As Cindy Adams would say: Only in New York, kids. Only in New York.
Yes, Jay-Z and Beyonce’s baby—news of which began to make waves on every possible communication medium over the weekend—was officially announced as having graced its good earth yesterday…when Jay-Z dropped a track about Blue, the Bey-Z, featuring Blue, the Bey-Z.
As three wise men currently show up in Tribeca to gift the Bey-Z with its Roc-A-Fella chain or George Condo portrait or whatever awesome baby presents it’s going to get that will be better than the best baby presents ever given to anyone, they might not be able to match the power of the media, who gave Bey-Z one of the coolest and most innocuous gifts of all: unnecessarily laudatory front-page coverage in New York City’s two rivaling tabloids.
The cover of the New York Post this morning:
And the cover of the NY Daily News this morning:
The New York Post‘s “deep dive” into this breaking news required the facilities of three writers, but it isn’t entirely positive. The last four grafs of the story are what one might consider a “buried lede”:
Lenox Hill Executive Director Frank Danza yesterday released a statement saying the hospital had not heard any complaints from patients. Danza also said “no security plan” put in place by the hospital or Jay-Z “would have prevented or delayed families from gaining access to the NICU.” That’s a crock, said new dad Edgar Ramirez, 25, whose daughter, Charlotte, was born by C-section on Saturday night.
“I wasn’t able to see my baby girl for three hours after she was born” because of a Beyoncé-related security “lockdown,’’ he said. “It was just ridiculous. I was so angry! “They were blocking the elevators, all the windows were blacked out, there was security everywhere, they taking people off floors.” Coulon and other parents are mulling legal action, she said. Before the birth of Blue Ivy, her parents had reserved about a dozen rooms for her delivery and completely renovated them — including installing bulletproof doors and glass, sources have said.
Meanwhile, the Daily News only used two writers for their story, who only give three buried grafs to any controversy born out of the baby’s birth.
Why would New York City’s tabloids—the same ones who hath wrought comparisons of financial market volatility to hookers on the front cover of their newsprint—go so patently easy on Bey-Z?
For those not familiar to New York City’s media tabloid culture, know this: These newspapers position themselves as respectively more “of the people” than their cross-town competition. To hide the controversy surrounding the birth of two superstars’ baby from the headline—scandalized news that is, in a rare case, actually merited and of public concern—all the way through to the end of the story is a move to sell papers.
The general public consensus about Jay-Z and Beyonce’s baby seems to be one of unmitigated joy. The editors of these newspapers are smarter than to crash the parade of public esctacy for two beloved celebrities, the kind that’s generally tempered in an age where Kim Kardashian now constitutes “celebrity.” To scandalize the cover would have been to yield more newspapers sold to the respective paper’s crosstown competition, something that’s been a part of a deeply ingrained tradition of bloodsport in New York City’s media for decades, now. In the culture of New York City’s tabloids, populism has always trumped news value.
A basis for comparison? Neither the Wall Street Journal…
Nor the New York Times…
…Mentioned the birth of Bey-Z on their front pages (and the Times uses Jay-Z in their advertisements!).
Furthermore, the headline of the New York Times‘ filing on the birth of Bey-Z?
“After Beyoncé Gives Birth, Patients Protest Celebrity Security at Lenox Hill Hospital.“
One paper’s headline is another two papers’ buried ledes. Only in New York, kids. Only in New York.
fkamer@observer.com | @weareyourfek
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