(the) Firm Friday
(the) Firm Friday
The Firm - the British royal family wherefore its top of its org chart is the Queen. God Save Her with the drama surrounding her family, a lot of it self-inflicted.
Last day of Alliteration Week. Today we talk about the British royal family.
One of my favorite things to do is consume all things British royalty. Whether it is Peter Morgan inspired, a documentary on them, or a parody of them, I’m a fan of all things Royal. I Vow to Thee My Country is beautiful!
While I was too young to remember what it felt like to hear the news of Princess Di’s death, I have watched and read everything about it since then. I love this clip from John Mulaney.
There were plenty of reasons to enjoy working at ABC News, but I loved the fact that it felt like we were the network that followed the Firm more than others. I say it was because the former head of ABC News was British. He had a keen eye for what was going on in the other part of the “Special Relationship.”
Back to me, I remember waking up in 2011 to watch a wedding take place in Westminster Abbey with my Mom at 4 AM Central. I did the same in 2021 to watch Prince Philip’s funeral at Windsor Castle. How can you not feel for the Queen when she was seated by herself mourning the loss of her husband? I felt the same way when Kobe Bryant passed away as well as those we lost in 2001 to bigger tragedies in El Paso, Buffalo, and Sandy Hook. If you were also the former campaign manager for 45, you probably also mourned the tragic events at Bowling Green even if it was alternative facts.
I write all of this because I want to talk about Mr. and Mrs. Meghan Markle. I loved her story, and the Stand By Me performed by the choir at her wedding is the best rendition I’ve ever heard.
I am sympathetic to her treatment. It was horrific. I can also relate to her and Harry’s mental health struggles. I also relate to Harry wanting to be better parents than his own or that the Firm only protected the Crown more than him. Looking back, in my opinion, it was horrific that he and his brother were forced to walk behind their mother’s casket for all of the world to see.
However, there comes a time when the sympathy ends. One of the things I learned at these major news companies is the amount of PR or media relations people have to do to promote something. They work with bookers and production teams to tell their side of the story. It is viewed as an exclusive. Because of that, the media entity booking said person tends to go easier than other outlets.
Now, a good subject knows which and who to book for an exclusive. Team Sussex knew that too by booking that interview with Oprah in 2021.
It brings me back to this week and the anniversary of Princess Di’s death. It is a somber week full of remembrance except for the couple from Montecito who used to lived in Frogmore Cottage. They have a Netflix and Spotify deal. They have a podcast network in which its trailers were all teased a couple of years ago. However, on this week, they decided to release all of the launches of their products at this week of all weeks.
It feels gross. I am the person who would presumably be on their side, but their timing is not good. Their media plan is so fake. They say they are tired of the Firm, yet still want to profit from it.
Now, to be fair, I understand that the People’s Princess did many of the same things, but I feel that this is different. Di was a young woman. Markle was in her thirties. Di went at it alone. Team Sussex has a flood of PR people. It is also important to say that both Di and Charle’s behavior was horrible and that even William was mad at Di for a long time following that infamous BBC Interview with Bashir.
I understand all of that. It still feels gross. It still seems fake.
When Kevin Spacey was caught up in all of his scandals, he tried to come out of the closet to hopefully curb that. It was rightfully laughed at. Mario Batali released a recipe.
When I first arrived at ABC, there was a scandal that happened about a character somewhat related to one of the Queen’s sons. There was a release of a video which is a big No-no. The person was found out and went on to do an interview with another journalist who had her scandal a couple of years early at the network who has its own show about it starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. This associate producer cried about how it wasn’t her and that she was unjustly let go. Employers can only dispute that account which is what the network did. We at ABC saw through that.
In a lesser way, I feel the same way with Meghan and Harry. Please don’t use mental health and your skin color to say that all of this is okay. I am a person of color. I struggle with mental health. I see right through that too.
Quick hitters
Congrats to the Angelo State Rams on defeating Chadron State last night.
I am a big fan of oral histories. Some of the best I’ve read come from James Andrew Miller. He has written on SNL, HBO, and ESPN. I like a lot of these because it shows how little people knew at the start of something big.
It’s been raining a lot lately which has made me feel blue.
Trying to decide what to do often seems to be overwhelming for me. I feel like I know I want to do something one day, then doubt creeps in and says what are you thinking?
Still think my biggest failure was university residential life. Sometimes, what I think will be best for me turns out to be the worst. I would love to be a counselor. However, students legitimately scare me because they don’t have filters.
I need to stop being all things to all people. I like sports, politics, and tv/movie shows. I need to stop learning about things in which I have zero interest to impress someone else.
I also need to get off of social media. It is not real life. It is an echo chamber.
Song of the Day
KSA
Lastly, Happy Birthday to my favorite kid, K. She turns 8 today. I love talking to her and love how she is scared of growing up. Right now, she loves Youtube videos, Bluey, and spending time with family. I wish she could stay this age forever. This is her Arthur year.