Costas Refuses to Host Show on Holloway
I didn’t think the subject matter of Thursday’s show was the kind of broadcast I should be doing. I suggested some alternatives but the producers preferred the topics they had chosen. I was fine with that, and respectfully declined to participate.
- Bob Costas
If you’ve been living in a cave for the past few months and haven’t heard of Natalee Holloway…well, you’re one of the lucky ones. The rest of us have been bombarded with almost wall-to-wall coverage of every nuance of this case, which essentially boils down to the disappearance of an attractive White woman. Now, don’t get me wrong; Holloway’s disappearance is a tragedy on many levels, and the fact that she has not been found yet has only compounded the anguish and suffering experienced by her family.
Realistically, though, what does the non-stop, wall-to-wall coverage add to our understanding of the Holloway case? Well, nothing…unless you count the fact that it certainly illustrates the latent racism inherent in this sort of coverage. Holloway is not the first, nor will she be the last, woman to disappear. The fact that she is young, attractive, and- most importantly- White fueled most of the feeding frenzy among the American media. If Holloway had been African-American or Hispanic, can any of us say with any certainty that the coverage of her disappearance would have been anywhere near as intense? To say yes would be to ignore the reality still very prevalent in American society to this day.
Costas, hired by CNN as an occasional fill-in on “Larry King Live,” refused to anchor Thursday’s show because it was primarily about the Alabama teenager who went missing in Aruba. Chris Pixley filled in at the last minute.
“I didn’t think the subject matter of Thursday’s show was the kind of broadcast I should be doing,” Costas said in a statement. “I suggested some alternatives but the producers preferred the topics they had chosen. I was fine with that, and respectfully declined to participate.”
Costas’ manager declined to elaborate on what Costas didn’t like about the topic.
Thursday’s guests included Beth Holloway Twitty, the girl’s mother; a television reporter; and an investigator in the case. Seven of the show’s 10 guests talked about the missing girl, the other segments were about the BTK killer.
The Holloway case has been a big attraction on cable news networks during a slow news period, with Fox News Channel’s Greta Van Susteren getting record ratings as she’s paid almost nonstop attention to it. Reports of Costas’ decision first surfaced on the mediabistro.com Web site on Friday.
“There were no hard feelings at all,” Costas said. “It’s not a big deal. I’m sure there are countless topics that will be mutually acceptable in the future.”
Indeed, it IS a big deal- a very big deal. Finally, someone has had the courage to stand up and say “enough”. Will Costas’ refusal to participate in the Holloway feeding frenzy ultimately change anything? Not likely. News directors will continue to pander to the lowest common denominators. After all, when you’re dependent on ratings to generate advertising dollars, it doesn’t take much to figure out that taking the high road doesn’t pay very well.
At least Bob Costas demonstrated that he has a functioning moral compass. It’s more than can be said for most folks in the news business.
Once again, Bob Costas shows that he has a reasonable amount of human decency and self-respect. Nicely done, Bob.