Pumping Irony

Beginning two weeks ago, the TMZ.com website posted three separate videos of Maria Shriver talking on her cell phone while driving, which is illegal in California (where Shriver was at the time). Virtually every local, national and cable news network ran the story and aired the videos. But not Nightly News. Now, this is exactly the type of story Nightly News loves--celebrity gone afoul of the law. And Shriver is a celebrity in many worlds. She's a noted journalist, a member of the Kennedy family (and niece of a president), married to a mega-star (Arnold Schwarzenegger), and the First Lady of California. So why didn't Nightly News run this story? The answer is obvious. The story broke just a week before Shriver was to begin her stint as host of the "A Woman's Nation" series on Nightly News. The producers refused to run her phoning-while-driving story so as not to detract from her upcoming appearances on their broadcast. Once again, the Nightly News producers allowed self-interest to influence their news coverage. Shame on them for their Kindergarten Cop-Out.