Jan. 6 Committee hearings declared 'most important TV of the year' by the New York Times

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New York Times television critic James Poniewozik declared in his end of the year review that the January 6 Committee hearings were the "most important TV of the year." 

"It’s no insult to call this investigation, above, into the attack on democracy a TV show; that was its power and its accomplishment," Poniewozik wrote. "Deploying deft editing, story structure, graphics, suspense, social media virality and, yes, a touch of showmanship, the hearings made a public service into the show of the summer and the most important TV of the year."

Earlier this year, Poniewozik compared the hearings to a true-crime drama. 

"The proceedings had familiar hallmarks, including live testimony and opening remarks from Mr. Thompson and from the vice chairwoman, Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming. But it was packaged like a prime-time news special, the live elements seamlessly interspersed with recorded interview excerpts, time stamps and graphics," he wrote. "Even more striking, however, was the broadcast’s structure, which recalled 2022’s most ubiquitous TV format: The true-crime and true-scandal limited series." 

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Representative Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, arrives to a hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th protest at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., US, on Thursday, July 21, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

OutKick founder Clay Travis criticized the Times' declaration. 

"The @nytimes says one of the best TV shows of the year was the January 6th committee hearings. You can’t even satirize this woke sh*t."

Steve Krakauer, editor of the Fourth Watch media newsletter, poked fun at the Times' description of the committee. 

"Alright let's take a look at what the New York Times thinks are the ‘Best TV Shows of 2022’ .... ‘Deploying deft editing, story structure, graphics, suspense, social-media virality and, yes, a touch of showmanship...’ ... the January 6 Committee Hearings," Krakauer wrote. 

Former ABC News president James Goldston helped produce the House committee's hearings. He was hired to help weave a compelling narrative tying together former President Trump, top Republican allies and the Capitol rioters who stormed the building last year as Congress certified Joe Biden's 2020 victory.

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Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., center, flanked by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., left, and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., makes a statement as the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 protest at the U.S. Capitol. ((AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite))

However, the Times published a guest essay by contributing opinion writer Christopher Caldwell, called the hearings "ineffective." Caldwell applauded the committee's work but noted the hearings ultimately do not sway the public.

He wrote the committee "has been assiduous in its research, artful in its cinematography and almost wholly ineffective in shifting views about the storming of the U.S. Capitol in 2021 by a pro-Trump crowd."

"It was not a coup attempt. And even if you believe it was, Mr. Trump was not leading it. For someone supposedly bent on overthrowing the government, Mr. Trump did an awful lot of television-watching and surprisingly little seizing of broadcast centers, mobilizing of commando units and issuing of emergency decrees," he added. 

Protestors loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.  (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

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A New York Times piece from June suggested that the Jan. 6 hearings could help the Democratic Party "recast" their "midterm messaging." 

"The hope among Democrats is that the committee’s findings, collected from 1,000 witnesses and over 140,000 documents, will do most of the messaging work for them," Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater, wrote.