Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn is thrilled that the cable networks weren't around to force Ted Kennedy out in 1969. His headline? "How wall-to-wall Chappaquiddick would have changed history -- for the worse." Zorn began:
Of course every network would have had special logos featuring bridges, water, wrecked cars or portraits of the main players. And each would have had a snappy title for their non-stop coverage:
"The Bridge Too Far," "Tragedy on the Vineyard," "Teddy in Trouble," "Camelot Submerged" and so on.
If we'd had insatiable 24/7 cable news networks in July 1969, the accident on Chappaquiddick Island in which a passenger in a car driven by Sen. Edward Kennedy drowned would likely have dominated the national consciousness for months.
Special programs every night devoted to nothing but pundits bickering over the depths of the 37-year-old Kennedy's responsibility for the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, 28.
Town-hall-style chat shows every afternoon in which ordinary Americans issued their verdicts and sentences before the evidence was in.
Luckily – from Zorn’s viewpoint – the media picture then was much quieter.
"Politically, Kennedy wouldn't have survived that kind of media bombardment," said Bruce DuMont, president of Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications and host of "Beyond the Beltway," a national weekly talk-radio show. "It wouldn't have just been a spotlight, it would have been a heat lamp. On him, on all the investigators, on everyone connected to the story.
The cable networks turned Scott and Laci Peterson into household names, DuMont said. "Just think what they would have done with Ted and Mary Jo. Remember all the coverage they gave to the [1999] plane crash that killed Jon F. Kennedy Jr.? Multiply that by 10."
Chappaquiddick was a big story anyway and badly damaged the reputation of the man then seen as the surviving prince and heir apparent of American politics.
But, as DuMont said, there were just three broadcast networks in 1969 offering half-hour newscasts that seldom dwelled for long on any one story. Technological limitations made live remote broadcasting very cumbersome.
"And most talk radio was local and fluffy" under fairness-doctrine restrictions, DuMont said. "So you didn't have nationally syndicated partisan hosts banging the drum day in and day out saying Kennedy had to go."
And perhaps therefore, he didn't go. The following year Massachusetts voters resoundingly re-elected him to the Senate. Though the Chappaquiddick scandal probably kept him out of the White House, it never cost him the seat he held until his death this week at age 77.
Left unconsidered by Zorn: Is it possible that we as a political culture have higher standards now for how politicians treat women? Bob Packwood must have thought it was odd that he would have to resign for sexual harassment, given that Kennedy lasted through leaving the scene of an accident and a drowning woman. Zorn thinks, like many liberals, that outrage over the loss of Kopechne would have cost America Kennedy’s greatness:
This thought experiment invites a question to which there is no nonpartisan answer: Was it just as well that we didn't -- couldn't -- have a media feeding frenzy over Chappaquiddick in 1969? Would the nation have been better off if Kennedy had been shamed into private life?
Or, as I believe, is the nation -- particularly our disabled and disadvantaged residents -- better off for the 40 years of service he was able to render after that terrible night?
The momentary satisfaction of destroying Ted Kennedy for his failings would have had a significant price. Something to keep in mind when the next fallen figure, Democrat or Republican, stumbles into the heat lamp.
Zorn didn’t ask if Republicans have to live up to much higher standards to avoid an end to your career. Larry Craig tapped a toe in a john, and networks like NBC pounded on him to quit, putting the story at the top of the news for days in a row. If holding Kennedy accountable for weeks is ridiculous, how does Zorn explain the feeding frenzy over Latrinegate?
[Hat tip: J. Seton Motley.]
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
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heh
August 30, 2009 - 14:40 ET by katainkentthe media would have been all over it? The porcine population would have had to have gained the ability to be airborne first. Fox news would have covered it, the bloggers would have vetted the stories and we'd all been labeled a bunch of right wing crazies bent on stopping the greatest man of the time from doing greater good for the downtrodden populations of America. Isn't there a cnn news reporter who is in a prominent position today who killed a pedestrian while drunk? They'd have to clean their own house first.
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"Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller" Barack Obama (Dr. In Chief)
I was 18 when teddy left
August 30, 2009 - 18:11 ET by misterbee241I was 18 when teddy left the scene of an accident. And I can tell you, the networks at the time were NOT all over it. It was a Kennedy, royalty to them and they paid him their fielty.
And personally I'm sick of this Kennedy is royalty crap.
"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941
Telling the truth about liberals is is NEVER good [for liberals]
August 30, 2009 - 14:43 ET by wnaegeleIf Fox News had been around for Chappaquiddick, Kennedy would have lived his life out as just another drunken dilettante -- and saving the country from a good deal of harm.
"Special programs every
August 30, 2009 - 14:48 ET by G. MayThat's funny, Teddy was drunk, Teddy was driving the car, Teddy drove the car off the bridge. What is there to bicker over?
Because the content of the Americans with Disabilities act was, and could only have been, conceived by Teddy.
Sort of like the legislators who were prepared to vote before all the evidence was in.
The msm would still cover
August 30, 2009 - 14:46 ET by bigtimerThe msm would still cover for Kennedy today if this happened, 24/7...they do all the dems...they always will.
No matter the number of stations or the print press...they have always circled their wagons...it's despicable.
Just Patrick ought to ring a bell, be proof enough of that with his latest escapades. ...causing someone else's death matters not, they are always victims, always excuses.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
Reinfocing the argument
August 30, 2009 - 14:55 ET by TheHistorianWhere is the MSM coverage of the following?
I just ran out of time, not the ability to list recent Democrat scandals which are being covered up/not reported on.
"What experience and history teach is
this - that people and governments never have learned anything from history,
or acted on principles deduced from it."
G. W. F. Hegel
TH... Excellent! I've
August 30, 2009 - 15:27 ET by bigtimerTH...
Excellent!
I've been furious over all you have mentioned, the most recent being Rangel...and he still sits on the Ways and Means as Chairman..
Where has been Fox on this? Where are the voices from our side of the aisle?
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
I can't answer your
August 30, 2009 - 15:47 ET by ThisnThatI can't answer your question directly, TH, but I think much of the time has been spent going after the Republican who said "Macaca" (40 straight days of newpaper headlines), and the other Republican who had the audacity to run for Vice President last year (11 months of daily slurs and counting). Given this intensity, there is simply no time left for the MSM to focus on actual criminality, you know.
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"Tax the rich" is a basically unstable way of governing - The NYT
Speaking of Macaca
August 30, 2009 - 17:18 ET by bigtimerTnT...
I wouldn't mind seeing George Allen make a come-back soon...I don't think he should have ever backed down in the first place...hope he isn't done...I love the guy.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
I think the Washington Post
August 30, 2009 - 18:14 ET by misterbee241I think the Washington Post will see to it that a comeback for Allen doesnt happen. Of course, it depends on how sick of the socialist/democrats the people get.
"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941
BUTT-BOY-MEDIA...
August 30, 2009 - 20:38 ET by danybhoyThat little list is just a small sample of the MSM bias toward the left. Hell, Newsbusters/MRC can only TRY to cover the bias. I would guees they miss some here & there as well, despite how well they do their job. Too much to cover.
"...How blind can you be, don't you see...
...that the gambler lost all he does not have..."
Nightwish
More bizzaro world
August 30, 2009 - 14:54 ET by acumenSpecial programs every night devoted to nothing but pundits bickering over the depths of the 37-year-old Kennedy's responsibility for the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, 28.
Are we talking about the same cable news shows here Eric?
The majority of cable news shows today would more than likely consist of pundits bickering over the 37 year old Kennedy's ability to overcome this latest, of the too many, fate-inflicted sorrows over the accidental loss of his devoted assistant Mary Jo Kopechne, 28.
LOL acumen... GMTA...look
August 30, 2009 - 14:54 ET by bigtimerLOL acumen...
GMTA...look above you. ;-)
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
Ha BT
August 30, 2009 - 15:15 ET by acumenHow do you type so fast?
At first, I was toying with approaching this topic by focusing on two other observations:
1. - Eric seems to forget or at the least fails to mention that newspapers were abundant and widely read at the time of aquaboys car-boat adventure. I presume we are supposed to believe that newsprint opinion pieces are free of "bickering pundits."
2. Eric sets up a strawman argument - We are supposed to assume that nothing positive would have been accomplished in the Senate without a drunk Ted Kennedy stumbling from bar to bar around the east coast. On the other hand libs tell us we are not supposed to believe a government report that states the CIA only obtained intelligence from terrorists by inhanced interrogation techniques - re: we could have obtained the same info by simply asking the terrorists nicely.
Breaking - Bizzaro world stumble-bumbles on without Kennedy.
Here is the point so many miss
August 30, 2009 - 18:10 ET by namronWhat would have Mary Jo accomplished. Maybe she would have gone on to have children which could care cured cancer, AIDS, or something else. Many fail to understand what she might have accomplished if should would have lived!
Cable News Media.
August 30, 2009 - 15:10 ET by blazermaniacEric Zorn must be kidding. The useless media would have thrown that story under the rug. Only, FOX News would have been doing their jobs. Fox News is the only ones doing their jobs, anyway.
Regulating the Media
August 30, 2009 - 19:33 ET by Anneke9I'm sure that Mark Lloyd will take Zorn's subtle hint and ensure that the pesky media (at least, FoxNews and bloggers) never get the opportunity to slander another wise, noble Democrat miscreant.
INGSOC will continue to smear Sarah Palin and other enemies of the state.
Camouflage conservative in Baghdad-by-the-Bay
Equivalence
August 30, 2009 - 15:24 ET by jaywlI have the funny feeling Zorn actually equates the death of Kopechne with the controversies involving Senators Allen, Craig, and Lott, for instance. He would acknowledge the difference of the offenses, but when "the next fallen figure ... stumbles" he would have to admit the next figure is not likely to have murdered a paramour. I am not saying that Kennedy did, of course. He was convicted only of leaving the scene, as I understand. Therefore, since he isn't talking about dead women and politics, I can safely assume he is warning we could miss out on the good works of a public figure hounded from office by a snarky, biased press beating a good man to death because he said some politically incorrect phrase or word. Do any Democrats come to mind for this treatment? There must be one, but the media usually doesn't put a (D) behind their names, do they?
It's interesting that there
August 30, 2009 - 15:26 ET by Chris NormanIt's interesting that there are actually people now, even a media writer, who are, in effect, asking for supressment of a free press. I suppose partisan politics now trumps a free press even for so-called journalists. It appears Mr. Zorn would be fine with the likes of Tass, Pravda, and the press in Nazi Germany reincarnated. Can't have any nagging questions about your favored leadership, can we, Mr. Zorn? The thermostat is now set at "chilling"...
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Justice Could Have Been Squeezed From The Lousy SOB
August 30, 2009 - 17:14 ET by rammingspeedRight. It would have killed Kennedy's career, which is what he deserved. Who knows, some intrepid reporter(s) may even have found things out that would have blown past Kennedy's ability to pay everyone off.
The Kennedy clan sets the standard for getting away with the most egregious behavior - including homicide - ever seen. Ted Kennedy's legacy is Chappaquiddick, just like Bill Clinton's legacy is Monica Lewinsky,
For those who have not
August 30, 2009 - 17:18 ET by MidAmericaFor those who have not read this link from Drudge, take a look at what the attitude of journalism should be.
Afternoon MA... I have
August 30, 2009 - 17:41 ET by bigtimerAfternoon MA...
I have that link as well...posted about it a few other places as well... just found it in a different place....what I love is the picture of Fearless Wimp Reid to go with the excellent article.
Hope him and those arrogant arseholes like him get the boot.
May be offensive to some..so don't click it.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
hi back bt...
August 30, 2009 - 18:11 ET by MidAmericahi back bt...
Everyone here should read the article just to experience the fantasy of having a watchdog media that is out there keeping an eye on the politicians instead of what we have, a media that keeps an eye on the citizens for the politicians.
→ Teddy Kennedy Troll Bridge
August 30, 2009 - 17:23 ET by Cool ArrowDid I say "Troll"?
I'm sorry, I meant "Toll"
The other monikker would occur naturally.
We will Barry you! - Russian prophecy
eric zorn with a little e and a little z
August 30, 2009 - 17:42 ET by NotFondOfLibsIf the rest of the nation had shared the adoring opinion of ted kennedy that Massachusetts had for almost 50 years, this drunkard would have been President. Fortunately, the nation did not see kennedy in the same light as his media fans and voters of Massachusetts did, whether zorn likes it or not. But the case of someone like Larry Craig is different so it requires the MSM to go into attack dog mode because a Republican is involved.
Or, as I believe, is the
August 30, 2009 - 19:20 ET by BDOr, as I believe, is the nation -- particularly our disabled and disadvantaged residents -- better off for the 40 years of service he was able to render after that terrible night?
I knew about Chappaquidick
August 30, 2009 - 22:27 ET by RR GOPI knew about Chappaquidick back in the '70s when I was in the high school and that was some time before the advent of cable news and the populist internet.
It was such an infamous event that not even the press could cover it up nor could it escape the echo chamber.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
Clueless
August 31, 2009 - 07:42 ET by nadadhimmiBut people just don't understand. The Kennedy's are special, ABOVE the law. All worship the royal ones, the murderous ones, the Kennedy's. (sarc off) Except the law of gravity.
24/7 cable TV & blog coverage of Obama...
August 31, 2009 - 08:42 ET by JohnMcGrew...and his overt Marxism, ties to racist radicals and domestic terrorists wasn't enough to stop him. I doubt that today's media environment would have stopped Kennedy either. The fawning mainstream press would provided cover just as they did for Obama, while the backside operatives in the leftist blogophere would have dished dirt on Mary Jo. Ralph Nader would start an investigation into how unsafe Oldsmobiles are on back roads and MSNBC would label anyone who questioned any of it as right-wing kooks.
August 31, 2009 - 09:27 ET by jessieHThe MSM was wrong to cover-up the murder of Mary Jo. Kennedy killed her. There is no doubt about that. But the so-called news was involved in the murder too. Most of them are as corrupt as the current congress.
Chappaquiddick...?
August 31, 2009 - 18:04 ET by cest moiJust thank God Teddy didn't have a "wide stance"!!!!