Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Interview with Howard Kurtz

Aired October 09, 2002 - 10:26   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: Well, it is one week after the first in a series of shootings, and nearly 200 investigators are sifting through some 1,400 leads. Chief Moose's angry response underlines a delicate balancing act that faces the media. How much information helps law enforcement, and when does too much information end up helping the criminal?
Well, joining us in our Washington bureau, Howard Kurtz. He is the media critic for the Washington Post, also a host of CNN's -- the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" -- Howard, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": Good morning to you.

KAGAN: Did you see the chief's news conference earlier today?

KURTZ: I did.

KAGAN: An angry, angry man at us here in the media. Do you think the criticism is fair?

KURTZ: The chief, understandably, tired and frustrated. I think his anger in this particular instance is misplaced. Yes, there are plenty of times when the media go too far in the supercharged situations, but in this particular business about the tarot card and the taunting message first reported by the CBS affiliate here, Channel 9, also by the "Washington Post," I think just the opposite. I don't see where that hurts the investigation. I think it actually might help because it might trigger a response or tip from some viewer or reader who might know of some potential suspect who has an affinity for such tarot cards.

There is information that we should not report, that we should hold back, that we would undoubtedly would hold back at the request of law enforcement if it would damage the investigation. I don't see this particular report as falling in that category.

KAGAN: And we should say that neither one of us are lawmen, so we can't really say how that would help -- how that would hurt a potential trial, or even in the hunt for this killer.

KURTZ: But the chief's remarks seem to suggest that he doesn't think there should be much reporting here at all beyond, you know, sort of status reports delivered by he and his lieutenants about the state of the investigation. Well, that's just simply not realistic. You have a sniper on the loose, you have people, understandably, quite scared in the community. They are hungry for information about this, and the media are trying to provide it.

Now, the chief did have half a point, I thought, in talking about this parade of ex-detectives and ex-profilers and other experts who invariable fill the airwaves at times like this. We saw this a year or so ago in the Chandra Levy case, as well. Sometimes their speculation is silly and uninformed. I don't know, again, if that hurts the investigation but I think it does make the media look like, perhaps, they are kind of, A, merchandising a bit of tragedy, and B, just rounding people up who may not know what they're talking about.

KAGAN: Yes. Well, in fairness, we do it ourselves. In fact, we are going to have former FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt on with us again next hour. He, himself -- I heard him talk earlier -- said he understands the balancing act because he has been on both sides of the fence. He's been in law enforcement, where you don't want anything to get out, but as you pointed out, there is a hunger in the public to know, and even sometimes if it is speculation, people want some answers.

KURTZ: The instances where the media go too far tend to be when we name a suspect who may turn out to be completely innocent like in the infamous Richard Jewel case in the Olympic bombing, but in terms of the media frenzy that is clearly going on here now, I can see us getting to a point where information might be reported that might damage an investigation, but in fact, most journalists, if they had a request from Chief Moose or some other law enforcement official to hold something back specifically that might target somebody, that might jeopardize the investigation, I think that they would go along. Chief Moose, also, perhaps, ought to be upset with his own investigators and prosecutors because, after all, this information about the tarot card was provided by somebody close to the investigation to newspaper and TV journalists.

KAGAN: Well, as you pointed out, this is a very tired and understandably frustrated man who wants the -- absolutely the most to find out who is doing this in his county, and in the neighboring county as well.

Howard Kurtz -- are you going to writing about this in the "Post"?

KURTZ: And we will be talking about it on "RELIABLE SOURCES" as well.

I mean, this is a classic case of a difficult issue for the media as well as for the police and the community.

KAGAN: Howard Kurtz, thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired October 9, 2002 - 10:26   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it is one week after the first in a series of shootings, and nearly 200 investigators are sifting through some 1,400 leads. Chief Moose's angry response underlines a delicate balancing act that faces the media. How much information helps law enforcement, and when does too much information end up helping the criminal?
Well, joining us in our Washington bureau, Howard Kurtz. He is the media critic for the Washington Post, also a host of CNN's -- the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" -- Howard, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": Good morning to you.

KAGAN: Did you see the chief's news conference earlier today?

KURTZ: I did.

KAGAN: An angry, angry man at us here in the media. Do you think the criticism is fair?

KURTZ: The chief, understandably, tired and frustrated. I think his anger in this particular instance is misplaced. Yes, there are plenty of times when the media go too far in the supercharged situations, but in this particular business about the tarot card and the taunting message first reported by the CBS affiliate here, Channel 9, also by the "Washington Post," I think just the opposite. I don't see where that hurts the investigation. I think it actually might help because it might trigger a response or tip from some viewer or reader who might know of some potential suspect who has an affinity for such tarot cards.

There is information that we should not report, that we should hold back, that we would undoubtedly would hold back at the request of law enforcement if it would damage the investigation. I don't see this particular report as falling in that category.

KAGAN: And we should say that neither one of us are lawmen, so we can't really say how that would help -- how that would hurt a potential trial, or even in the hunt for this killer.

KURTZ: But the chief's remarks seem to suggest that he doesn't think there should be much reporting here at all beyond, you know, sort of status reports delivered by he and his lieutenants about the state of the investigation. Well, that's just simply not realistic. You have a sniper on the loose, you have people, understandably, quite scared in the community. They are hungry for information about this, and the media are trying to provide it.

Now, the chief did have half a point, I thought, in talking about this parade of ex-detectives and ex-profilers and other experts who invariable fill the airwaves at times like this. We saw this a year or so ago in the Chandra Levy case, as well. Sometimes their speculation is silly and uninformed. I don't know, again, if that hurts the investigation but I think it does make the media look like, perhaps, they are kind of, A, merchandising a bit of tragedy, and B, just rounding people up who may not know what they're talking about.

KAGAN: Yes. Well, in fairness, we do it ourselves. In fact, we are going to have former FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt on with us again next hour. He, himself -- I heard him talk earlier -- said he understands the balancing act because he has been on both sides of the fence. He's been in law enforcement, where you don't want anything to get out, but as you pointed out, there is a hunger in the public to know, and even sometimes if it is speculation, people want some answers.

KURTZ: The instances where the media go too far tend to be when we name a suspect who may turn out to be completely innocent like in the infamous Richard Jewel case in the Olympic bombing, but in terms of the media frenzy that is clearly going on here now, I can see us getting to a point where information might be reported that might damage an investigation, but in fact, most journalists, if they had a request from Chief Moose or some other law enforcement official to hold something back specifically that might target somebody, that might jeopardize the investigation, I think that they would go along. Chief Moose, also, perhaps, ought to be upset with his own investigators and prosecutors because, after all, this information about the tarot card was provided by somebody close to the investigation to newspaper and TV journalists.

KAGAN: Well, as you pointed out, this is a very tired and understandably frustrated man who wants the -- absolutely the most to find out who is doing this in his county, and in the neighboring county as well.

Howard Kurtz -- are you going to writing about this in the "Post"?

KURTZ: And we will be talking about it on "RELIABLE SOURCES" as well.

I mean, this is a classic case of a difficult issue for the media as well as for the police and the community.

KAGAN: Howard Kurtz, thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com