‘Journalists shouldn’t be too quick to claim Clark Kent as their own’

Columbia Journalism Review

Why? Because as portrayed by Christopher Reeve in the 1978 “Superman,” Clark Kent “is a befuddled, timid nerd who elevates politeness to the realm of parody,” writes Michael Meyer. “He says things like ‘swell’ and is constantly pushing his glasses up on his nose or running into things. Socially clueless, he’s also completely devoid of wit despite the ‘snappy, punchy prose style’ that his editor-in-chief claims as a reason for hiring him.” Like many journalists, “Superman doesn’t feel that his talents are best used at a newspaper.” || Greg Mitchell, when he was Editor & Publisher in 2003, said in a Mediabistro Q&A that “I was probably one of the rare people who wanted to grow up to be Clark Kent instead of Superman.” || A 2003 New York magazine feature about Bill Hemmer as possibly becoming “the next news icon” claimed the anchor looks like Clark Kent and talks like Tony the Tiger.