Ted Kaczynski chic

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I would say that King, Walters, etc are whores for soliciting Kaczynski but then any of us that watch their interviews would be Johns.

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a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20010202/462122.html">Ted K

February 2, 2001

Dear Mr. Kaczynski ... 'You are a hero': Sucking up to the Unabomber isn't beneath the likes of Rather and King

John Chipman National Post

How do Dan Rather, Larry King and other leading journalists land their impressive interviews?

Simply put, most suck up -- even if the scoop is a serial killer.

Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, has received dozens of requests for interviews since he was unmasked in 1996, many of them absolutely gushing toward a man that killed three people and injured 23 in a 17-year letter-bombing campaign.

Dan Dahler, a correspondent with Good Morning America, lauded Kaczynski's resourcefulness and echoed his anti-government sentiments -- in the same sentence -- in one of the most effusive requests.

"I know I represent a form of technology abhorrent to you, but I also know from reading excerpts from your journal (released by the government -- so I wonder if they're accurate representations??) and descriptions of the intricately made explosive devices that you have a talent for using anything at hand for your purposes."

Dahler misspelled Kaczynski's name twice.

Shawn Efran, writing on behalf of Dan Rather for 60 Minutes II, told Kaczynski: "You are a hero and a pioneer" to many anarchists and environmentalists.

"When I asked these people what had inspired them, they were unanimous. It was the Manifesto. Your writings awakened in them a desire to smash down technological society by whatever means necessary."

Efran also went to great lengths to differentiate his news program from the original 60 Minutes, which ran a segment with Kaczynski's brother, who turned him in.

"If you work with us, more than 10 million people will see our story on 60 Minutes II and the folks who produced the story with your brother will have no input or control," he wrote. "Our story will allow you to personally refute what they said about you as well as provide a serious forum for your ideas."

The requests were among 30 to 35 letters -- none from Canada -- that were unearthed by the Web site The Smoking Gun. Kaczynski donated his papers to the University of Michigan's Special Collections Library, explained William Bastone, the Web site's founding editor.

"I can understand the desire to get the interview," said Bastone, a long-time New York reporter. "But drafting these letters where you think you are somehow going to suck up to him, butter him up ... and he's not going to realize it? He's not an unsavvy guy."

Apparently not -- none of these requests were successful.

Larry Ish, a producer with the Roseanne Show, promoted the program's international audience as a possible means to help Kaczynski get a book deal and promised a receptive host.

"If you know anything about Roseanne, you must know that she is a non-conformist and rarely does what society expects of her," Ish wrote. "I believe that you and her would definitely 'hit it off' and the conversation would definitely be interesting and fulfilling for the both of you."

Bobby Grossman, writing on behalf of Larry King Live, took a pessimistic approach.

"It is my understanding that this request is next to impossible ... but perhaps the impossible can be overturned by your participation. I hope you might help me orchestrate this."

Bryan Denson, a reporter with The Oregonian, sought to distance himself from other journalists.

"I suspect by now that every blow-dried TV phony in America has written you to beg for an interview. I won't beg. You will find my pitch to be very specific. I have no ulterior motives. I don't want to write a book, don't want to make a movie, I only want to talk to you for about two hours about the environment, the natural world, wild nature."

Barbara Walters' representative emphasized 20/20's audience size.

"No one else could more powerfully express your views ... Barbara Walters will provide a fair forum for you to express your views, and you could reach the most people by appearing on 20/20, one of the most-watched programs on television," wrote Katie Thomson, a 20/20 producer.

Dahler, from Good Morning America, pushed the benefits of television rather than a book for Kaczynski to get his message across.

"I feel strongly that the only way to truly understand someone is to see in their eyes, hear their voice, their inflections, their passion -- not just read their opinions and explanations."

Both Dahler and Kit Miniclier from the Denver Post made references to spending time in secluded cabins, similar to the one in Montana where Kaczynski was caught. Miniclier wrote of a youth spent canoeing "from my uncle's one-room log cabin," and Dahler mentioned his "cabin in the woods west of Colorado Springs with no electricity or running water."

Most of the letter writers would either not comment or did not return phone calls yesterday. But Jeff Fager, Efran's boss at 60 Minutes II, was not impressed.

"I'm really upset about it. It's not the kind of thing 60 Minutes II takes part in," he said. "It's the process of grovelling that I find most disturbing. If he doesn't want to do a story with us because we're fair and do a good job of reporting, then let him go somewhere else."

Greta Van Susteren, a CNN legal analyst, told Kaczynski she was interested in exploring the legal ramifications of his case, mentioning her 17 years of criminal defence work and lauding Kaczynski for his intelligence.

Van Susteren stood by the request yesterday. But she said efforts to ingratiate -- even sending gifts -- are not uncommon in the industry.

"When I got the O.J. Simpson interview, he told me that he received flowers and chocolates from everyone," she said. "We don't do that at CNN, we don't have the budget. But it's done all the time."



-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), February 03, 2001

Answers

Off the pigs! Viva Ted Kaczynski!

-- (LeonTrotsky@Habana.cabana), February 03, 2001.

Sniff, sniff. Nobody wants to interview me.

-- (TimothyMcVeigh@death.row), February 04, 2001.

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