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Does the Media Deserve as Much Criticism as Condit?

Aired August 25, 2001 - 15:11   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.
BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Congressman Gary Condit is facing a barrage of criticism over his first public interviews in the Chandra Levy investigation. As you know, the critics are blasting the congressman for refusing to define his relationship with the missing intern. So where does his reputation now stand among his constituents and among fellow politicians?

To look at that, let's join Matthew Felling from the Center for Media and Public Affairs.

Mr. Felling, thanks for being with us here.

MATTHEW FELLING, CENTER FOR MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Good afternoon.

NELSON: Let's start with you. We're going to take phone calls and e-mails, but let's start with you. What's your take on the whole Condit investigation and his attempt at some sort of resurrection, politically, with his constituents last week?

FELLING: Well, you would be hard pressed to find a better kicking dog than the media. And I think that Gary Condit's strategy was to portray himself in the light of the victim. That certainly seems to be the strategy employed on Thursday night, both with Connie Chung and also the local television reporter.

NELSON: Is he a victim?

FELLING: I'm of two minds on that question. Should we have been paying as much attention to him as we have? Most likely, if it was just a case of him being the unluckiest adulterer on the planet, I don't think it was warranted. But the man acts like a criminal. And if he walks like a criminal and talks like a criminal, he just arouses suspicion on the part of the media.

And I honestly think that by driving the story forward, CNN and other major news outlets have thrust him to be more forthright. I don't think he was necessarily remorseful on Thursday night, but I think that we have had him answer some questions that he wouldn't have otherwise answered if we didn't pay so much attention to it.

NELSON: But we seem object focusing on sex and his relationship with Ms. Levy, because we don't know, and he has denied having any involvement in her disappearance. So this does, to many people, sound like a tribunal of the Taliban religious group: What we're trying to do is impose our values on this gentleman...

FELLING: This is true.

NELSON: Do you see it that way?

FELLING: I think that a lot of people on Thursday night were expecting a sad, sorrowful, regretful checker speech, like Nixon had. But instead we got an example of the art of war, where he was just fighting back, and he would not relent whatsoever.

NELSON: OK look, let's take a phone call here and see what the public thinks. We've got a call from Stephen (ph), he's near Modesto, California which is, of course, Gary Condit's home district -- Stephen.

CALLER: Yes.

NELSON: Let's go ahead with your question or comment.

CALLER: Basically, I just had a comment. I was pretty much on the fence until I had seen Gary Condit's interview on Thursday night. And I am a registered Democrat, and he does not have my vote. I am ashamed that he is my Democrat -- that he is my representative. He did not answer any questions. He hasn't answered his constituents. And quite frankly I think he needs to resign from office.

NELSON: All right, thank you very much.

Mr. Felling, what do you think?

FELLING: He certainly isn't alone in that sense. I think that every major newspaper and all the smaller ones in northern California have said listen, Condit, you weren't being forthright. You just -- you're bringing ill visions upon both your office and the House of Representatives. And there is a small code of conduct. I mean, most of the them don't adhere to it, but Gary Condit especially has been attracting way too much attention in a bad way towards both politics and the House of Representatives.

And the momentum, not only from the media, not only from his constituents, but now also from teammates -- Dick Gephardt from the House of Representatives, the minority leader, is also on his back now. And he certainly didn't do anything to advance his cause on Thursday night. He only seemed to strengthen the forces against him.

NELSON: Do you think -- I want to ask you a question in a minute, I'll do that -- I want to give you this e-mail first.

This comes from Peggy Wildermuth; she says: "I think the news media has asked questions of Gary Condit that insult not only Gary Condit, but the public at large. We have no business sticking our noses into his business and personal affairs. The questions asked of him by Connie Chung were nosy, irresponsible and gossipy. I was ashamed for her."

This goes back to what we were talking about earlier. I'm wondering, is it possible that if Gary Condit had answered questions three, four months back correctly -- had come out and said that he had nothing to do with her disappearance, had made some sort of public confession to whatever he knew about her and about his relationship with her, we wouldn't be having this conversation between you and I today?

FELLING: You're absolutely correct. Truth is the ultimate story killer; its only what obfuscation appears to be going on. And I'm not willing to condemn Condit just as of yet, because he is sticking to his story. He's sticking to his guns that everyone is lying except for him. But as his debate goes on further, it becomes a lot more difficult to believe that.

Yes, if I had been his handler back in April or May, I would have had him stand in front of a camera with a remorseful look in eye, saying I will do anything to find this young lady. I will cooperate fully -- not just fully in the definition that he showed us on Thursday night, which is evasive at best, but fully.

And at least we would have had, for two or three months, a vision of him on camera that was responsible. Instead, we've had footage of camera people chasing him all around, which just adds to this image of a man running away from something. And we don't know what.

NELSON: We really don't know what.

Let's take call here from Jeanne (ph) in Maryland -- Jeanne.

CALLER: Hi.

NELSON: Hi, go ahead.

CALLER: First of all, I have a comment. As far as the news media going too far, I think most people in America would agree that you guys have been educated and trained, and TV is a vehicle to put all this information out and let the public decide.

And the question I have is: Why doesn't he just go and get a lie detector test with the police department if he is not guilty? Thank you.

NELSON: All right, thank you very much, Jeanne.

He's already had a lie detector test that was done by his attorney, right?

FELLING: Yes, he's had his own self-operated polygraph test. And I believe one of the late night comedians just sunk his teeth into that one by saying, yes, he had his own polygraph test that he paid for, and tomorrow he's going to have his own tax credit given back to him. And it just raises more and more suspicion.

And, I mean, that viewer was very complementary toward the media is saying that we've been pressing on. And honestly, although the critics do have a point many times, the journalist's job is not always to be popular. The journalist's job is not always to just take the party line. Sometimes we have to badger.

We saw this in Watergate, and many other stories since then, where going against the tide actually resulted in a big story and productive efforts in the right direction.

NELSON: But we should keep in mind that the police still say that Gary Condit is not a suspect. Back in Watergate people were suspecting Richard Nixon of having some involvement in the break-in at Watergate. There's a difference there.

FELLING: You start getting involved in the minutia of law enforcement, where a break-in does have suspects, whereas a missing person's case does not necessitate that suspects are involved in it because, as far as we know -- granted, it was -- I think we passed this point a long time ago -- she could have just left; she could have been a run away. There are really no suspects in such a scenario as that.

NELSON: Yes, well let's hope that that's the case.

We'll get have another e-mail here: "Shame on Condit," says our second e-mail, "but shame on the media as well. What right does anyone have to say he (Condit) didn't say what I wanted to hear? I'm astonished that the presumption of innocence is becoming more and more the presumption of guilt."

This, again, plays to the question of whether the media is setting itself up as judge and jury here. We do have a way of setting the agenda. And we have, since the beginning of this story, set the agenda. Do you not think that we might not have set this agenda simply because it was, what we call, a sexy story?

FELLING: Well there's no doubt that it's a sexy story, and there's no doubt that it draws viewers, which in turn draws ratings, and does the media, on the business side, a very good thing.

But at the same time, we have to look at what Condit did. We can -- we can understand if he is being responsible in his interview answers. But the other night he said, I want to live by the parent's wishes and not get into this, which is never what the parents have asked for. They have always said, we want all the details out there; we're not afraid of what will come out.

But Congressman Condit decided to pick up on one little phrase out of context uttered by the Levys lawyer the other night on television. He will pick the truth when it is convenient for him, and that just doesn't ring well in the ears of a lot of TV viewers. Which isn't necessarily the ultimate judge and jury, I agree. The judge and the jury in this is not the media...

NELSON: Yes.

FELLING: ... it's not America's approval rating, it's the constituents in Modesto, California. And they'll be the ultimate judge.

NELSON: All right.

FELLING: If enough people within that district ask him to resign, then I think that's an order as well.

NELSON: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Matthew Felling from the Center for Media and Public Affairs. And I'm sure we'll -- both of us will continue to hear more about this story.

FELLING: Have a good weekend.

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