Through intense media coverage, McVeigh got a 'public podium'

Timothy McVeigh looked up and slowly nodded at each of 10 witnesses gazing at him through an observation window at his feet. They were reporters, and as he recognized their presence, "there was almost a sense of pride," said one witness. He might not have entertained journalists around the clock the way another famous federal inmate, John Brown, once did. But since his arrest six years ago in connection with the Oklahoma City bombing, McVeigh has been the center of a news story that has generated frequent and intense media interest. This fact did not escape U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who pleaded with the press "not (to) become Timothy McVeigh's co-conspirators" and give him one last "public podium." McVeigh got one anyway at his execution, held not at the fabled hour of one minute after midnight, but shortly after 7 a.m. on a Monday, when millions of Americans were sure to follow it on TV. When they tuned in, they saw a swarm of reporters and cameras that greatly outnumbered those who had come to hold vigil. In Terre Haute, more than 1,000 press passes were issued. Death-penalty supporters and protesters outside numbered fewer than 200. In Oklahoma City, Brian Espe, a survivor of the blast, told NBC's Katie Couric, "I'm really bothered by all the media attention (McVeigh) has gotten when we should be remembering the 168 people who died right behind me." Other survivors expressed similar outrage. But what was the press to do? Stay away? Ardent death-penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean, made famous in the movie "Dead Man Walking," told MSNBC's Forrest Sawyer, "In a perverse way, it gives Timothy McVeigh all of this unbelievable attention by doing this to him through violence, which is precisely the way he made his point." Contrasting McVeigh with his co-conspirator, Terry Nichols - who is serving a life sentence without parole - Prejean said: "Nobody wrote a book about Terry Nichols. Nobody's even saying his name." Overall, TV coverage of the execution was workmanlike. Viewers followed the goings-on inside the penitentiary through colorful graphics. They heard from survivors and, afterward, witnesses. Only ABC's "Good Morning America" did something exceptional by using the minutes of McVeigh's execution to broadcast a moving tribute to those who died in the explosion. The names, ages and photographs of the 168 victims quietly scrolled across the screen. Then several of the rescuers and survivors read from "impact statements" they had submitted at McVeigh's sentencing - testimonies to the human suffering that went on at the federal building. On a day otherwise dominated by Terre Haute's brick, concrete and barbed wire, MSNBC captured, at 6:45 a.m., a lovely, pristine picture of the Oklahoma City memorial and reflecting pool. Minutes later, TV crews started cluttering up the view. The lowlight came on NBC's "Today" show, as Tom Brokaw sat down with Matt Lauer to remember what it was like doing the nightly news six years ago in Oklahoma City. Brokaw declared that McVeigh "obviously wanted to be captured" because he had been pulled over for speeding while fleeing the crime scene. In fact, McVeigh was a notorious leadfoot who had been ticketed several times before the bombing. Brokaw also stated his hope that "history will show that this was the act of one man" (tell that to the Nichols jury), and he added that McVeigh's story "is a cautionary tale for all of us." Exactly how? Fox News Channel stuck to its usual no-frills coverage, though it had the advantage of a reporter (Shepard Smith) who was one of the 10 media witnesses to the execution. CBS's coverage seemed a mile away from the action, though Jane Clayson in Terre Haute gamely tried to interview whomever she could. On Sunday, CBS's "60 Minutes" rebroadcast a 1998 segment in which Jack Kevorkian was shown on videotape giving a patient a lethal injection. Mike Wallace pointedly noted that Kevorkian, now in prison, "has been prevented from meeting with reporters. Timothy McVeigh, on the other hand, was allowed to meet with several reporters during his time in prison." But Kevorkian is still with us and hopes to be able to talk to the media soon. When he does, you can bet the reporters and cameras will be lined up to greet him. You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. >>>