#DUPE# (2019): Season 1, Episode 5 - If It Bleeds, It Leads - full transcript

Chung: We are about to
take you on a tour through the
notorious world of tabloids.

The tabloids are more
than good gossip, they are
a major influence on life.

In 1989 tabloid
journalism took off.

Povich: Where a serial
killer has robbed families
of their loved ones.

We weren't traditional news.

Smith: It was almost like
some kind of tv catnip.

Narrator: 1989, it was
a year when salacious crime
reporting hit new extremes.

And the line between
news and entertainment...

Really began to blur.

Clark: In 1989 there
was a real shift.

Narrator: A shift that
would transform america's
relationship with the media



When a sensational style
of journalism caught fire.

Povich: This is the most
eye-popping tv show on cable
that makes the playboy channel

Look like the disney channel.

Narrator: Tabloid tv was
as much about theatre as
it was about information,

And it gave us a glimpse
into the future of news.

Burns: 1989 serves
as this beginning to
where we are today.

Facts that contradict people's
perspectives get tossed out.

Reporter (over tv):
It was one of the
city's most heinous crimes,

But the five men
convicted in the central park
jogger attack case

Have now been cleared.

King: Are my facts your facts?

I worry about
where we're going.

(theme music plays)

Reporter (over tv): There is
a hot debate in show business
and in front of television



Sets across the land,
it centers on what is
called reality based programs,

Not reality, but reality
based, or tabloid tv.

Its fans say it opens up
the medium, others say 'it's
time to take out the trash.'

Narrator: The news
is always changing.

But there was a time
when the way the news
was delivered did not.

For decades americans knew
when to tune in to their
newscasts and who would man

The anchor desk; journalists
like walter cronkite who was
known as the most trusted man

In america.

Cronkite (over tv):
And that's the way it is,
Monday September 11th, 1972.

Narrator: That all changed in
the late 80s, when one program
decided to lead with very

Different stories, making
many of us wonder what kind
of news we were watching.

Povich: Tabloid television,
this show is rampant anarchy.

People are still asking,
who killed cindy james?

She needs a man,
to father a baby.

Good evening everyone,
I'm maury povich and welcome
to a current affair.

I was thrown together with the
most creative, ambitious,

Just knock-your-socks-off
producers who had no conception

Of not getting a story, and
so we started doing all these

Stories that nobody
else was doing.

The sleepwalk killing.

The hidden james dean.

Pit bull terriers, kid's
pets or killer dogs?

Network newsrooms were putting
these stories in the garbage
cans, we were taking them out

And making unbelievable
television, and using the
classic shakespearean themes:

Lust, conflict,
drama, betrayal.

Everything that
happened historically
in any great story.

Little by little, we
got a lot of traction.

Chung: I can't say
that tabloid journalism
was my husband's fault,

But it was my husband's fault.

He and his cohorts
at a current affair
created this genre.

They took it to
a another level.

After that, tabloid
journalism took off.

Povich: Rupert murdoch had
the greatest line to me when
a current affair was nominated

For an emmy in 1989,

He said,
'you know don't worry, we're
no interested in trophies,

We're interested in viewers,
that's all we care about."

Narrator: Being in murdoch's
favor would come in handy
when one of the stories of the

Century was breaking.

A current affair's
crew needed a way to
get to berlin fast, so,

Murdoch lent them
his private jet.

Povich: Maybe the biggest
event in 1989 was the
fall of the berlin wall.

Tom brokaw is there from nbc,
dan rather is there for cbs,

Peter jennings is there for abc.

And here comes maury povich
from a current affair.

And they looked and said,
'what are you doing here?

I mean... This is our story.'

There is a lot of joy,
there is a lot of
celebration, but when we get

Through all of this, there
is going to be a hard look
at what the future is.

The great picture of the
fall of the berlin wall was
everybody taking hammers and

Axes, so we decided we
gotta really do a big job.

So gordon elliott, our
indefatigable reporter, goes
to a fire house in west berlin

And gets a fire axe, one
of those huge, none of these
little things, this huge fire

Axe and brings it to the wall.

And gordon's got this
thing and he starts
banging on the wall.

And then, of course, all the
west berliners are there and
say, 'can I have that axe?'

So gordon gives
this guy the axe and
this guys's got this axe

And this guy's picture
iconically shows up on

The cover of newsweek.

We never expected that the
traditional media would ever
accept us, but those network

News people were fascinated
with what a current affair
was doing, and would ask

"so what did you do here?"

And "how did you get that?"

And "how did you do this?"

Narrator: A current affair's
success did not go unnoticed,
and competitors emerged.

O'reilly: We'll do
it live, (bleep) it!

Do it live!

I can, I'll write it
and we'll do it live!

Narrator: Bill o'reilly
was the audacious,
mold-breaking host and

It was on inside edition,

Where o'reilly
would develop the brash
persona that made

Him a cable news juggernaut.

O'reilly: The murder
last November was brutal
and sudden, and authorities

Say it could happen anywhere.

Narrator: A
current affair,

Inside edition and
hard copy became the

Unholy trinity of tabloid tv.

Low production costs,
less competitive timeslots
and loyal followings gave

These shows
huge profit margins.

And then one
story would put them
on the map for good.

Clark: In 1989 there
was a real shift into
these tabloid shows.

There was a huge
appetite in america for
these kinds of stories,

And especially
true crime stories.

The more bizarre the
crime the more public
interest there is.

The menendez story in
particular is fascinating
because it is the

Juxtaposition of great
wealth and privilege with
heinous crime and abuse.

It looked like this
beautiful fairy tale life in
this beverly hills mansion.

Tennis courts, pools,
fancy cars and lifestyle.

You don't imagine that
lurking just beneath the
surface is so much ugliness.

Reporter (over tv): On
August 20th 1989, jose
and kitty menendez were

Shot to death in their
beverly hills home.

The bodies were
discovered by their two
sons, lyle and erik,

Who told police they
had returned from the
movies to find the massacre.

But the investigation
quickly centered on the sons.

Povich: The menendez story,
it touched every base
that we would ever want.

Rich people, brothers
turning against their
parents, killing them!

I mean you had every aspect
of shakespeare in that story,
oh it was perfect for us.

A movie executive and his
wife were brutally slain in
their million dollar mansion.

Narrator: Sordid tales
of greed, sex and
murder were mostly found while

Waiting in the checkout line,

Until 1989 when the
world was introduced to
the menendez brothers.

Smith: At the sensational
menendez brothers murder
trial in california,

The jury is now hearing
from friends and witnesses...

What people in the
television news business
began to realize is that

These more sensational
cases would move the needle,

Almost like some
kind of tv catnip.

You do that story and
you realize; oh we
got an audience bump.

Narrator: Stories like
the menendez brothers
didn't fade from the news

After a week or two.

They could hold the
public's interest for years.

Clark: People loved to read
about these true crime cases,
they certainly did sell

Newspapers that's for sure.

And then court tv came
up with a good idea,
'let's film the trial.'

Narrator: Live cameras
would be in the courtroom
from gavel to gavel,

Covering the trial of
lyle and erik menendez.

Some prominent
voices in the legal
community were concerned,

Saying members of the jury
should be concentrating

On the evidence,
not worrying about
how they looked on tv.

But the american public?

They just tuned in, and
for some, watching the
trial turned into an obsession.

One that would foreshadow the
current fascination with true
crime and reality television.

Miller: Bringing
cameras into the courtroom
reset the tone and tenor

Of what a trial meant.

The courtroom became an
altogether different venue.

The courts were uncomfortable
with it, they thought
it would create a circus.

The legal community was
uncomfortable with it, except
some lawyers understood,

'maybe this will
make me famous'.

Everyday there would
be a new installment and
people became attached to

It the way they become
attached to a soap opera,

'I have to see
my episode today.'

This was all before oj.

Reporter (over tv):
The beverly hills brothers
who admit to killing

Their rich parents are
attracting a following.

Woman: I'm kind of
obsessed with the trial,
it's a real interesting trial,

Cause' when you watch on
tv it looks like a movie.

Man: I'm sucked into it.

I'm as interested as
you or anybody else is.

Clark: Should there be
cameras in the courtroom?

I've gone back
and forth on this.

You run the risk of
misinforming the public,
skewing public opinion.

Abramson: This case has been
treated like a soap opera
by you all for a long time,

And it isn't a soap opera,
this is real life.

King: Did we sensationalize
the menendez brothers?

Or was that in and of
itself sensational?

The answer to both
questions is yes.

Narrator: If the menendez
brothers brought in ratings,

"real" celebrities
in trouble would create
even bigger events,

And the mainstream
media had no choice but to

Give the viewers
what they wanted.

Chung: Each news story
that came along, ranging from
oj simpson to tonya harding,

Was turned into insanity.

Respected newspapers like
the the new york times
and even nightline,

Would cover these stories.

Williams: The event
has become a spectacle,

A tv series on
cable all it's own.

Narrator: And these
spectacles would be produced
like pro football games.

Woman: As to the charge
of first degree murder, we
the jury find the defendant

Not guilty.

Narrator: Live coverage
from all the angles,
highlights, and of course

Color commentary
from the experts.

Clark: True crime has always
been a fascination, but now we
have outlets that create true

Crime stories that make it
more entertaining than just
the journalistic effort to,

'the facts ma'am, just
the facts.' now it's about
creating theatre and drama.

In order to make it
entertaining, they take a
point of view and they're

Making the news a product,
and that's problematic.

Grace: Somewhere out there,
the devil is dancing tonight.

Chung: After 1989, when
tabloid journalism was first
introduced, there was a whole

Sea-change in the media.

What emerged was the
proliferation of news outlets.

Msnbc came along, fox came
along, and news organizations
began competing viciously for

The latest story, the
latest flavor of the week,
which is where we are today.

Accuracy, balance
and objectivity just
fall by the wayside.

King: You conceptualize
that what you are doing is
very important,

It may not be very important.
Do you agree what that?

It may be designed to
titillate, by the way, which
you have every right to do.

Pittman:
By the way I'm arguing
not for mort downey,

I'm arguing for
let's look at the
environment we're in.

We're in an era in which
tv is diversifying.

The last ten years of
cable tv we've diversified
entertainment, the next ten

Years we're gonna diversify
news and information, and the
styles in which you do it.

King: I think journalistic
standards are way down,

Because there is too much of it,

There's too many channels.

They all want to get it on
first, not get it right.

We're all interested
in gossip.

I covered it because the
producers said we had
to cover it; I still try

To do the best job I could.

But the public
is insane for it.

Smith: That was the beginning
of a trend that only became
worse and worse and worse.

Burns: The central park
jogger case in
particular was this great

Opportunity for the tabloids.

Everyone really assumed
that these guys were guilty,

And the tabloid shows,

The tabloid papers really
made these kids into villains.

An eye-splitting
barrage fueled by a
high-octane mix of

The stuff that
sells newspapers.

Narrator: In the late
1980s new york tabloids were
engaged in an all-out war,

Vying for the city's
attention with as much sex,
crime and hyperbole,

That was fit to print.

But one shocking
story inspired a level of
fear-mongering that would show

Just how dangerous
sensational words could be.

Reporter (over tv):
Well another crime,
a crime that outraged

The decent people in this city.

Simmons (over tv):
The pack of teenagers
charged in the vicious beating

And rape of a woman
jogger in central park.

Povich: Anything that
happens in central park
is great news for us.

Reporter (over tv): Police
believe a gang of young
hoodlums is responsible for

The vicious rape and
beating of a 30-year-old
investment banker,

Trisha meili,
who was jogging in
central park last night.

Reporter 2 (over tv): The
woman who suffered the mob's
attack remains unconscious.

She is a white wall
street investment banker.

Her black attackers being
called 'animals' in the media.

Reporter 3 (over tv): A
gang of about 30 youths who
were on a wilding attack...

Reporter 4 (over tv):
Wilding in the park.

Brokaw: Wilding,
new york city police say
that's new teenage slang for

Rampaging in wolf-packs,
attacking people
just for the fun of it.

Burns: Right away you get
these headlines, 'wilding',
'wolf pack' they were called.

And there was all this
animal language and imagery,

Assuming the guilt of these kids
and making them into villains.

Chung: Tabloid
journalism had created a
good-guy, bad-guy format.

The black and white of it was,
was very clear,

And that's what
sensationalism is all about.

Burns: There was a lot of
pressure to solve the case, to
close the case because it was

Such a sensational tabloid
story and everyone was
paying attention to it.

Newspapers, the media
just ran with it.

They bought the
police narrative that came
out and very few people

Questioned the story.

This is a case that
really could have used
some good journalism.

We didn't get that, so the
dominant narrative was this,

Was the tabloid
version of the story.

Narrator: In 1989,
the murder rate in
new york city was nearly

7 times what it was in 2017,

And the storyline was
clear: Out of control
animals were running rampant

In new york city,
putting its citizens at risk.

And one surprising voice
emerged, demanding justice.

In page six he was
known as 'the donald,'
and more of a socialite

Than social justice crusader.

But in 1989, he went from
media-hound to media buyer.

Povich: Donald spent $85,000
to take a full page ad out in
the newspaper saying that we

Should bring back the death
penalty for these people.

Trump: I am strongly in favor
of the death penalty, I'm
also in favor of bringing back

Police forces that can
do something instead of
just turning their back.

You better believe that I
hate the people that took this
girl and raped her brutally,

You better believe it.

And it's more than
anger, it's hatred, and I
want society to hate 'em.

King: He was
convicting people.

Didn't know the case,
and that was terrible.

We don't know
who did that crime,
and the court's gonna

Decide who did that crime.

Were you pre-judging
those arrested?

Trump: No, I'm not
prejudging at all, I'm not
in this particular case,

I'm saying if
they're found guilty,
if the woman died,

Which she hopefully
will not be dying,

But if the woman died I think
they should be executed.

Narrator: Fortunately,
trisha meili survived.

As for her alleged
attackers, their case ended
with a dramatic twist.

Reporter (over tv):
It was one of the
city's most heinous crimes,

But the five men
convicted in the
central park jogger attack

Case have now been cleared.

Reporter 2 (over tv):
The five teenagers who
spent 5 to 13 years in jail

For her attempted murder
and rape were not involved.

Narrator: But the
confession of a serial
rapist already in jail for

Murder didn't move
donald trump to recant.

Reporter (over tv): In a
statement to cnn, trump not
only didn't apologize, but

Said 'they admitted they were
guilty, the police doing the
original investigation say

They were guilty, the
fact that the case was
settled with so much evidence

Against them, is outrageous.'

Burns: Donald trump's
reaction to this case serves
as this beginning to

Some of where we are today.

Trump: They're bringing drugs.
They're bringing crime.

Burns: Creating an
other and blaming that
other for problems.

Facts that contradict people's
perspectives get tossed
out and instead we go with the

Story that we like the
narrative we want to believe.

I think that's exactly
what happened with the
central park five case.

King: The donald I knew in
1989 wanted to get on page
six of the new york post.

Of course he told mistruths,
that was apart of him.

He'd be on my show
the next day and said,
'top ratings ever, right?'

Chung: Do you know
why you do it?

Trump: Why? Tell me.
Chung: You love the publicity!

Trump: Oh I hate
the publicity.

Chung: Oh come on,
get out of here!

Trump: No I'm telling
you I hate the publicity.

Chung: Oh please!
Trump: I hate it.

Narrator: Once a man who
loved to see his name in print,

The leader of the free
world now calls the free press,
the enemy of the people.

Trump: I'm not going
to give you a question.

You are fake news.

Man: Cnn is fake news!

Woman: We are here to protest
cnn and their fake news!

Narrator: And who
are the members of
the fake news anyway?

Today we can all be
in the news business.

We can all collect facts,
make references, and share
our opinions as we see fit.

But in today's crowded
media landscape, many resort
to being loud and bold.

Jones: Every page, every
headline screams deceit,

Corruption, evil, lies.

Uygar: You guys are the
ones who are constantly
like 'don't do that!'

Reporter (over tv): Maybe he's
just stupid, maybe he's just
dumb, maybe he's ignorant.

Hannity: It's about how to
tear down this president
by any means necessary.

King: Most of media now
is 'me,' it's a 'me media.'

The host is more
interested in the host.

As a broadcaster I wasn't a
fan of that kind of pompous,

'I know it all, you don't.'

Right now you have three
cable news networks that
don't cover anything but trump.

Other things are
going on in the world,
they don't cover them.

It's not journalism.

I worry about
where we're going.

Smith: I don't remember a
time in my life as a reporter,
which is over 30 years now,

That we've ever had this
kind of contentious atmosphere
where there's a whole group of

People in the country who
thinks what the mainstream
media does is a total hoax.

It's like folks have their own
version of the facts, versus
just the facts existing.

Narrator: Despite all of
our modern choices for news,

Many of us choose to stay
in our own echo chambers,

Making facts as
elusive as ever.

And if we're not informed
to know where a report
ends and an editorial begins,

How will we ever know
where the truth lies?

Jones: And
it says overthrow trump,
overthrow the government!

Clark: People have
forgotten that there is such
a thing as a truth, the truth.

And it's not just your take,
my take, his take.

The public has a right to
know the truth, not (bleep)

Narrator: 30 years ago,

Tabloid tv
changed the face of news.

A transformation
some have embraced and
others continue to reject.

But what is undeniable
is that it made
sensationalism mainstream,

Gave journalism an edge,

And gave us all an
appetite for real life drama.

Povich: You might not
consider them news, but I'll
tell you this, since 1989 more

Newscasts are
doing stories we did
on a current affair

Then they ever did.

And you know, we
have a president,

24 hours a day
we got tabloid journalism!

Captioned by cotter
captioning services.