Getting Down to Basics With Beatty

Mathews’ piece starts out by letting us know that Beatty controlled the interview. Then it gets worse. He tells us Warren Beatty told him some great Warren Beatty stories that he, Mathews, will not share with us.

Mathews is telling us little about his subject, but much about himself. For starters, Mathews is telling us he’s a lousy reporter who is so overwhelmed by his subject that he becomes immobilized.

Reporters are supposed to report. Newspapers are supposed to print news. Cozy relationships are great between married people; between reporter and subject, they are simply unprofessional. Or is Mathews angling for a job as Beatty’s PR agent?

R.P. NICHOLS

Los Angeles

All for ‘America’