Not Macy's Window
Editor's Note: This article is from the editorial page of the New York Times on July 27, 1963. It is astounding that a documentary film for TV use was allowed to be made last month in the offices of the president and the attorney general while they were engaged in actual decision-making conferences on how to handle Negro registration at the University of Alabama. Under the circumstances in which this film was taken, the use of cameras could only denigrate the office of the president. How can anyone -- even or especially the president -- act and talk without some consciousness of the camera and the tape recorder? The process of decision-making is not the occasion for creation of an "image." The propagandistic connotations of this filming are unavoidable. The "Tour of the White House" with the first lady was an entirely different nature. So are TV interviews with the president or the attorney general in their offices. But to eavesdrop on executive decisions of serious Government matters while they are in progress is highly inappropriate. The White House isn't Macy's window. |
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