the earliest. Classy.

The Differing Reactions to Olivia Nuzzi and RFK Jr.

It may seem like it was a lifetime ago, given the amount of news, both media and other, that has happened since, but has been just days since we learned about Olivia Nuzzi and RFK Junior’s… interactions. Quick recap, the affair between the one-time presidential candidate and New York Magazine star reporter was consensual and, per Oliver Darcy’s Status exclusive, not physical. As Nuzzi put it:

Earlier this year, the nature of some communication… turned personal.

Nuzzi had written a widely read RFK Jr. profile before this dynamic shift and is on leave as a result of it becoming public. It’s all rather messy, but you can catch up on that stuff elsewhere. (More from Darcy here and The New York Times here, for starters.)

The main thing I want to tackle is the very different reactions to the revelations on the different sides of the Atlantic. Let’s reiterate – the relationship was not physical. We seem to be talking sexting/nudes, per The Daily Beast and others. This clearly crosses a line and is completely inappropriate. But the prudish reaction from across the pond is something to behold.

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Charlotte Henry is a journalist and broadcaster who creates and runs The Addition newsletter and podcast; an award-winning publication looking at the crossover between media and technology.

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