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CNN Live Today

JFK Jr's Death Providing Him With Little Privacy

Aired May 09, 2002 - 10:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Almost three years ago, John F. Kennedy Jr. seated himself behind the controls of a private airplane, bound for a private wedding, and a public tragedy. Kennedy spent his life in the public eye. It appears that death is providing him with little privacy as well.

Our Michael Okwu has more on a new book, and charges of betrayal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Days after John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane went down off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, the editor of Kennedy's magazine, "George," banned his staffers from talking to the media.

Months later, those magazine staffers were shocked to hear that editor Richard Blow had cut a book deal. Former "George" staffers say there was an unspoken pact to protect Kennedy from the media, but it turns out Blow had been keeping a detailed journal all along.

SASHA ISSENBERG, FMR. "GEORGE" WRITER: I don't think people were surprised that somebody realized that they can make a lot of money off of writing a book, a sort of sleazy tell-all about John Kennedy. But it takes a while for the vultures to fly in, and I think we were sort of surprised that one was waiting in the office next door.

OKWU: Sasha Issenberg started as an intern at "George" and became a writer. He said Richard Blow even fired one staffer who gave a flattering quote about Kennedy to "New York Magazine." At this gathering last week, former "George" employees wished the book a safe passage into obscurity.

"American Son" describes JFK Jr. as a hard-working, if imperfect, editor, a sensitive, often generous man -- his affection toward his wife Carolyn, private observations, like the fact that Kennedy spent the night before his crash alone in a hotel room.

"The truth was, John had fought with Carolyn," Blow writes. "That didn't mean they were headed for divorce, as would be reported in the tabloids -- just that the two had had a fight hurtful enough for John to sleep elsewhere. If you'd ever seen John's temper or Carolyn's determination, you knew that wasn't so unthinkable."

Blow and other staffers had signed nondisclosure agreements, promising to keep professional and private dealings with Kennedy strictly confidential, but there now may be limited appetite to enforce the agreement.

And in a telephone interview, Blow's publisher said, "The magazine is gone. Alas, JFK Jr. is gone. I'm sure there are a few people who care about the internal politics of the magazine. I think there are far more people who care about learning about John F. Kennedy, Jr."

MICHAEL WOLFF, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: I think Richard Blow did what, to be honest, what many of us would certainly think about doing, and what many of us would do. I think in the light of day, most people have come to realize, well, this is what happens here. You can't own the myth.

OKWU: Less than a week after its release, "American Son" is number 19 on the Amazon list. It's now being adapted into a television movie.

Michael Okwu, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And so what does Richard Blow, the author, have to say for himself and all the criticism. I had a chance to talk with him yesterday afternoon. Let's take a listen to that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Wasn't the understanding at "George" magazine that you were there to be part of the magazine, and not to tell tales about John F. Kennedy Jr.

RICHAD BLOW, AUTHOR, "AMERICAN SON": Well, certainly that's true, but the thing is, the former intern who your reporter spoke with described as a tell-all. And frankly, that's news to me. I mean, this is really an homage to a person whom I admired and respected very much.

KAGAN: Going to get to that in just a second. You had to know -- your a smart guy. You had to know there was going to be some scathing criticism that you would get for even attempting a project like this. The one -- I know you heard this before out of "Newsweek": "Nothing says friendship like dancing on your buddy's grave for profit." Ouch.

BLOW: Well, a couple of things. I mean, first, I just have a feeling that the person who wrote that hadn't actually read the book.

You know, we live in a time when unfortunately if you say you're writing a book about a famous person who you know, people assume that it's some kind of exploration into his personal life, because those things often sell a lot of books. This is kind of a different kind of book.

KAGAN: There are personal insights in this book, Richard. BLOW: Of course, there are personal insights. You have to use personal insights to tell a story. John Kennedy knew that, and he was a magazine editor. But the fact is that I think people who've read this book get a very different picture than people just commenting on before they read it.

KAGAN: I've got to say, in the interest of full confession, when my "Vanity Fair" came in the mailbox, it was the first piece I turned to read it. So there is interest out there, I realize that. I want to get in one of the tidbits that at least was in the excerpts, and I'm sure is in the book, talking about what you said was John's fascination with the tabloids, different from what some people might not think. You write that, "John has a different attitude toward gossip column, a sort of bemused fascination, as if they were covering a stranger who happened to share his name. John would kick back and laugh. Part of him admired the tabloids' creativity, and part of him was flattered by the attention."

Right, you know, it's funny people have this idea that John really hated the press, that he was completely anti-media, and sometimes it's true, he was upset and bothered by paparazzi, but in general, John was reasonable about this sort of thing. He, for example, he gave a lot of interviews. He did a lot of interview for "George" magazine. And when he would read these things in the tabloids, he knew that this was nothing he should take seriously, it was kind of entertaining for him.

KAGAN: Maybe you make the argument he was born as a public figure and he grew up that way. But even he had a problem with how the media treated his wife, Caroline, and this is kind of where you lose me, where you talk about personal and private stuff, about what this poor women who had a tragic ending to her life, not to mention her sister, private things.

Here's one of the quote on Caroline from your book "From the time she started being photographed with John, she felt a pressure to look the part of his physical peer." And then you talk about how she used Botox and how she straightened and colored her hair."

I got to tell you, Richard, as a girl, alive or not, I don't want that stuff in a book.

BLOW: Well, you know, in fact, Caroline was certainly public about that stuff beforehand. I mean, people knew that she colored her hair and she said that she colored her hair. What I was trying to get at by describing this thing was to say that it's not easy to be the wife of John Kennedy. Caroline felt a lot of pressure to be in that situation. "Newsweek" put her on the cover as the new style icon of America.

That wasn't mean doing that. That was other people putting that kind of pressure on Caroline.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: In fact, John Kennedy, his wife, Caroline, and her sister all died in that plane crash. That was three years ago this July. Hard to believe that much time has passed.

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