dragonlady...I certainly didn't speak to pj's emotional or mental state. Nor did I make any assumptions as to her upbringing , past traumatic experiences , etc. etc. ... I have absolutely no opinion on the state of her psyche.:sheesh:
I was a big fan of hers when she first started covering skating for CBC's bold.Her input was direct ,minimal , impartial and informative ... and really let you enjoy the skating without a lot of extraneous Yada Yada..
When CBC first put her in front of the camera for their skating broadcasts ( I knew she had a lot of experience as an audio announcer and broadcaster ) ... I had never seen her in front of a camera in all my years of viewing. She appeared uncomfortable and ungroomed. Her apparent ease and on camera appearance have greatly improved over the intervening time...She appeared to be someone who was suddenly popped onto the front line and had to learn to adjust.
This is merely my observation as a viewer, not an analysis of pj's mental / emotional status.
Her broadcast and writing style are certainly enthusiastic ..so , if she is not enthusiastic herself,she's a fine actress. But as she has had more and more input, my enthusiasm for her has waned ,somewhat. For my personal taste, I find her enthusiasm often too gushy, there's a tendency to be cutesy with words , and sometimes I detect a hint of favouritism , or of too obviously trying to direct an interviewee , or fellow commentator, where she wants things to go..( which can amount to putting words in people's mouths ). I can still sometimes find her preferable to some other commentators.
At the same time , her interactive role with the fans, doesn't help her to maintain distance from them, but encourages a feeling of fellowship, so I would imagine it might be difficult to know when something might go a step beyond judicious.
I was , in fact , trying to make allowances for pj and directing my dismay at the CBC , because the buck stops with them. It's one thing to have a chuckle over something the fans do after the fact if it was amusing , or to roll their eyes , or to ignore it, and direct the camera elsewhere if it was at all distasteful. But to help promote it by doing a blurb on it and then leaving the video up on your site..just makes it seem ..not like fan fun, but some kind of weird pr..(which may be distasteful to some)..as if they think the skating isn't interesting enough on it's own.
If they just kept out of it, it would just be some fans having fun , and might pass largely unnoticed.
:disapp: indeed
