New York Times / Opinions / April 9, 2000 LIBERTIES / By MAUREEN DOWD
American Beauty
WASHINGTON -- You've got to hand it to David Westin.
The president of ABC News has achieved the impossible: he gave the Clinton White House the moral high ground.
Bill Clinton relished turning the tables on his press tormentors. Now it was ABC that was guilty of parsing words and shading truth.
"ABC doesn't know whether Leo and I had an interview, a walk-through, or a drive-by," Mr. Clinton joked at a press banquet. "Don't you news people ever learn? It isn't the mistake that kills you; it's the cover-up."
On March 31, an ABC News posse took Leonardo DiCaprio to talk to the president about, like, global stuff for an Earth Day special.
The heart throb worries about the planet. He can reel off 20 extinct species (not counting David Westin). He told Time: "I shouldn't be eating hamburgers, because the methane gas cows release is the No. 1 contributor to the destruction of the ozone layer; and the No. 1 reason they destroy the rain forest is to make grazing ground for cattle. So it's very ironic that I eat beef, being the environmentalist that I am. But then again, if I ordered the tuna sandwich, I would be promoting the fact that they have large tuna nets that capture innocent little dolphins."
When Sam Donaldson and Peter Jennings got upset, Mr. Westin sent the staff an e-mail, explaining that it wasn't supposed to be an interview, just a conversation while walking around the White House -- a fine example of Clintonian casuistry.
Mr. Westin wrote -- the parentheses are his -- that "a sincere, informed celebrity (Di Caprio) can play a role in that sort of news special. But the role must be that of a sincere, informed celebrity-not journalist. All roles of journalist must be played by journalists (duh!)"
Even in an era of celebrity journalism, it is jarring to see the job of a journalist called a role to be played. [Yoshie!]
This weekend, ABC agonized over whether to air some or any of the tape of Movie Star and Groupie.
It never dawned on the White House that allowing the president to be interviewed by a glossy overpaid Hollywood celebrity was any different than allowing him to be interviewed by a glossy overpaid network celebrity.
"ABC asked Leo to play the role of a journalist," said a Clinton aide. "And he's a better actor than some of the people they have."
The Clinton crowd, after all, has always worked to blur the line between entertainment and reality.
And Disney must thrill at the synergy of Leo starring on ABC, starring in a movie for Miramax, starring on the cover of Talk magazine.
It's a little late for Mr. Westin's attacks of conscience as he tries to lure "the DiCaprio generation," as he calls it, so that ABC can get some sponsors for the evening news other than Preparation H and Viagra. [Carrol!]
He let ABC get sullied when Diane Sawyer stood on her head for Elián.
Christopher Cuomo, the 29-year-old hired last year for ABC's "20/20 Downtown," is the anchor of the Earth Day special. He is part of the New York news magazine contingent that feels the Washington fuddy-duddies are too starchy about "credibility." This group thinks that, in the sprawling new media market, ABC needs to race the engines and explore hip new ways to draw young viewers, not slow down for outdated, stolid rules.
They have a point. It takes a special reporter to lure you into a discussion about insulation.
Networks turned to pretty anchors. Then pretty reporters. (Mr. Cuomo was named by People as one of the 50 most beautiful people.) Then came pretty analysts. (George Stephanopoulos has a knockout Q rating.)
But they always had grizzled veterans calling the shots. When Disney took over, ABC began to cast pretty executives. Suddenly, the Suits looked like Talent. Remember the tousled Jamie Tarses? Bob Iger looks like a matinee idol. And Mr. Westin could be Leo's big brother, or a "G.M.A." weatherman.
Given this inexorable arc, Mr. Westin should simply write an e-mail telling all the pretty anchors and pretty reporters to interview only pretty people. No more Alan Greenspans or Denny Hasterts. Just babes and hunks. (duh!)
As Faye Dunaway said in "Network" when she wanted to put Sibyl the Soothsayer on the evening news: "If you're going to hustle, at least do it right."
--------- "Perfect People" by Pennywise
All the perfect people - shallow and deceitful staring back at me on TV in magazines look so good like a box of fresh wrapped twinkies what the hell happened to me? So I took a drive to a rich and wealthy country saw everything I wanted and everything I need went right up and I tried to join their party you oughta seen the look when they saw me
fucked up eyes - stupid grin perfect people won't let me in who's who list - where's my name they won't let me join their game I bet you think that I'm insane there's no one left for me to blame screw the perfect people fuck they all look the same
we're not much to look at too short, dumb and so fat never gonna win a beauty pageant it's a curse always gonna be a better doorman at the best clubs how could things get any worse? don't have much to go on don't want your opinion don't have much to gain and I ain't got much to lose looks like you got it all and I'd really liek to get some you got something I could use