50 Years of Shame: How Journalists Protected Ted Kennedy After Chappaquiddick
Thursday
marks 50 years since Ted Kennedy, the liberal Democrat from
Massachusetts, drove off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island and left Mary
Jo Kopechne to drown in the back seat. For decades, journalists and the
TV networks downplayed the incident and portrayed the senator as the
victim.
Despite the circumstances, New York Times correspondent James Reston’s initial coverage in 1969 framed the story as a "Kennedy family" tragedy, rather than as a tragedy for the Kopechne family. As the Media Research Center's Brent Bozell and Tim Graham explained in a 2015 column:
Despite the circumstances, New York Times correspondent James Reston’s initial coverage in 1969 framed the story as a "Kennedy family" tragedy, rather than as a tragedy for the Kopechne family. As the Media Research Center's Brent Bozell and Tim Graham explained in a 2015 column:
