All media outlets, including CNN & the NY Times, are using the same term, "Bridgegate," to refer to the politically motivated closure of the George Washington Bridge by top aides to Governor Chris Christie. (Christie denied repeatedly, in a riveting two-hour press conference today, any role in the closure or knowledge of his aides' actions. Unfortunately, I only saw about 30 minutes of the conference.)
Yes, I understand that CNN and others are analogizing this scandal to Nixon's Watergate by using word "gate" as a suffix at the end of the word "bridge." However, in the case of Watergate, the name of the hotel at the center of the scandal was in fact "Watergate!" The name was one word, with "gate" already built-in! Adding the suffix gate to the name of any and every scandal shows a terrible lack of imagination on the part of the national media, as a best case scenario!
The worst case scenario is that using the suffix "gate" is done to elevate the seriousness of the bridge closure scandal and thus to attract a bigger audience and or readership, which translates in higher ratings. Obviously, higher ratings mean more, sometimes a lot more, advertising dollars. I guess the media can't get any more cynical than that! Or can it?
Dr. Azzam Elayan
Jan. 9, 2014
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