Spitzer's Media Enablers Share The Shame, Blame

The fall of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer holds many lessons, and the press will surely be examining them in coming months. But don't expect the press corps to delve into the biggest lesson of all - its own role as his enabler.

Journalists have spent the past two days asking how a man of Spitzer's stature would allow himself to get involved in a prostitution ring. The answer, in my mind, is clear.

The former New York attorney general never believed normal rules applied to him, and his view was validated time and again by an adoring press. "You play hard, you play rough, and hopefully you don't get caught," said Spitzer two years ago. He never did get caught, because most reporters were his accomplices.

Journalism has many functions, but perhaps the most important is keeping tabs on public officials. That duty is even more vital concerning government positions that are subject to few other checks and balances. Chief among those is the prosecutor, who can use his awesome state power to punish, even destroy, private citizens.

Yet from the start, the press corps acted as an adjunct of Spitzer power, rather than a skeptic of it. Many journalists get into this business because they want to see wrongs righted. Spitzer portrayed himself as the moral avenger. He was the slayer of the big guy, the fat cat, the Wall Street titan - all allegedly on behalf of the little guy. The press ate it up, and came back for more.

What the media never acknowledged is that somewhere along the line (say, his first day in public office) Spitzer became the big guy, the titan. He had the power to trample lives and bend the rules, while also burnishing his own political fortune. He was the one who deserved as much, if not more, scrutiny as onetime New York Stock Exchange chief Dick Grasso or former American International Group CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg.

What makes this more embarrassing for any self-respecting journalist is that Spitzer knew all this, and played the media like a Stradivarius. He knew what sort of storyline they'd be sympathetic to, and spun it. He knew, too, that as financial journalism has become more competitive, breaking news can make a career. He doled out scoops to favored reporters, who repaid him with allegiance. News organizations that dared to criticize him were cut off. After a time, few criticized anymore.

Instead, reporters felt obligated to run with whatever he handed them.

Spitzer's main offense as a prosecutor is that he violated the basic rules of fairness and due process: Innocent until proven guilty; the right to your day in court.

The Spitzer method was to target public companies and officials, leak allegations and out-of-context e-mails to a compliant press, watch the stock price fall, threaten a corporate indictment (a death sentence), and then move in for a quick settlement kill. There was rarely a trial, fair or unfair, involved.

On the substance, his court record speaks for itself. Most of Spitzer's high-profile charges have gone up in smoke.

A New York state judge threw out his case against tax firm H&R Block. He lost his prosecution against Bank of America broker Ted Sihpol (whom Spitzer threatened to arrest in front of his child and pregnant wife). Spitzer was stopped by a federal judge from prying confidential information out of mortgage companies. Another New York judge blocked the heart of his suit against Grasso. Greenberg continues to fight his civil charges.

The press was foursquare behind Mr. Spitzer in all these cases, and in a better world they'd share some of his humiliation.
Published: March 16, 2008
By KIMBERLY A. STRASSEL
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Summary of the Spitzer Scandal: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jymNLiYjmzSWcM01nuLDxpRuHF6gD8VE9V200

DISCUSSION IDEAS:
Do you think the most important function of journalism is keeping tabs on public figures?

What do you think make a subject or story "news?"

Do you think Spitzer will have a career in politics after this? Do you think he should be able to?
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