I . THE ·FOURTH ESTA'TE . I ing about the tax burden. Terror- ism, particularly in Galilee, has been on the increase. In recent months, a carpenter's son from the town of Nazareth has been attracting a large following with novel doctrines and faith healing. He recently entered Jerusalem amid popular acclaim, but influential Jewish leaders fear his power. Here in Alexandria the situation is seen as dangerous. Robin? MACNEIL: Recently in Jerusalem on a fact-finding mission for the Em- peror's Emergency Task Force on Provincial Disorders was Quintilius Maximus. Mr. Maximus, how do you see the situation? MAXIMUS: Robin, I had occasion to hear one of this preacher's sermons a few months ago and talk with his aides. There is no doubt in my mind that he is a threat to peace and should be crucified. MACNEIL: Pontius Pilate should wash his hands of the problem? MAXIMUS: Absolutely. MACNEIL: I see. Thank you. Jim? LEHRER: Now for a view from Mr. Simon, otherwise known as Peter. He is a supporter of Christ and has been standing by in a Jerusalem studio. Robin? MACNEIL: Mr. Simon Peter, why do you support Christ? SIMON PETER: He is the Son of God and presages the Second Coming. If I may, I would like to read some THE TEDIUM TWINS relevant passages from the prophet Isaiah. by Alexander Cockburn' MACNEIL: Thank you, but I'm afraid we'll have to break in there. We've Tonight: are there two sides to every question? Back to run out of time. Good night, Jim. you, Robin. LEHRER: Good night, Robin. MACNEIL: Sleep well, Jim. LEHRER: I hope you sleep well, too, (Tease) being urged by civil libertarians to Robin. ROBERT MACNEIL (voice over): A intervene in what is seen here in MACNEIL: I think I will. Well, good Galilean preacher claims he is the Rome as being basically a local dis- night again, Jim. Redeemer and says the poor are pute. Tonight, the crucifixion de- LEHRER: Good night, Robin. blessed. Should he be crucified? bate. Jim? MACNEIL: We'll be back again to- • (Titles) JIM LEHRER: Robin, the provinces morrow night. I'm Robert MacNeil. MACNEIL: Good evening. The Ro- of Judaea and Galilee have always Good night. man procurator in Jerusalem is try- been trouble spots, and this year is ing to decide whether a man re- no exception. The problem is part DMIRERS of the "MacNeill garded by many as a saint should religious, part political, and in many Lehrer Report"-and there be put to death. Pontius Pilate is ways a mixture of both. The Jews are many of them-often believe in one god. Discontent in talk about it in terms nor- Alexander Cockburn writes columns for A the Village Voice and the Wall Street the province has been growing, with mally reserved for unpalatable but Iournal. many local businessmen complain- nutritious breakfast foods: unallur-

HARPER'S/ AUGUST 1982 25 ing, perhaps, to the frivolous news LEHRER: Robin, advocates of the HUNTER-GAULT: A few critics of consumer, but packed full of fiber. continuing system of slavery argue slavery argue that it should be abol- It is commended as the sort of news that the practice has brought unpar- ished outright. One of them is Mr. analysis a serious citizen, duly alleled benefits to the economy. Wilberforce. Mr. Wilberforce, why weighing the pros and cons of world They fear that new regulations be- abolish slavery? history, would wish to masticate be- ing urged by reformers would un- WILBERFORCE: It is immoral for fore a thoughtful browse through dercut America's economic effective- one man ... the Federalist Papers, a chat with ness abroad. Reformers, on the MACNEIL: Mr. Wilberforce, we're spouse about civic duties incumbent other hand, call for legally binding running out of time, I'm afraid. Let on them on the morrow, and final standards and even for a phased re- me very quickly get some other blameless repose. duction in the slave force to some- points of view. Mr. Ginn, you think The promotional material for the thing like 75 percent of its present slavery is good? "Report" has a tone of reverence of size. Charlayne Hunter-Gault is in GINN: Yes. the sort usually employed by peo- Charleston. Charlayne? MACNEIL: And you, Mr. Haljmea- ple reading guidebooks to each oth- HUNTER-GAULT: Robin and Jim, [ sure, think it should be regulated. er in a French cathedral: "The have here in Charleston Mr. Ginn, HALF MEASURE : Yes. week-nightly newscast's unique mix head of the Cottongrowers Asso- MACNEIL: Well, l've got you to dis- of information, expert opinion, and ciation. Robin? agree, haven't I? (Laughter) That's debate has foreshadowed an indus- MACNEIL: Mr. Ginn, what are the all we've got time for tonight. Good try trend toward longer and more arguments for unregulated slavery? night, Jim. detailed coverage, while at the same GINN: Robin, our economic data LEHRER: Good night, Robin. time helping to reveal a growing show that attempts at regulation of MACNEIL: Did you sleep well last public appetite, for informational working hours, slave quarters, and night? television. Nearly 4.5 million view- so forth would reduce productivity LEHRER: [ did, thank you. ers watch the 'MacNeil/Lehrer Re- and indeed would be widely re- MACNEIL: That's good. So did L port' each night during the prime sented by the slaves themselves. We'll be back again tomorrow night. viewing season .... " MACNEIL: You mean, the slaves l'm Robert MacNeil. Good night. "A program with meat on its would not like new regulations? bones," said the Association for They would resent them? Continuing Higher Education, in GINN: Exactly. Any curbing of the HE "MacNeil/Lehrer Re- presenting its 1981 Leadership slave trade would offer the Tsar port" started in October Award. "The 'MacNeil/Lehrer Re- dangerous political opportunities in 1975, in the aftermath of port' goes beyond the commercial western Africa, and menace the stra- Watergate. It was a show networks' rushed recital of news to tegic slave-ship routes. dedicatedT to the proposition that bring us in-depth coverage of single LEHRER: Thank you, Mr. Ginn. there are two sides to every ques- issues. . . . There is a concern for Robin? tion, a valuable corrective in a pe- ideas rather than video images. . . . MACNEIL: Thank you, Mr. Ginn and riod when the American people had and they accord us the unusual me- Jim. The secretary of the Commit- finally decided that there were ab- dia compliment of not telling us tee for Regulatory Reform in Slav- solutely and definitely not two sides what to think, but allowing us to ery is Eric Halfmeasure. Mr. Half- to every question. Nixon was a draw our own conclusions after we, measure, give us the other side of crook who had rightly been driven weigh conflicting views." the story. from office; corporations were often And the handout concludes in HALF MEASURE : Robin, 1 would like headed by crooks who carried hot triumph with some findings from a to make one thing perfectly clear. money around in suitcases; federal 1980 Roper poll: "Three quarters Weare wholeheartedly in favor of officials were crooks who broke the of those polled said they had dis- slavery. We just see abuses that di- law on the say-so of the president. covered pros and cons on issues on minish productivity and reduce in- It was a dangerous moment, for which they had not had opinions centives for free men and women a citizenry suddenly imbued with beforehand." to compete in the marketplace. the notion that there is not only a Lynching, tarring and feathering, thesis and antithesis, but also a syn- rape, lack of holidays, and that sort thesis, is a citizenry capable of all ROBERT MACNEIL (voice over): of thing. One recent study suggests manner of harm to the harmonious Should one man own another? that regulation could raise produc- motions of the status quo. (Titles) tivity by 15 percent. Thus came the "MacNeil/Lehrer MACNEIL: Good evening. The prob- MACNEIL: 1 see. Thank you, Mr. Report," sponsored by public-tele- lem is as old as man himself. Do Halfmeasure. Mr. Ginn? vision funds and by the most pow- property rights extend to the abso- GINN: Our studies show the oppo- erful corporate forces in America, lute ownership of one man by an- site. in the form of Exxon, "AT&T and other? Tonight, the slavery prob- MACNEIL: Jim? the Bell System," and other upstand- lem. Jim? LEHRER: Charlayne? ing bodies. Back to Sunday school

HARPER'S! AUGUST 1982 26 went the excited viewers, to be in- desperately tries to suppress debate and delicious too. Without human structed that reality, as conveyed to and substantive argument, with vol- meat, our pioneers would be unable them by television, is not an excit- ley after volley of "We're nearly out to explore the West properly. This ing affair of crooked businessmen of time," "Congressman, in ten sec- would present an inviting opportu- and lying politicians but a serious onds could you ... ," and the final, nity to the French, who menace our continuum in which parties may dis- relieved "That's all for tonight." pioneer routes from the north. agree but in which all involved are It's even important that MacNeil MACNEIL: Thank you. Jim? struggling manfully and disinterest- and Lehrer say good night to each LEHRER: Now for another view of edly for the public weal. other so politely every evening. In cannibalism. Bertram Brussell Sprout The narcotizing, humorless prop- that final, sedate nocturnal exchange is leading the fight to control the erties of the "MacNeil/Lehrer Re- everything is finally resolved, even eating of animal fats and meats. Mr. port," familiar to anyone who has though nothing has been resolved. Sprout, would you include human felt fatigue creep over him at 7:40 We can all go to bed now. flesh in this proposed regulation? Eastern time, are crucial to the And so to bed we go. The pre- SPROUT: Most certainly, Jim. Our show. Tedium is of the essence, since tense is that viewers, duly presented studies show that some human flesh the all-but-conscious design of the with both sides of the case, will available for sale to the public is program is to project vacuous dith- spend the next segment of the eve- maggot-ridden, improperly cut, and ering ("And now, for another view ning weighing the pro against the often incorrectly graded. We think of Hitler ... ") into the mind of the con and coming up with the answer. the public should be protected from viewer, until he is properly convinced It is, in fact, enormously difficult to such abuses. that there is not one answer to "the recall anything that anyone has ever MACNEIL: Some say it is wrong to problem," but two or even three, said on a "MacNeil/Lehrer Report," eat human flesh at all. Mr. Prod- and that since two answers are no because the point has been to dem- nose, give us this point of view. better than none, he might as well onstrate that since everything can PRODNOSE: Robin, eating people is not bother with the problem at all. be contradicted, nothing may be wrong. We say ... The techniques employed by the worth remembering. The show MACNEIL: I'm afraid we're out of show enhance this distancing and praised above all others for content time. Good night, Jim, etc., etc. anesthetizing. The recipe is un- derives its attraction entirely from varying. MacNeil and Lehrer ex- form: the unvarying illustration that change modest gobbets of infor- if one man can be found to argue RUDGING back through the mation with each other about the that cannibalism is bad, another can "MacNeil/Lehrer" scripts, topic under discussion. Then, with be found to argue that it is not. the hardy reader will soon MacNeil crouching-rather like Actually, this is an overstatement. observe how extraordinarily Kermit the Frog in old age-down "MacNeil/Lehrer" hates such vio- narrowT is the range of opinion can- to the left and peering up, a huge lent extremes, and, by careful selec- vassed by a show dedicated to dis- face appears on the screen and dis- tion of the show's participants, the passionate examination of the issues cussion is under way. The slightest show tries to make sure that the of the day. The favored blend is discommoding exchange, some in- viewer will not be perturbed by any usually a couple of congressmen or temperate observation on the part views overly critical of the political senators, barking at each other from of the interviewee, causes MacNeil to and business establishment. either side of the fence, corporate bat the ball hastily down to Wash- chieftains, government executives, ington, where Lehrer sedately sits ranking lobbyists, and the odd for- with his interviewee. By fits and ROBERT MACNEIL (voice over): eign statesman. The mix is ludi- starts, with Jim batting back to Should one man eat another? crously respectable, almost always Robin and Robin batting across to (Titles) heavily establishment in tone. Offi- Charlayne, the program lurches MACNEIL: Good evening. Reports cial spokesmen of trade and interest along. The antagonists are rarely from the Donner Pass indicate that groups are preferred over people permitted to joust with one another survivors fed upon their compan- who only have something interesting and ideally are sequestered on their ions. Tonight, should cannibalism be to say. large screens. Sometimes, near the regulated? lim? This constriction of viewpoint is .', end of the show, the camera will LEHRER: Robin, the debate pits two particularly conspicuous in the case reveal that these supposed antago- diametrically opposed sides against of energy, an issue dear to the nists are in fact sitting chummily, each other: the Human Meat-eaters "MacNeil/Lehrer Report." "Eco- shoulder to shoulder, around the Association, who favor a free mar- nomics of Nuclear Power," for ex- same table as Lehrer-thus indicat- ket in human flesh, and their regula- ample, was screened on November ing to the viewer that, while opin- tory opponents in Congress and the 25, 1980, and purported to examine ions may differ, all are united in consumer movement. Robin? why a large number of nuclear util- general decency of purpose. Toward MACNEIL: Mr. Tooth, why eat hu- ities were teetering on the edge of the very end, MacNeil's true role man flesh? bankruptcy. Mustered to ponder the becomes increasingly exposed as he TOOTH: Robin, it is full of protein issue we had the following rich and

HARPER'S/ AUGUST 1982 27

varied banquet: the president of the show to tedium and yanks at the Lehrer." Like an Exocet missile, Virginia Electric and Power Com- hawser every time the craft shows MacNeil can spot a cliche, a patch pany; the vice president (for nu- any sign of floating off into un- of ennui, and home in on it with clear operations) of Commonwealth charted waters. He seems to have dreadful speed. Witness his pro- Edison of Chicago; a vice president learned-on the evidence of his re- clamation of political belief: (responsible for scrutinizing utility cent memoir, The Right Place at the investments) at Paine Webber; and Right Time*-the elements of his Instinctively, I find it more satisfying to belong with those the president of the Atomic Indus- . deadly craft in London, watching trial Forum. The viewers of "Mac- people in all countries who put the BBC and writing for Reuters. their trust in Man's best quality, Neil/Lehrer" did not, you may cor- MacNeil is a man so self-righ- his rational intellect and its abil- rectly surmise, hear much critical teously boring that he apparently ity to recognize and solve prob- • opinion about nuclear power on that had no qualms in setting down the lems. It is distressing that the particular evening. truth about his disgraceful conduct recent course of American pol- On May 1, 1981, the "Report" in Dallas on November 22, 1963. itics has caused that trust to be examined "the problems and pros- MacNeil was there covering Ken- ridiculed or dismissed as some pects of getting even more oil out nedy's visit for NBC. The shots sort of sojt-headedness, inappro- of our ground." Participants in the rang out and he sprinted to the near- priate to a virile nation con- fronting the dangerous world. It discussion about oil glut included est telephone he could find. It so some independent oil drillers, and will be unfortunate if being a happens that he dashed, without "liberal" remains an embarrass- "experts" from Merrill Lynch, Phil- knowing its significance, into the ment, if young Americans should lips Petroleum Company, and the Texas Book Depository: "As I ran begin to believe that conserva- Rand Corporation. up the steps and through the door, tives are the only realists. At least on May 1 the viewers a young' man in shirt sleeves was Each has its absurd extreme: had more than one person saying coming out. In great agitation I liberalism tending to inspire fool- the same thing ("regulation is bad"). asked him where there was a phone. ish altruism and unwarranted op- On March 27 they were invited to He pointed inside to an open space timism; conservatism leading to consider the plans of the Reagan where another man was talking on unbridled selfishness and para- noia. Taken in moderation, I administration for a rebuilt navy. a phone situated next to a pillar The inquiring citizen was offered a prefer the liberal impulse: it is and said, 'Better ask him.' I ran in- the impulse behind the great trip around the battleship Iowa in side .... " forces that have advanced man- the company of MacNeil, and an ex- Later, MacNeil writes, "I heard on kind, like Christianity. I find it tremely meek interview, conducted television that a young man called hard to believe that Jesus Christ by both MacNeil and Lehrer, of the Oswald, arrested for the shooting, was a political conservative, Secretary of the Navy, John Lehman. worked at the Texas Book Deposi- whatever views are espoused in No dissenting views were allowed to tory and had left by the front door his name today. intrude, beyond the deferential in- immediately afterward. Isn't that For all my instinctive liberal- quiries of MacNeil and Lehrer, both strange, I told myself. He must have ism, my experience of politics in many countries has not left me of whom, it should be said, are very been leaving just about the time I wedded to any particular politi- bad interviewers, usually ignorant was running in. . . ." cal parties. Rather, I have found and always timid. By contrast, Ted Later still, William Manchester myself politically dining a la Koppel of ABC's "Nightline"-a far demonstrated that there was a 95 carte, on particular issues. better show, covering the same sort percent certainty that MacNeil had of turf-is a veritable tiger in inter- met Oswald. Any reporter, any hu- This is the mind-set behind "Mac- rogatory technique. man, with anything other than trea- Neil/Lehrer,' "I have my own in- The spectrum of opinion thus of- cle in his veins, would naturally stinctive aversion to being snowed," fered is one that ranges from the make much of the coincidence and he writes at another point. "The corporate right to cautious center- divert children, acquaintances, and more I hear everyone telling me liberal. One should not be misled, indeed a wider public, with interest- that some public person is wonder- by the theatrical diversity of views ing accounts of Oswald's demeanor ful, the more I ask myself, Can he deployed on the program, into think- at this significant moment. Not Mac- really be all that wonderful? Con- • ing that a genuinely wide spectrum Neil. With Pecksniffian virtuousness, versely [for MacNeil there is always of opinion is permitted. Moldering he insists that the encounter was a "conversely" poking its head round piles of "MacNeil/Lehrer" tran- merely "possible," and that "it is the door], I never believe anyone scripts before me on my desk attest titillating, but it doesn't matter very can be quite as consistently terrible to the fact. much." as his reputation." The show would be nothing with- Such is the aversion to storytell- Hitler? Attila the Hun? Pol Pot? out Robert ("Robin") MacNeil. Ca- ing, the sodden addiction to the Nixon? John D. Rockefeller? I'm nadian, of course, with a layer of mundane, that produced "MacNeil/ afraid that's all we have time for to- high seriousness so thick it sticks night. We've run out of time. Good to the screen, MacNeil anchors the * Little, Brown, $13.95. night. •

HARPER'S/ AUGUST 1982