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Hey Media, Leave The Kids Alone
By Mike Bayham
January 31, 2002

In 1964, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart was asked to define obscenity.  Justice Stewart then replied, "I know it when I see it."  The same broad guidelines are used to determine what is newsworthy.

Many people during the late nineties began to ask the question of the true newsworthiness of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.  Because Bill Clinton's activities were central to a Federal investigation, the location of the affair and that both participants were in their political positions by their own choosing the national media felt justified in relaying to the public the most precise details of the affair.

As recent as forty years ago, the personal romances of those that resided in the White House were well known by the media but not broadcast by newsreel to the rest of the country.  Clinton was not the first adulterer to serve as president as several of his predecessors (and at least one First Lady) engaged in relations with people they were not married to.  However out respect for the president and his family, they bit their tongue and focused on issues that really affected the people.

Eventually not only the president lost his protection from personal assault by partisans and the media but also their family members.  Billy Carter, Neil Bush, and Roger Clinton were subjected to less than flattering publicity by the media.  In the case of Billy Carter, his connections to the Libyan government brought embarrassment to his brother while in the White House.  

Roger Clinton, the president's brother, had his past run ins with the law exposed for all the world to see.  His brother contributed to the increased attention when he casually commented how he permitted the Arkansas police to set him up in a drug buy.

And then there was Neil Bush, son of the 41st president, brother of the 43rd, Tulane graduate and most infamously the former head of a failed Colorado Savings and Loan.  Neil Bush's time in the spotlight was probably the least kind because whatever embarrassed he felt from the news stories was further irritated by the Democrats who invoked his name in partisan attacks.  And though all of these individuals were involved in varying degrees of controversy, there was one thing they had in common: they were adults.

The same cannot be said for the grandchildren of former President George H. W. Bush.

Almost everyone is familiar with the incident in Austin, Texas when President Bush's twin daughters Barbara and Jenna were caught consuming alcohol under age.  This is something pretty embarrassing for anyone caught even though millions of Americans under the age of 21 and over age the 17 engage in drinking on a social basis.  But this is the first time such the violation of what I believe to be a trivial law (another column for another day) made headlines across the globe.

And now most recently the daughter of Florida Governor Jeb Bush made headlines when she was arrested for prescription fraud, admittedly a far more serious offense than underage beer drinking.  I will not argue the merits of her arrest; if she committed the crime then she should be booked and tried for her criminal action.  However for this to make national news coupled with the headline "President Bush's niece arrested on drug charges" is ridiculous.

I wonder how many other people that forge prescriptions for Xanax make national news?  Noelle Bush is not considered a public figure, despite her father's prominence.  And unlike Jeb Bush's son Prescott, Noelle Bush had a relatively low profile in the campaign.   

One presidency ago the media heeded to the early (though informal) rule the Clintons set forth that their daughter Chelsea was not to be the subject of news coverage.  People magazine "violated" this rule when they ran a flattering cover story of the first daughter that supposedly "enraged" the Clintons.  Aside from the People story, Chelsea's activities had infrequently appeared in the public eye, all in a positive way.

While it is safe to assume that Chelsea did not party nearly as hard as her father did over the past eight years, I would place a sizable wager that she probably consumed alcohol before she turned 21.  Regardless, Chelsea still receives positive press since she graduated college, even while hanging out with Madonna in Paris.

To add insult to injury, the Bush twins incident later resurfaced as the topic of the final question in the "Miss Teen USA" pageant when contestants were asked their opinion of the media's treatment of Jena and Barbara Bush bar incident.  The question was ludicrously phrased "President Bush's daughters Jena and Barbara have had well-publicized problems with underage drinking. Have they been treated fairly by the media?"  The question itself almost implies that the two are drunks with alcohol problems.

One of the contestants in her answer revealed more than just her opinion of the media.  In addition to her criticism of the media for their handling of the story, she also went after the bar bouncer, who had called 9-1-1 to report the two girls, as being irresponsible himself for calling an emergency number for underage drinking.  

However Marissa Whitley, representing the state that elected a corpse for US Senator, replied "I think that when you are in a position like they are, you are automatically a role model for the rest of the teenagers in today's society. So I think underage drinking is a huge problem and for them to be caught doing that, it not only lets themselves down, but it kind of puts a damper on the whole system and the teenage community as well."

Take a guess which one won the pageant?

Jenna and Barbara Bush did not choose to be the nation's "first daughters."  Unlike those who make a decision to become a professional athlete, elected official, or obtain a position that will raise their profile, the Bush twins were shoved into a spotlight they did not ask for.  Unlike troubled Prince Harry in the UK, these girls were not born into fame nor are they permanent public figures.

They are not, nor did they ever aspire to be, role models; they are teenagers.  Jenna and Barbara have received a far worse punishment from the media than the judge they had to go before.  Noelle Bush will probably have it worse when taking into account that this is not the first legal entanglement for her family and that her father is up for reelection this year.

The media should show the same restraint for the children of President Bush, and for that matter the children of all high profile people, that they extended to Chelsea Clinton. If they have trouble deciding what is legitimately newsworthy and what isn't I suggest they substitute the names of their own children when writing the stories and headlines.  Maybe then they will know the true meaning of newsworthiness.