1 00:00:08,342 --> 00:00:09,903 -At the start of the '90s, TV news goes tabloid. 2 00:00:09,927 --> 00:00:12,197 -That was the moment John Bobbitt realized 3 00:00:12,221 --> 00:00:14,699 his penis was cut off. 4 00:00:14,723 --> 00:00:17,493 {\an8}-Sex scandals, gruesome murders. 5 00:00:17,517 --> 00:00:19,704 They saw themselves as kind of like pirates and raiders. 6 00:00:19,728 --> 00:00:23,124 -We changed the whole fabric of network news. 7 00:00:23,148 --> 00:00:24,918 -Rules are rewritten. 8 00:00:24,942 --> 00:00:26,586 -Checkbook journalism. 9 00:00:26,610 --> 00:00:29,714 They're paying for interviews. - We were all pay. 10 00:00:29,738 --> 00:00:31,925 -And that's when you struck your deal with "A Current Affair?" 11 00:00:31,949 --> 00:00:34,928 - Yes. - Reporters go rogue. 12 00:00:34,952 --> 00:00:36,596 -We have those nudes. 13 00:00:36,620 --> 00:00:38,056 -[ Gasps ] 14 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,375 -No one was more despised than Steve Dunleavy. 15 00:00:42,668 --> 00:00:45,396 {\an8}-The public sees a chance to cash in. 16 00:00:45,420 --> 00:00:47,148 -I was offered a lot of money to do things. 17 00:00:47,172 --> 00:00:48,691 Yes, I took the money. 18 00:00:48,715 --> 00:00:50,318 -You've been accused of being a pimp. 19 00:00:50,342 --> 00:00:52,070 -Get that [bleep] cameras off. 20 00:00:52,094 --> 00:00:55,490 -And television news will never be the same. 21 00:00:55,514 --> 00:00:57,200 -We'll do it live! It! 22 00:00:57,224 --> 00:01:05,224 {\an8}♪♪ 23 00:01:06,233 --> 00:01:07,752 [ Dial-up modems screeching ] 24 00:01:07,776 --> 00:01:15,776 {\an8}♪♪ 25 00:01:18,996 --> 00:01:20,390 {\an8}-Good evening. 26 00:01:20,414 --> 00:01:22,433 {\an8}-For decades, the nightly news in America 27 00:01:22,457 --> 00:01:24,310 {\an8}is a serious affair. 28 00:01:24,334 --> 00:01:25,812 {\an8}...President Reagan's -The White House releases 29 00:01:25,836 --> 00:01:26,896 {\an8}key documents. 30 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:28,356 -In the Persian Gulf today... 31 00:01:28,380 --> 00:01:31,818 -But in the '90s, it becomes a current affair. 32 00:01:31,842 --> 00:01:34,779 {\an8}-Cops say that instead of preaching the gospel, 33 00:01:34,803 --> 00:01:36,698 {\an8}he was throwing panty parties. 34 00:01:36,722 --> 00:01:38,658 {\an8}-Beginning with "A Current Affair," 35 00:01:38,682 --> 00:01:40,660 {\an8}so-called serious news gives way 36 00:01:40,684 --> 00:01:43,162 {\an8}to a new kind of television journalism. 37 00:01:43,186 --> 00:01:45,039 -Get out of my face. 38 00:01:45,063 --> 00:01:47,333 -And the story that will become a watershed moment 39 00:01:47,357 --> 00:01:51,129 in this transformation centers on a violent love triangle 40 00:01:51,153 --> 00:01:53,381 happening on Long Island, New York. 41 00:01:53,405 --> 00:01:55,383 -Watching the Buttafuocos has become something 42 00:01:55,407 --> 00:01:56,801 of a public spectacle. - Joey Buttafuoco. 43 00:01:56,825 --> 00:01:57,969 Joey Buttafuoco... 44 00:01:57,993 --> 00:02:00,054 [ Indistinct talking ] 45 00:02:00,078 --> 00:02:01,723 -Mary Jo says she and her husband 46 00:02:01,747 --> 00:02:05,685 are more recognized than Charles and Diane. 47 00:02:05,709 --> 00:02:07,770 -For this housewife, tabloid news 48 00:02:07,794 --> 00:02:11,441 will turn her personal tragedy into a national spectacle. 49 00:02:11,465 --> 00:02:15,403 {\an8}♪♪ 50 00:02:15,427 --> 00:02:19,532 -It was just a normal, regular, every single day of my life 51 00:02:19,556 --> 00:02:21,075 type of a day. 52 00:02:21,099 --> 00:02:24,454 {\an8}I'm Mary Jo Buttafuoco, and in May of 1992, 53 00:02:24,478 --> 00:02:31,002 {\an8}I became the fodder for tabloid TV for years and years. 54 00:02:31,026 --> 00:02:32,920 I was going to work on my back yard. 55 00:02:32,944 --> 00:02:34,797 I wanted to paint this bench. [ Doorbell rings ] 56 00:02:34,821 --> 00:02:38,259 And the doorbell rang. 57 00:02:38,283 --> 00:02:41,429 I see a kid, a teenager standing there. 58 00:02:41,453 --> 00:02:44,390 And she said, "Are you Mrs. Buttafuoco?" 59 00:02:44,414 --> 00:02:46,017 I said, "Yes." 60 00:02:46,041 --> 00:02:47,352 And she said, "I need to tell you 61 00:02:47,376 --> 00:02:49,044 that your husband is having an affair." 62 00:02:51,046 --> 00:02:53,149 -What happens next will turn Mary Jo, 63 00:02:53,173 --> 00:02:55,151 her husband and a young woman 64 00:02:55,175 --> 00:02:57,362 nicknamed the "Long Island Lolita" 65 00:02:57,386 --> 00:03:01,032 into household names. 66 00:03:01,056 --> 00:03:03,993 But the story of how America's news goes from bookish 67 00:03:04,017 --> 00:03:07,872 to Buttafuoco begins with another familiar name, 68 00:03:07,896 --> 00:03:10,124 Rupert Murdoch. 69 00:03:10,148 --> 00:03:12,877 Back in the '80s, Murdoch's tabloid newspapers 70 00:03:12,901 --> 00:03:15,004 are filled with stories just as juicy 71 00:03:15,028 --> 00:03:17,965 and tantalizing as Mary Jo's. 72 00:03:17,989 --> 00:03:20,676 -Murdoch inherited a paper called Adelaide News 73 00:03:20,700 --> 00:03:22,512 in Australia from his father, 74 00:03:22,536 --> 00:03:25,640 and then from there he starts to become extremely successful 75 00:03:25,664 --> 00:03:27,725 turning papers into tabloids. 76 00:03:27,749 --> 00:03:30,520 {\an8}I'm Reece Peck. I'm the author of "Fox Populism." 77 00:03:30,544 --> 00:03:33,481 {\an8}I'm a professor at the College of Staten Island. 78 00:03:33,505 --> 00:03:35,983 One of the keys to Murdoch's success 79 00:03:36,007 --> 00:03:38,611 was his introduction of the Page 3 Girls, 80 00:03:38,635 --> 00:03:42,115 nude models. 81 00:03:42,139 --> 00:03:45,076 -These tactics helped Murdoch build a tabloid empire 82 00:03:45,100 --> 00:03:48,413 in Australia and the U.K. 83 00:03:48,437 --> 00:03:52,333 -Then he has his sights set on America. 84 00:03:52,357 --> 00:03:55,169 -Murdoch buys the "New York Post" for $30 million, 85 00:03:55,193 --> 00:03:59,799 and quickly transforms it into his kind of newspaper. 86 00:03:59,823 --> 00:04:03,344 -Of course, it played on all the classic tabloid themes, 87 00:04:03,368 --> 00:04:07,014 you know, gruesome murders, sex scandals, 88 00:04:07,038 --> 00:04:09,267 bizarre events like UFOs. 89 00:04:09,291 --> 00:04:12,019 I think the all time tabloid headline 90 00:04:12,043 --> 00:04:16,357 is "The New York Post's" headless body in a topless bar 91 00:04:16,381 --> 00:04:19,277 because that blends sex with murder 92 00:04:19,301 --> 00:04:23,406 In this punchy, puny five-word statement. 93 00:04:23,430 --> 00:04:26,033 -Murdoch's approach to journalism is to publish 94 00:04:26,057 --> 00:04:28,995 what sells... glossy pictures, big print 95 00:04:29,019 --> 00:04:32,165 and stories about sex and violence. 96 00:04:32,189 --> 00:04:35,835 But for him, newspapers are not enough. 97 00:04:35,859 --> 00:04:39,255 {\an8}-Today, confirmation of the largest single broadcast station 98 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:41,591 {\an8}transaction in history. It's part of an even... 99 00:04:41,615 --> 00:04:45,261 {\an8}-Murdoch decides to do something that has never been done before, 100 00:04:45,285 --> 00:04:49,891 {\an8}inject his tabloid newspaper sensibility into a TV news show. 101 00:04:49,915 --> 00:04:52,810 -The deal calls for Murdoch to pay some $2 billion 102 00:04:52,834 --> 00:04:54,520 for all Metromedia television. 103 00:04:54,544 --> 00:04:56,397 -You take the networks news at the time, 104 00:04:56,421 --> 00:05:00,985 legitimate, you know, mainstream network, local news scene. 105 00:05:01,009 --> 00:05:04,197 {\an8}Everybody had to cover the same stories. 106 00:05:04,221 --> 00:05:06,741 {\an8}If you had ideas, if you wanted to be creative, 107 00:05:06,765 --> 00:05:08,242 {\an8}if you wanted to approach a story 108 00:05:08,266 --> 00:05:11,037 {\an8}from a different direction, you couldn't. 109 00:05:11,061 --> 00:05:12,830 {\an8}-I'm Burt Kearns. 110 00:05:12,854 --> 00:05:14,499 {\an8}I spent the greater part of the 1990s 111 00:05:14,523 --> 00:05:16,584 {\an8}as a tabloid television producer, 112 00:05:16,608 --> 00:05:19,420 {\an8}and I wrote a book called "Tabloid Baby." 113 00:05:19,444 --> 00:05:23,424 When Rupert Murdoch started his television news operation, 114 00:05:23,448 --> 00:05:26,427 he didn't bring in network people from America. 115 00:05:26,451 --> 00:05:30,598 He brought in newspaper people from Australia. 116 00:05:30,622 --> 00:05:32,808 Murdoch took the best that he had and said, 117 00:05:32,832 --> 00:05:35,603 Well, well, mate, now I'm starting television. 118 00:05:35,627 --> 00:05:38,463 Do your thing with television. 119 00:05:40,882 --> 00:05:43,277 -They had a very different philosophy 120 00:05:43,301 --> 00:05:45,112 of journalism or outlook, right? 121 00:05:45,136 --> 00:05:48,950 They looked at the American news scene as very austere, 122 00:05:48,974 --> 00:05:51,369 very boring, very drab. 123 00:05:51,393 --> 00:05:54,288 And they saw themselves as kind of like pirates and raiders. 124 00:05:54,312 --> 00:05:55,790 You know, they brag about that, 125 00:05:55,814 --> 00:05:59,085 like, they're going to conquer the news market. 126 00:05:59,109 --> 00:06:02,463 -The captain of Rupert Murdoch's pirate invasion 127 00:06:02,487 --> 00:06:04,131 is Peter Brennan, 128 00:06:04,155 --> 00:06:07,093 a brash producer born in Australia. 129 00:06:07,117 --> 00:06:08,427 Brennan will become known 130 00:06:08,451 --> 00:06:13,432 as the godfather of American tabloid TV. 131 00:06:13,456 --> 00:06:15,601 -God is the perfect word for him. 132 00:06:15,625 --> 00:06:18,104 {\an8}I'm Jeremy Louwerse, and I was a producer 133 00:06:18,128 --> 00:06:21,524 {\an8}for "Inside Edition" in the early '90s. 134 00:06:21,548 --> 00:06:24,485 No doubt about it, Peter Brennan is the God. 135 00:06:24,509 --> 00:06:30,116 He's the Messiah. He's the guy that started the genre. 136 00:06:30,140 --> 00:06:32,827 -Murdoch immediately hires Peter Brennan, 137 00:06:32,851 --> 00:06:35,454 another Australian to produce, 138 00:06:35,478 --> 00:06:40,334 and they recruit a news anchor called Maury Povich. 139 00:06:40,358 --> 00:06:44,213 -Maury was the anchorman at WTTG in Washington 140 00:06:44,237 --> 00:06:45,840 and married to Connie Chung, 141 00:06:45,864 --> 00:06:47,425 who would eventually go on to anchor 142 00:06:47,449 --> 00:06:50,553 the "CBS Nightly News." 143 00:06:50,577 --> 00:06:53,556 -I wasn't your traditional anchor reporter. 144 00:06:53,580 --> 00:06:57,226 I was never satisfied with a minute and a half stories. 145 00:06:57,250 --> 00:06:59,061 {\an8}I didn't have a great reputation 146 00:06:59,085 --> 00:07:01,897 {\an8}of being a cookie cutter anchor man. 147 00:07:01,921 --> 00:07:04,692 And that makes Maury a key ingredient in the show 148 00:07:04,716 --> 00:07:07,403 Rupert Murdoch and Peter Brennan are cooking up. 149 00:07:07,427 --> 00:07:12,700 {\an8}♪♪ 150 00:07:12,724 --> 00:07:15,328 -An ex-porn palace turns into a house of prayer, 151 00:07:15,352 --> 00:07:18,122 and the community, instead of being relieved, is angry. 152 00:07:18,146 --> 00:07:20,833 -I definitely believe this is a cult. 153 00:07:20,857 --> 00:07:23,544 - "A Current Affair" debuts in New York City 154 00:07:23,568 --> 00:07:26,422 in the summer of 1986. 155 00:07:26,446 --> 00:07:29,216 -It was an immediate ratings hit. 156 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:31,385 The famous "A Current Affair" graphic, 157 00:07:31,409 --> 00:07:33,679 where the pyramid comes in and you hear the kagang, 158 00:07:33,703 --> 00:07:35,640 that was breaking the mold. 159 00:07:35,664 --> 00:07:37,308 -Some experts are convinced 160 00:07:37,332 --> 00:07:39,477 that this is truly a home to demons. 161 00:07:39,501 --> 00:07:42,563 But is it? We'll take in our own exorcist tonight. 162 00:07:42,587 --> 00:07:45,232 It became, if they want to call it, 163 00:07:45,256 --> 00:07:48,235 lightning in a jar or a perfect storm. 164 00:07:48,259 --> 00:07:50,446 We were off on a ride that I'll never forget. 165 00:07:50,470 --> 00:07:52,114 -This bloody Hollywood murder scene... 166 00:07:52,138 --> 00:07:56,285 -The show tells stories that network news dismissed 167 00:07:56,309 --> 00:07:57,662 as tabloid rubbish. 168 00:07:57,686 --> 00:07:59,330 - Life and death of Adult movie 169 00:07:59,354 --> 00:08:01,707 {\an8}Super stud John Holmes. 170 00:08:01,731 --> 00:08:06,837 {\an8}Peter had this great vision that all these stories 171 00:08:06,861 --> 00:08:10,257 that regular newscasts were putting in the trash can 172 00:08:10,281 --> 00:08:12,468 were stories that our viewers would want 173 00:08:12,492 --> 00:08:15,179 to see, those classic Shakespearean 174 00:08:15,203 --> 00:08:21,560 themes of conflict and lust and drama. 175 00:08:21,584 --> 00:08:23,270 -While "A Current Affair" recorded 176 00:08:23,294 --> 00:08:25,940 in a New York City TV studio, 177 00:08:25,964 --> 00:08:27,733 the stories that make it on the air 178 00:08:27,757 --> 00:08:31,570 are decided in a bar across the street. 179 00:08:31,594 --> 00:08:35,574 -It was called "The Racing Club, and you have to understand. 180 00:08:35,598 --> 00:08:40,621 The Australians, they can drink beer from dawn to dusk. 181 00:08:40,645 --> 00:08:43,708 I mean, a lot of the times we would be across 182 00:08:43,732 --> 00:08:47,670 the street early in the day and Peter would get out his pen 183 00:08:47,694 --> 00:08:50,965 and start writing down the line up with the show. 184 00:08:50,989 --> 00:08:52,633 And my wife used to say all the time, 185 00:08:52,657 --> 00:08:54,260 "Maury, you cannot keep up with these people." 186 00:08:54,284 --> 00:08:56,262 I said, "Why?" She says, "Well, you would come 187 00:08:56,286 --> 00:08:58,472 home around 8:00, 8:30 every night, 188 00:08:58,496 --> 00:09:00,266 and you were trying to open up a cabinet 189 00:09:00,290 --> 00:09:04,103 and you missed the... you missed the handle three times." 190 00:09:04,127 --> 00:09:07,898 [ Laughs ] 191 00:09:07,922 --> 00:09:10,359 I said, "Well, you're right." 192 00:09:10,383 --> 00:09:13,487 Whoever had killed her had left it cruelly exposed. 193 00:09:13,511 --> 00:09:15,489 She was found naked from the waist down. 194 00:09:15,513 --> 00:09:17,658 - "A Current Affair" quickly gains a reputation 195 00:09:17,682 --> 00:09:19,994 for being able to break new stories, 196 00:09:20,018 --> 00:09:24,665 especially when those stories are rife with sex and violence. 197 00:09:24,689 --> 00:09:29,295 -The biggest early on story was the Preppy Murder story 198 00:09:29,319 --> 00:09:32,506 in early 1987 with Robert Chambers. 199 00:09:32,530 --> 00:09:37,428 He had rough sex with this girl in Central Park, and she died. 200 00:09:37,452 --> 00:09:38,971 We owned that story. 201 00:09:38,995 --> 00:09:41,599 -Things just weren't supposed to end this way, 202 00:09:41,623 --> 00:09:44,852 not for Jennifer Levin, not for Robert Chambers. 203 00:09:44,876 --> 00:09:48,189 -The crowning jewel of that story was 204 00:09:48,213 --> 00:09:50,691 one of our reporters, Rafael Abramowitz, 205 00:09:50,715 --> 00:09:52,860 had come across a tape 206 00:09:52,884 --> 00:09:57,656 that Robert Chambers had made right before his trial started. 207 00:09:57,680 --> 00:10:00,826 And you saw the video of Robert Chambers 208 00:10:00,850 --> 00:10:03,996 tearing off the head of a doll. 209 00:10:04,020 --> 00:10:07,082 -My name is the...! 210 00:10:07,106 --> 00:10:08,417 Oops. 211 00:10:08,441 --> 00:10:09,877 [ Laughter ] 212 00:10:09,901 --> 00:10:12,129 I think I killed her. 213 00:10:12,153 --> 00:10:14,590 -And "A Current Affair" ran that tape. 214 00:10:14,614 --> 00:10:18,594 As soon as that story came out, the ratings were huge. 215 00:10:18,618 --> 00:10:21,889 Rupert immediately syndicated "A Current Affair" 216 00:10:21,913 --> 00:10:24,892 throughout the country. 217 00:10:24,916 --> 00:10:29,563 - "A Current Affair" took lessons from Australia 218 00:10:29,587 --> 00:10:30,981 and taught them to America. 219 00:10:31,005 --> 00:10:33,108 They knew how it worked. 220 00:10:33,132 --> 00:10:37,029 I don't think America knew how tabloid TV worked. 221 00:10:37,053 --> 00:10:41,367 -They definitely broke from the news culture in the U.S., 222 00:10:41,391 --> 00:10:43,619 which was much more grounded on 223 00:10:43,643 --> 00:10:46,288 these kind of professional values of journalism. 224 00:10:46,312 --> 00:10:48,040 -Sometime around four in the morning, 225 00:10:48,064 --> 00:10:50,918 they left Dorian's and made their way into Central Park. 226 00:10:50,942 --> 00:10:54,755 -Along with telling stories ignored by traditional TV news, 227 00:10:54,779 --> 00:10:59,301 "A Current Affair" doesn't look or sound like those other shows. 228 00:10:59,325 --> 00:11:03,180 It incorporates music, sound effects and actors, 229 00:11:03,204 --> 00:11:07,101 things that the mainstream news networks consider off limits. 230 00:11:07,125 --> 00:11:08,561 -They did reenactments. 231 00:11:08,585 --> 00:11:10,396 I don't think you would ever see 232 00:11:10,420 --> 00:11:14,567 the network news at that time doing reenactments. 233 00:11:14,591 --> 00:11:17,444 -But what really distinguishes "A Current Affair" 234 00:11:17,468 --> 00:11:20,865 is the performance of its host, Maury Povich. 235 00:11:20,889 --> 00:11:24,285 -We'll be talking live to the irrepressible Zsa Zsa Gabor, 236 00:11:24,309 --> 00:11:26,787 who, as you saw, has just taken, rather, 237 00:11:26,811 --> 00:11:29,874 married her eighth husband. 238 00:11:29,898 --> 00:11:31,500 -Unlike network anchors, 239 00:11:31,524 --> 00:11:34,628 Maury personally engages in every story. 240 00:11:34,652 --> 00:11:36,046 -If you've watched "A Current Affair" 241 00:11:36,070 --> 00:11:37,965 for any length of time, 242 00:11:37,989 --> 00:11:41,594 you know, I hate, I can't stand UFO stories. 243 00:11:41,618 --> 00:11:43,137 I mean, I can't stand them. 244 00:11:43,161 --> 00:11:45,389 A lot of anchor people, network anchor people, 245 00:11:45,413 --> 00:11:47,683 local anchor, they would introduce a story. 246 00:11:47,707 --> 00:11:52,688 "And Joe Smith has a report from Dallas." 247 00:11:52,712 --> 00:11:53,814 And they would... and you would 248 00:11:53,838 --> 00:11:55,566 drop your head all of a sudden. 249 00:11:55,590 --> 00:11:58,027 Why the hell would anchor people drop their head 250 00:11:58,051 --> 00:11:59,612 as they introduce the story? 251 00:11:59,636 --> 00:12:00,821 Why don't you look at the people? 252 00:12:00,845 --> 00:12:01,989 Why don't you look at the audience, 253 00:12:02,013 --> 00:12:03,616 for crying out loud? 254 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,201 -Tabloid papers are known for their visceral language 255 00:12:06,225 --> 00:12:07,828 in writing, right? 256 00:12:07,852 --> 00:12:11,123 And so the way you translate that in a TV news program 257 00:12:11,147 --> 00:12:14,585 is to have the host be much more emotionally expressive. 258 00:12:14,609 --> 00:12:16,670 And one thing about Maury Povich, you know, 259 00:12:16,694 --> 00:12:18,297 he was known to have the most expressive 260 00:12:18,321 --> 00:12:19,673 eyebrows in the industry. 261 00:12:19,697 --> 00:12:21,675 -A physical training program for cadets 262 00:12:21,699 --> 00:12:24,386 so tough, they call it aerobic death. 263 00:12:24,410 --> 00:12:26,347 -Maury's honest expressiveness 264 00:12:26,371 --> 00:12:29,016 is shocking to news traditionalists 265 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,603 while being refreshing to a new generation of viewers. 266 00:12:32,627 --> 00:12:34,813 - Another major day... - He's a complete departure 267 00:12:34,837 --> 00:12:37,149 from the voice of God-type anchors 268 00:12:37,173 --> 00:12:39,693 who dominate the network news. 269 00:12:39,717 --> 00:12:43,030 -Maury changed what a television host could be. 270 00:12:43,054 --> 00:12:44,865 -For three years, "A Current Affair" 271 00:12:44,889 --> 00:12:48,702 is the only tabloid news alternative on TV. 272 00:12:48,726 --> 00:12:49,995 And this is why "A Current Affair" 273 00:12:50,019 --> 00:12:51,497 is so important, because it stands 274 00:12:51,521 --> 00:12:54,667 as Murdoch's first successful attempt 275 00:12:54,691 --> 00:12:58,837 to apply this kind of British tabloid style of the newsstand 276 00:12:58,861 --> 00:13:01,674 in print that he was a master of 277 00:13:01,698 --> 00:13:05,094 to the realm of television, to the medium of television, 278 00:13:05,118 --> 00:13:08,555 which is so important, again, to American culture. 279 00:13:08,579 --> 00:13:10,307 -Riding on that success, 280 00:13:10,331 --> 00:13:13,018 two new tabloid shows hit the airwaves... 281 00:13:13,042 --> 00:13:14,895 -Tonight on "Hard Copy"... 282 00:13:14,919 --> 00:13:19,984 - just in time for the first big sex scandal of the '90s 283 00:13:20,008 --> 00:13:21,902 -The rape trial of William Kennedy Smith 284 00:13:21,926 --> 00:13:23,529 begins tomorrow. 285 00:13:23,553 --> 00:13:26,055 And as you can imagine, Palm Beach is going crazy. 286 00:13:30,518 --> 00:13:31,745 - "A Current Affair" with Maury Povich. 287 00:13:31,769 --> 00:13:33,330 -At the start of the decade, 288 00:13:33,354 --> 00:13:34,790 "A Current Affair" is not just changing the way news 289 00:13:34,814 --> 00:13:37,251 is gathered and reported on TV, 290 00:13:37,275 --> 00:13:39,795 but what's considered news in the first place. 291 00:13:39,819 --> 00:13:41,672 -This is a show that does stories 292 00:13:41,696 --> 00:13:43,132 about ordinary people 293 00:13:43,156 --> 00:13:46,510 who are placed in extraordinary circumstances. 294 00:13:46,534 --> 00:13:48,345 -When it comes to turning ordinary people 295 00:13:48,369 --> 00:13:52,266 into extraordinary spectacles, no one quite compares 296 00:13:52,290 --> 00:13:54,977 to "A Current Affair's" legendary reporter, 297 00:13:55,001 --> 00:13:56,812 Steve Dunleavy. 298 00:13:56,836 --> 00:14:00,190 -Steve Dunleavy was the ultimate tabloid reporter. 299 00:14:00,214 --> 00:14:03,944 He was known as Rupert Murdoch's alter ego. 300 00:14:03,968 --> 00:14:07,281 He had a pompadour, bespoke pinstripe suits, 301 00:14:07,305 --> 00:14:11,869 and he was hated and despised by all of his competition 302 00:14:11,893 --> 00:14:15,789 as this lowlife reporter who would do anything for a story 303 00:14:15,813 --> 00:14:19,710 but beloved by anyone who worked with him. 304 00:14:19,734 --> 00:14:21,628 -You have to understand, Steve Dunleavy 305 00:14:21,652 --> 00:14:23,422 {\an8}was the kind of reporter that when he was 306 00:14:23,446 --> 00:14:26,175 {\an8}16 years old reporting in Australia, 307 00:14:26,199 --> 00:14:29,219 his father, who worked at a rival paper, 308 00:14:29,243 --> 00:14:32,473 was able to get some information before Steve got it. 309 00:14:32,497 --> 00:14:36,810 Steve went outside and punctured the tires of his father's car 310 00:14:36,834 --> 00:14:38,812 so his father wouldn't get to his paper 311 00:14:38,836 --> 00:14:42,107 before Steve got to his. 312 00:14:42,131 --> 00:14:43,776 Steve Dunleavy. 313 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,320 -As a former print reporter for Rupert Murdoch's 314 00:14:46,344 --> 00:14:49,198 "New York Post," Dunleavy knows how to deliver 315 00:14:49,222 --> 00:14:51,950 the sensationalism viewers crave, 316 00:14:51,974 --> 00:14:54,745 and he's instrumental in making "A Current Affair" 317 00:14:54,769 --> 00:14:57,498 the most watched news program on TV. 318 00:14:57,522 --> 00:14:59,208 -In to 1990, "A Current Affair's" ratings 319 00:14:59,232 --> 00:15:00,918 were going through the roof. 320 00:15:00,942 --> 00:15:04,588 -All of a sudden, we got bigger and bigger and bigger. 321 00:15:04,612 --> 00:15:06,215 -Two copycat programs 322 00:15:06,239 --> 00:15:08,467 are now cashing in on the tabloid market... 323 00:15:08,491 --> 00:15:10,052 -Hello, I'm David Frost. 324 00:15:10,076 --> 00:15:13,847 Welcome to the first edition of "Inside Edition." 325 00:15:13,871 --> 00:15:16,642 - the more respectable "Inside Edition" 326 00:15:16,666 --> 00:15:18,519 and "Hard Copy." 327 00:15:18,543 --> 00:15:20,854 {\an8}-The women who paid for the gigolo 328 00:15:20,878 --> 00:15:23,315 {\an8}say they are worth every penny of it. 329 00:15:23,339 --> 00:15:25,734 {\an8}-Hard Copy" was the dirtiest. 330 00:15:25,758 --> 00:15:28,028 {\an8}It was... it was fairly dirty. 331 00:15:28,052 --> 00:15:30,739 "A Current Affair" not as dirty, 332 00:15:30,763 --> 00:15:32,991 And "Inside" was a little cleaner. 333 00:15:33,015 --> 00:15:35,953 -As the competition among tabloid TV heats up, 334 00:15:35,977 --> 00:15:39,248 "A Current Affair" loses some of its brightest stars. 335 00:15:39,272 --> 00:15:42,668 Maury leaves to pursue a career in daytime talk. 336 00:15:42,692 --> 00:15:47,172 {\an8}-Brian, you are not the father. 337 00:15:47,196 --> 00:15:50,801 {\an8}-Then the godfather of tabloid TV, Peter Brennan 338 00:15:50,825 --> 00:15:54,221 along with Burt Kearns, go to work for "Hard Copy." 339 00:15:54,245 --> 00:15:57,057 Steve Dunleavy remains at "A Current Affair" 340 00:15:57,081 --> 00:16:01,895 just as a huge scandal ignites in April of 1991. 341 00:16:01,919 --> 00:16:03,814 -I'm sitting in my office at "Hard Copy 342 00:16:03,838 --> 00:16:05,816 and I get a call from a stringer, 343 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,026 a news stringer down in Florida. 344 00:16:08,050 --> 00:16:10,571 He said, "Burt, I can't talk, 345 00:16:10,595 --> 00:16:14,241 but there's been a rape at the Kennedy mansion in Palm Beach 346 00:16:14,265 --> 00:16:16,660 and word is that the senator's involved." 347 00:16:16,684 --> 00:16:17,828 Click. 348 00:16:17,852 --> 00:16:21,290 {\an8}♪♪ 349 00:16:21,314 --> 00:16:24,668 {\an8}-William Kennedy Smith, the nephew of JFK, 350 00:16:24,692 --> 00:16:28,255 {\an8}RFK and Ted Kennedy is accused of raping a woman 351 00:16:28,279 --> 00:16:33,594 at the family mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. 352 00:16:33,618 --> 00:16:35,387 - William Kennedy... - "Hard Copy is first 353 00:16:35,411 --> 00:16:38,974 to break the story, angering one of it's competitors. 354 00:16:38,998 --> 00:16:41,602 -Steve Dunleavy was going nuts 355 00:16:41,626 --> 00:16:43,312 because he knew what a story this was. 356 00:16:43,336 --> 00:16:45,439 -Dunleavy goes to work. 357 00:16:45,463 --> 00:16:48,025 -As the exploding scandal goes into day seven, 358 00:16:48,049 --> 00:16:51,445 reportedly the alleged victim said the bastard raped me. 359 00:16:51,469 --> 00:16:53,280 -Dunleavy beats out "Hard Copy" 360 00:16:53,304 --> 00:16:55,991 by hunting down Michelle Cassone, 361 00:16:56,015 --> 00:16:58,327 a woman claiming to have witnessed Ted Kennedy 362 00:16:58,351 --> 00:17:01,371 exposing himself at the mansion on the same night 363 00:17:01,395 --> 00:17:04,708 as the alleged rape. 364 00:17:04,732 --> 00:17:07,002 Armed with explicit photos of Cassone, 365 00:17:07,026 --> 00:17:09,796 Dunleavy invites her to New York for an interview 366 00:17:09,820 --> 00:17:13,467 where he plans to use the pictures to discredit her. 367 00:17:13,491 --> 00:17:16,845 -She came to New York. He brought her to the 21 Club. 368 00:17:16,869 --> 00:17:19,932 They had lunch. They had a liquid lunch. 369 00:17:19,956 --> 00:17:22,643 They drank, and they drank some more. 370 00:17:22,667 --> 00:17:24,353 And he got her drunk. 371 00:17:24,377 --> 00:17:26,772 And then he brought her up to the "Current Affair" offices, 372 00:17:26,796 --> 00:17:28,273 and they went to a conference room where they had 373 00:17:28,297 --> 00:17:30,984 two cameras waiting. 374 00:17:31,008 --> 00:17:32,277 -You wouldn't posed nude for anyone. 375 00:17:32,301 --> 00:17:34,655 -I would not pose nude for anybody. 376 00:17:34,679 --> 00:17:35,906 That's not my character. 377 00:17:35,930 --> 00:17:37,783 -Let me show you something. 378 00:17:37,807 --> 00:17:39,225 You have posed nude. 379 00:17:41,477 --> 00:17:43,205 -Where did you ever... 380 00:17:43,229 --> 00:17:45,249 [ Gasps ] 381 00:17:45,273 --> 00:17:50,045 {\an8}-Her was a woman who was saying that Senator Ted Kennedy 382 00:17:50,069 --> 00:17:52,297 was walking around semi-naked. 383 00:17:52,321 --> 00:17:54,132 She should be confronted with her lie. 384 00:17:54,156 --> 00:17:56,051 I showed a pictures of her being nude. 385 00:17:56,075 --> 00:17:57,844 In fact, pictures of her doing a little bit more 386 00:17:57,868 --> 00:17:59,346 than just being nude. 387 00:17:59,370 --> 00:18:01,598 {\an8}Oh, Michelle. 388 00:18:01,622 --> 00:18:05,894 {\an8}-Dunleavy's report raises doubts about Cassone in the public eye. 389 00:18:05,918 --> 00:18:09,314 -Turn those [bleep] cameras off now. 390 00:18:09,338 --> 00:18:11,650 More important for Dunleavy's career, 391 00:18:11,674 --> 00:18:13,402 the interview feels ratings 392 00:18:13,426 --> 00:18:15,988 when Cassone attacks him mid interview. 393 00:18:16,012 --> 00:18:17,656 -Oww! 394 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:19,616 -And for those of you who have been calling to ask, 395 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:21,451 his finger is healing nicely. 396 00:18:21,475 --> 00:18:24,913 -The rules then were different. 397 00:18:24,937 --> 00:18:27,499 I don't think Steve Dunleavy 398 00:18:27,523 --> 00:18:29,668 could get away with some of the things 399 00:18:29,692 --> 00:18:31,837 that he did then now. 400 00:18:31,861 --> 00:18:35,507 [ Indistinct talking ] 401 00:18:35,531 --> 00:18:39,011 -For the privilege of being humiliated on national TV, 402 00:18:39,035 --> 00:18:43,056 Cassone is paid $1,000 by "A Current Affair." 403 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:45,975 But that she got paid at all generates criticism 404 00:18:45,999 --> 00:18:49,062 from traditional TV news outlets. 405 00:18:49,086 --> 00:18:51,231 -Checkbook journalism. 406 00:18:51,255 --> 00:18:53,066 They're paying for interviews. 407 00:18:53,090 --> 00:18:56,320 People couldn't believe that we were paying for interviews. 408 00:18:56,344 --> 00:18:58,905 And when that happened, 409 00:18:58,929 --> 00:19:01,241 that's how you became a true tabloid show. 410 00:19:01,265 --> 00:19:06,705 -Of course, we got criticized from all the media critics 411 00:19:06,729 --> 00:19:09,166 that we were paying for news and things. 412 00:19:09,190 --> 00:19:11,668 "60 Minutes" was paying for news. 413 00:19:11,692 --> 00:19:14,171 They were all paying for news. 414 00:19:14,195 --> 00:19:16,423 They would say, "Oh, no, we didn't pay. 415 00:19:16,447 --> 00:19:19,134 The entertainment division pay. We didn't pay. 416 00:19:19,158 --> 00:19:23,013 Not the news division. The entertainment division pay." 417 00:19:23,037 --> 00:19:27,184 We were all paying, you know, but because we were tabloid, 418 00:19:27,208 --> 00:19:30,187 you know, we were... we were the poster child. 419 00:19:30,211 --> 00:19:32,981 -Trading cash for an exclusive interview soon becomes 420 00:19:33,005 --> 00:19:36,109 more than just a question of journalistic ethics. 421 00:19:36,133 --> 00:19:38,320 Witnesses in high profile court cases 422 00:19:38,344 --> 00:19:40,447 begin having their credibility attacked 423 00:19:40,471 --> 00:19:43,617 for getting paid to first tell their story on TV, 424 00:19:43,641 --> 00:19:46,828 including at the trial of William Kennedy Smith. 425 00:19:46,852 --> 00:19:48,538 - Monday. - And that's when you 426 00:19:48,562 --> 00:19:50,457 struck your deal with "A Current Affair," 427 00:19:50,481 --> 00:19:52,167 isn't that correct? - Yes. 428 00:19:52,191 --> 00:19:56,671 -Isn't it a fact, Ms. Mercer, that this whole program 429 00:19:56,695 --> 00:19:59,466 was created just to embarrass the Kennedy family? 430 00:19:59,490 --> 00:20:01,885 -Steve found the main witness in the case, 431 00:20:01,909 --> 00:20:03,428 a woman named Anne Mercer, 432 00:20:03,452 --> 00:20:06,223 who had driven the victim home after the rape. 433 00:20:06,247 --> 00:20:09,726 "A Current Affair" paid her $40,000 to tell her story. 434 00:20:09,750 --> 00:20:11,395 -I turned to him and I said, 435 00:20:11,419 --> 00:20:14,523 "Oh, you look like you're having a good time." 436 00:20:14,547 --> 00:20:16,525 And... - Well, that was great 437 00:20:16,549 --> 00:20:19,069 for ratings for "A Current Affair." 438 00:20:19,093 --> 00:20:20,987 But when it came time for the trial 439 00:20:21,011 --> 00:20:23,532 and Mercer's testimony was stricken 440 00:20:23,556 --> 00:20:26,993 because she had been paid $40,000 for "A Current Affair," 441 00:20:27,017 --> 00:20:29,413 and when William Kennedy Smith was acquitted, 442 00:20:29,437 --> 00:20:31,415 his attorney at the news conference 443 00:20:31,439 --> 00:20:35,043 thanked Steve Dunleavy for getting his client off. 444 00:20:35,067 --> 00:20:36,545 -So you guys later. 445 00:20:36,569 --> 00:20:38,255 [ Cheers and applause ] 446 00:20:38,279 --> 00:20:41,800 -Cassone's $1,000 or even Mercer's $40,000 447 00:20:41,824 --> 00:20:43,760 will soon seem almost quaint 448 00:20:43,784 --> 00:20:45,554 when compared to what "A Current Affair" 449 00:20:45,578 --> 00:20:47,931 will spend turning Mary Jo Buttafuoco 450 00:20:47,955 --> 00:20:50,499 into a media spectacle. 451 00:20:52,710 --> 00:20:59,317 {\an8}-I never, ever, ever, in my wildest dreams could imagine 452 00:20:59,341 --> 00:21:02,779 that I would now become the focus of the tabloids. 453 00:21:02,803 --> 00:21:04,823 I never wanted to be famous. 454 00:21:04,847 --> 00:21:07,742 I never wanted to be infamous. 455 00:21:07,766 --> 00:21:11,037 -But that's exactly what happens when a teenage girl 456 00:21:11,061 --> 00:21:13,540 shows up at her door claiming to be sleeping 457 00:21:13,564 --> 00:21:16,209 with Mary Jo's husband. 458 00:21:16,233 --> 00:21:17,544 -What? What? 459 00:21:17,568 --> 00:21:19,504 I said, "Look, I'll. I'll let Joe know 460 00:21:19,528 --> 00:21:21,256 that you came by." 461 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:26,678 I turned my head and to open my door, 462 00:21:26,702 --> 00:21:28,513 and that's when my head exploded. 463 00:21:28,537 --> 00:21:32,267 {\an8}♪♪ 464 00:21:32,291 --> 00:21:35,437 The first thing I remember when I first was coming to 465 00:21:35,461 --> 00:21:38,690 was a nurse was standing right over my face. 466 00:21:38,714 --> 00:21:40,400 "Mary Jo, Mary Jo. 467 00:21:40,424 --> 00:21:42,652 You're at the Nassau County Medical Center. 468 00:21:42,676 --> 00:21:45,655 You've been shot. We're going to take care of you." 469 00:21:45,679 --> 00:21:48,408 And I'm like hearing this. 470 00:21:48,432 --> 00:21:51,244 I've got tubes in me. I can't talk. I don't know. 471 00:21:51,268 --> 00:21:53,580 I didn't know it at the time, 472 00:21:53,604 --> 00:21:58,043 but right then and there, that life that I had was done. 473 00:21:58,067 --> 00:22:00,170 Gone. 474 00:22:00,194 --> 00:22:03,882 -Come on, guys. Give me a little room here, huh? 475 00:22:03,906 --> 00:22:05,550 -Before tabloid TV, 476 00:22:05,574 --> 00:22:08,929 Mary Jo's story may have only made the local newspaper. 477 00:22:08,953 --> 00:22:12,432 Now it's being broadcast around the world. 478 00:22:12,456 --> 00:22:15,143 -Mary Jo made a miraculous recovery Wednesday, 479 00:22:15,167 --> 00:22:17,521 and provided police with information about the shooting. 480 00:22:17,545 --> 00:22:19,439 -The Perpetrator, -Amy Fisher, 481 00:22:19,463 --> 00:22:21,441 who shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the head 482 00:22:21,465 --> 00:22:23,735 after she developed a near-fatal attraction 483 00:22:23,759 --> 00:22:25,904 for her husband, Joey Buttafuoco. 484 00:22:25,928 --> 00:22:29,032 {\an8}-Mary Jo, who still had a bullet in her head, 485 00:22:29,056 --> 00:22:31,284 would not believe that her husband had an affair. 486 00:22:31,308 --> 00:22:33,078 -Along with Amy Fisher, only they know 487 00:22:33,102 --> 00:22:35,205 what really triggered the shooting. 488 00:22:35,229 --> 00:22:38,458 -The story, with its oblivious wife, sleazy husband 489 00:22:38,482 --> 00:22:40,627 and attractive teenage seductress 490 00:22:40,651 --> 00:22:44,548 is blood in the water for the sharks on tabloid shows 491 00:22:44,572 --> 00:22:49,928 who quickly dub Amy the Long Island Lolita. 492 00:22:49,952 --> 00:22:52,639 -All of a sudden the news trucks start showing up 493 00:22:52,663 --> 00:22:56,768 and the vans and the reporters and the and lookie loos. 494 00:22:56,792 --> 00:22:59,187 -And with the tabloid shows parked out front, 495 00:22:59,211 --> 00:23:01,231 checkbooks at the ready, 496 00:23:01,255 --> 00:23:05,235 Mary Jo eventually names her price. 497 00:23:05,259 --> 00:23:08,572 -Yes, I was offered a lot of money to do things. 498 00:23:08,596 --> 00:23:11,056 And yes, I took the money. 499 00:23:15,185 --> 00:23:16,746 -In the quest for ratings, 500 00:23:16,770 --> 00:23:18,999 the three tabloid TV shows of the early '90s 501 00:23:19,023 --> 00:23:22,085 {\an8}are locked in fierce competition... 502 00:23:22,109 --> 00:23:23,753 {\an8}-The end of Jimmy Swaggart. 503 00:23:23,777 --> 00:23:26,715 -I have sinned against you, My Lord. 504 00:23:26,739 --> 00:23:28,133 -New questions about Michael Jackson's 505 00:23:28,157 --> 00:23:29,551 drug treatment. 506 00:23:29,575 --> 00:23:31,303 - This morning... - with Sex scandals 507 00:23:31,327 --> 00:23:35,765 and celebrity gossip leading their nightly news lineups. 508 00:23:35,789 --> 00:23:40,353 -Hugh Grant was seen picking up a known prostitute. 509 00:23:40,377 --> 00:23:43,023 - "A Current Affair's" star reporter Steve Dunleavy 510 00:23:43,047 --> 00:23:45,817 has built a reputation for doing anything 511 00:23:45,841 --> 00:23:47,527 to out scoop his rivals 512 00:23:47,551 --> 00:23:52,198 and becomes a key weapon in the tabloid wars. 513 00:23:52,222 --> 00:23:54,701 Soon, his old friends at "Hard Copy, 514 00:23:54,725 --> 00:23:57,621 Burt Kearns and Peter Brennan, will learn for themselves 515 00:23:57,645 --> 00:24:00,457 how far Dunleavy will go to win. 516 00:24:00,481 --> 00:24:03,835 {\an8}-October 1991, the big story out of Hollywood 517 00:24:03,859 --> 00:24:08,214 {\an8}was that Elizabeth Taylor was marrying Larry Fortensky 518 00:24:08,238 --> 00:24:10,675 at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. 519 00:24:10,699 --> 00:24:13,803 -It's just 24 hours before Elizabeth Taylor 520 00:24:13,827 --> 00:24:15,722 walks down the aisle once again. 521 00:24:15,746 --> 00:24:17,515 -It was occurring on a Saturday. 522 00:24:17,539 --> 00:24:20,310 On Friday morning I'm at my desk around 11:30 A.M. 523 00:24:20,334 --> 00:24:21,561 [ Knocks on chair ] 524 00:24:21,585 --> 00:24:23,438 Brennan knocks on the door. 525 00:24:23,462 --> 00:24:25,440 "Hey, Dunleavy's in town. 526 00:24:25,464 --> 00:24:27,776 Come on. We're gonna meet him for lunch. 527 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:29,486 -Kearns and Brennan meet Dunleavy 528 00:24:29,510 --> 00:24:32,697 at a Los Angeles eatery for drinks where Dunleavy 529 00:24:32,721 --> 00:24:36,159 starts complaining about work. 530 00:24:36,183 --> 00:24:37,744 -He said "Oh, this is terrible. 531 00:24:37,768 --> 00:24:39,287 You know, I really... I wanted to cover 532 00:24:39,311 --> 00:24:41,039 this Liz Taylor story, but they're not making 533 00:24:41,063 --> 00:24:42,457 a big deal out of it at 'A Current Affair.' 534 00:24:42,481 --> 00:24:43,792 These people don't know what a story is. 535 00:24:43,816 --> 00:24:45,835 They don't know what they're doing. 536 00:24:45,859 --> 00:24:47,003 This is just terrible." 537 00:24:47,027 --> 00:24:51,925 So we continue to drink. 538 00:24:51,949 --> 00:24:56,763 And about 8:00, we had been drinking for about eight hours. 539 00:24:56,787 --> 00:24:58,723 Steve said, "Look, I'm not feeling very well. 540 00:24:58,747 --> 00:25:01,458 I've got to head back to my hotel." 541 00:25:03,794 --> 00:25:07,565 Now we continue to drink through the evening. 542 00:25:07,589 --> 00:25:10,026 -The next morning, tired and hung over. 543 00:25:10,050 --> 00:25:11,820 The two aren't in top form to cover 544 00:25:11,844 --> 00:25:16,181 Elizabeth Taylor's wedding, just as Dunleavy had planned. 545 00:25:18,267 --> 00:25:20,745 -All the media was at the gates to the Neverland Ranch. 546 00:25:20,769 --> 00:25:23,832 We had a producer there. We didn't have a reporter. 547 00:25:23,856 --> 00:25:25,500 And then on Monday, we, of course, 548 00:25:25,524 --> 00:25:26,501 we're sitting there and we wanted to see 549 00:25:26,525 --> 00:25:28,628 what "A Current Affair" had. 550 00:25:28,652 --> 00:25:31,339 And the show opens with Steve Dunleavy 551 00:25:31,363 --> 00:25:32,924 hanging out of a helicopter 552 00:25:32,948 --> 00:25:37,262 over the Neverland Ranch covering the Liz Taylor wedding. 553 00:25:37,286 --> 00:25:39,973 -[ Screaming ] 554 00:25:39,997 --> 00:25:42,267 -I don't know whether you can say to that right now, 555 00:25:42,291 --> 00:25:44,894 but that appears to be Liz Taylor in the yellow dress. 556 00:25:44,918 --> 00:25:47,355 She's approaching the gazebo, and that is where 557 00:25:47,379 --> 00:25:48,898 the ceremony will take place. 558 00:25:48,922 --> 00:25:53,278 -Our old pal came to Los Angeles from New York 559 00:25:53,302 --> 00:25:55,739 to get us drunk and neutralize us 560 00:25:55,763 --> 00:25:58,599 so he could get the scoop and beat us on the story. 561 00:26:00,809 --> 00:26:03,997 All's fair in love, war and news gathering. 562 00:26:04,021 --> 00:26:06,833 -And that will certainly prove true as the tabloids battle 563 00:26:06,857 --> 00:26:09,502 over the story of the Long Island Lolita, 564 00:26:09,526 --> 00:26:14,299 Amy Fisher shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the head. 565 00:26:14,323 --> 00:26:16,676 - "Hard Copy" was covering this story on a daily basis 566 00:26:16,700 --> 00:26:18,970 throughout the month of May. 567 00:26:18,994 --> 00:26:21,598 Then we get word that "A Current Affair" 568 00:26:21,622 --> 00:26:24,267 {\an8}had scooped us unbelievably. 569 00:26:24,291 --> 00:26:26,352 {\an8}"A Current Affair" purchases a tape of what is 570 00:26:26,376 --> 00:26:29,671 {\an8}purportedly Amy Fisher in an act of prostitution. 571 00:26:37,554 --> 00:26:39,699 {\an8}To promote their exclusive sex tape, 572 00:26:39,723 --> 00:26:41,826 {\an8}"A Current Affair" teases the upcoming segment 573 00:26:41,850 --> 00:26:44,996 {\an8}by leaking images to the tabloid newspapers the day 574 00:26:45,020 --> 00:26:47,373 {\an8}before the show is to air. 575 00:26:47,397 --> 00:26:49,709 {\an8}But by announcing the story early, 576 00:26:49,733 --> 00:26:52,086 {\an8}"A Current Affair" opens the door for "Hard Copy" 577 00:26:52,110 --> 00:26:54,881 to play some hardball. 578 00:26:54,905 --> 00:26:56,758 -The light went off over Peter Brennan's head, 579 00:26:56,782 --> 00:26:59,344 and he kind of had the idea. 580 00:26:59,368 --> 00:27:01,721 Syndicated shows at the time 581 00:27:01,745 --> 00:27:04,432 with record their shows earlier in the day 582 00:27:04,456 --> 00:27:06,476 and then feed it out over the satellite 583 00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:09,145 to the affiliates around the country. 584 00:27:09,169 --> 00:27:12,065 So we just directed our control room 585 00:27:12,089 --> 00:27:14,984 to steal the satellite feed from "A Current Affair." 586 00:27:15,008 --> 00:27:19,072 We took our 10 seconds or whatever they allowed us to use, 587 00:27:19,096 --> 00:27:21,032 the lawyers allowed us to use, and then we hired 588 00:27:21,056 --> 00:27:22,784 a couple of actors, got them onto a bed, 589 00:27:22,808 --> 00:27:26,120 and we recreate it in black and white fuzzy video. 590 00:27:26,144 --> 00:27:29,749 So we had a package that included a bit of a sex tape, 591 00:27:29,773 --> 00:27:32,710 a bit of the still photos in the newspapers, 592 00:27:32,734 --> 00:27:34,671 which we shook and moved in from the cameras 593 00:27:34,695 --> 00:27:37,465 that looked like it was video and our reenactment, 594 00:27:37,489 --> 00:27:40,826 and we said tonight, exclusive the Amy Fisher sex tape. 595 00:27:43,287 --> 00:27:45,181 {\an8}-Because "Hard Copy" airs a half hour 596 00:27:45,205 --> 00:27:47,392 {\an8}earlier than "A Current Affair," 597 00:27:47,416 --> 00:27:50,144 {\an8}they managed to steal the exclusive. 598 00:27:50,168 --> 00:27:51,813 -There was bedlam. 599 00:27:51,837 --> 00:27:55,024 It made headlines that "Hard Copy" had committed 600 00:27:55,048 --> 00:27:59,195 an act of piracy unseen in the history of television, 601 00:27:59,219 --> 00:28:00,905 stealing a satellite signal. 602 00:28:00,929 --> 00:28:02,574 They were calling me from "A Current Affair" 603 00:28:02,598 --> 00:28:05,368 saying, your dead, your career is over. 604 00:28:05,392 --> 00:28:07,579 The executive producer started screaming 605 00:28:07,603 --> 00:28:08,997 and running around in circles. 606 00:28:09,021 --> 00:28:11,332 Somebody was punching holes in the wall, 607 00:28:11,356 --> 00:28:13,793 and in the back standing against the wall, 608 00:28:13,817 --> 00:28:17,338 they tell us, Steve Dunleavy just nodding, 609 00:28:17,362 --> 00:28:19,489 saying, "Touché." 610 00:28:21,575 --> 00:28:23,636 {\an8}-The original sex tape was reportedly sold 611 00:28:23,660 --> 00:28:27,473 {\an8}to "A Current Affair" for over $10,000. 612 00:28:27,497 --> 00:28:31,603 {\an8}And soon, nearly everyone in the Amy Fisher-Buttafuoco circle 613 00:28:31,627 --> 00:28:35,523 {\an8}will try and cash in by selling stories. 614 00:28:35,547 --> 00:28:41,654 {\an8}-I really had no time to recover because of the media. 615 00:28:41,678 --> 00:28:44,032 We were a cash cow. 616 00:28:44,056 --> 00:28:46,659 We even had one of my housekeepers, 617 00:28:46,683 --> 00:28:50,288 who was not working for us at the time I got shot, 618 00:28:50,312 --> 00:28:53,249 She went on "Donahue" and lied and said, 619 00:28:53,273 --> 00:28:54,792 Joey chased her all around the house. 620 00:28:54,816 --> 00:28:57,378 And I got furious because she never met him. 621 00:28:57,402 --> 00:28:59,255 He was at work. He never... 622 00:28:59,279 --> 00:29:00,673 And people were doing that. 623 00:29:00,697 --> 00:29:02,342 People were coming out of the woodwork 624 00:29:02,366 --> 00:29:04,093 and telling stories, 625 00:29:04,117 --> 00:29:06,679 and there was no verification. 626 00:29:06,703 --> 00:29:08,806 {\an8}-The old saying, you know, never let the facts 627 00:29:08,830 --> 00:29:10,642 {\an8}get in the way of a good story. 628 00:29:10,666 --> 00:29:13,811 {\an8}And I think too often this checkbook journalism 629 00:29:13,835 --> 00:29:17,106 breeds a type of news that's based on rumors 630 00:29:17,130 --> 00:29:20,360 and not necessarily facts, because if someone's 631 00:29:20,384 --> 00:29:22,946 incentivized to give you something so juicy, 632 00:29:22,970 --> 00:29:25,698 it's such a great story, it's, possibly, 633 00:29:25,722 --> 00:29:27,909 it's not true. 634 00:29:27,933 --> 00:29:30,870 -Nervous parents remain silent as they arrive 635 00:29:30,894 --> 00:29:34,374 to hear the fate of their teenage daughter Amy Fisher. 636 00:29:34,398 --> 00:29:37,710 -The tabloid coverage of their story is relentless, 637 00:29:37,734 --> 00:29:39,963 and it seems like everyone is watching, 638 00:29:39,987 --> 00:29:42,715 including the judge in Fisher's criminal trial 639 00:29:42,739 --> 00:29:46,010 who sets the teenager's bail at $2 million 640 00:29:46,034 --> 00:29:49,389 persuaded by speculation and tabloid TV 641 00:29:49,413 --> 00:29:51,724 that she's a flight risk. 642 00:29:51,748 --> 00:29:54,268 -These production companies put up the money 643 00:29:54,292 --> 00:29:55,645 for this in some way. 644 00:29:55,669 --> 00:29:57,981 Now, I specifically asked her yesterday. 645 00:29:58,005 --> 00:30:00,233 -Fisher isn't the only one fielding offers 646 00:30:00,257 --> 00:30:03,403 to make a deal with the devil in the City of Angels. 647 00:30:03,427 --> 00:30:06,406 -I started getting letters, 648 00:30:06,430 --> 00:30:07,699 and there were letters back there, 649 00:30:07,723 --> 00:30:10,493 not emails, from production companies. 650 00:30:10,517 --> 00:30:13,871 If I do this, I get to tell my side of the story 651 00:30:13,895 --> 00:30:15,748 because it up to now it's been Joey and Amy, 652 00:30:15,772 --> 00:30:17,125 Joey and Amy, Joey and Amy. 653 00:30:17,149 --> 00:30:19,252 I was lost in this whole thing. 654 00:30:19,276 --> 00:30:20,962 {\an8}-Wow. 655 00:30:20,986 --> 00:30:23,256 {\an8}You really did it when you were 12? 656 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:26,426 {\an8}-Just eight months after Mary Jo was shot in the head, 657 00:30:26,450 --> 00:30:32,557 {\an8}ABC, CBS and NBC each released their own made-for-TV movie. 658 00:30:32,581 --> 00:30:34,809 {\an8}- Ever been with an older guy? - Unstoppable. 659 00:30:34,833 --> 00:30:37,395 {\an8}-Whatever Amy wants, Amy gets. 660 00:30:37,419 --> 00:30:39,522 {\an8}-Insatiable. 661 00:30:39,546 --> 00:30:42,066 {\an8}-Alright. Hey, look. 662 00:30:42,090 --> 00:30:43,359 {\an8}Come on. 663 00:30:43,383 --> 00:30:46,112 {\an8}Give me a smile. Come on. 664 00:30:46,136 --> 00:30:47,613 {\an8}-In the CBS version, 665 00:30:47,637 --> 00:30:49,323 which was our version, of course, 666 00:30:49,347 --> 00:30:50,783 Joey didn't have an affair. 667 00:30:50,807 --> 00:30:55,955 It was... he was just a nice guy who knew her. 668 00:30:55,979 --> 00:30:58,666 The dopey wife believed everything he said 669 00:30:58,690 --> 00:31:01,961 because he told me he had nothing to do with her. 670 00:31:01,985 --> 00:31:04,297 He swore to me on our children's lives, 671 00:31:04,321 --> 00:31:05,655 and I believed him. 672 00:31:08,325 --> 00:31:09,927 {\an8}-While the CBS movie helps pay 673 00:31:09,951 --> 00:31:12,555 {\an8}for some of Mary Jo's legal bills, 674 00:31:12,579 --> 00:31:16,142 mostly it brings more unwanted media attention. 675 00:31:16,166 --> 00:31:18,936 Mary Jo begins to feel like nothing can cut off interest 676 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:21,773 in her story, but she's wrong. 677 00:31:21,797 --> 00:31:24,942 -I sprung up in a silent scream, and holding myself 678 00:31:24,966 --> 00:31:26,736 and I couldn't stop bleeding. 679 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:28,321 -That's when John Bobbitt discovered 680 00:31:28,345 --> 00:31:29,763 his penis had been severed. 681 00:31:35,227 --> 00:31:37,538 -By the summer of 1993, 682 00:31:37,562 --> 00:31:40,124 {\an8}"A Current Affair" and other tabloid shows 683 00:31:40,148 --> 00:31:45,630 {\an8}have turned the Buttafuocos into international celebrities. 684 00:31:45,654 --> 00:31:48,216 {\an8}But it's becoming obvious that Joey is enjoying 685 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:50,593 {\an8}the limelight more than Mary Jo. 686 00:31:50,617 --> 00:31:52,595 {\an8}-He's definitely a celebrity. 687 00:31:52,619 --> 00:31:56,140 {\an8}He's a character, and a celebrity. 688 00:31:56,164 --> 00:31:57,975 {\an8}-Joey is liking all this attention. 689 00:31:57,999 --> 00:31:59,685 {\an8}I'm not understanding this, 690 00:31:59,709 --> 00:32:02,855 {\an8}but I'm too ill and just trying to get through each day. 691 00:32:02,879 --> 00:32:07,235 {\an8}- It's my half brother. - And when I would say to him, 692 00:32:07,259 --> 00:32:10,321 "Stop talking to them. Shut up!" 693 00:32:10,345 --> 00:32:14,242 I get the they've done this to us, Mary Jo. They did this. 694 00:32:14,266 --> 00:32:15,868 So I'm going to do everything I can. 695 00:32:15,892 --> 00:32:17,787 {\an8}We're going to monetize on this. 696 00:32:17,811 --> 00:32:20,123 {\an8}I'm just giving them what they want. 697 00:32:20,147 --> 00:32:22,500 {\an8}-Surely the Guinness Book of Records one day 698 00:32:22,524 --> 00:32:24,836 {\an8}will list the name Buttafuoco. 699 00:32:24,860 --> 00:32:27,421 -But then a news story temporarily severs 700 00:32:27,445 --> 00:32:31,259 the tabloids fascination with Joey Buttafuoco. 701 00:32:31,283 --> 00:32:34,428 -The four-year marriage of John and his South American wife 702 00:32:34,452 --> 00:32:37,140 Lorena was rocky, to say the least. 703 00:32:37,164 --> 00:32:40,309 I sprung up in silent scream and holding myself, 704 00:32:40,333 --> 00:32:41,644 and I couldn't stop bleeding. 705 00:32:41,668 --> 00:32:43,855 {\an8}-Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband's penis 706 00:32:43,879 --> 00:32:45,773 {\an8}while he slept. 707 00:32:45,797 --> 00:32:49,652 {\an8}-On January 23, 1993, John and Lorena Bobbitt 708 00:32:49,676 --> 00:32:52,071 {\an8}make headlines after Lorena amputates 709 00:32:52,095 --> 00:32:54,115 {\an8}part of his genitals in retaliation 710 00:32:54,139 --> 00:32:58,870 {\an8}for years of alleged rape and abuse. 711 00:32:58,894 --> 00:33:02,123 -I think the first story to be on air 712 00:33:02,147 --> 00:33:08,337 {\an8}that really made me raise my eyebrows was John Wayne Bobbitt, 713 00:33:08,361 --> 00:33:12,341 a man who had his manhood cut off. 714 00:33:12,365 --> 00:33:17,180 That's when I realized nothing was off limits. 715 00:33:17,204 --> 00:33:19,599 -The organ was miraculously reattached, 716 00:33:19,623 --> 00:33:23,978 and ever since, John has become a cottage industry of T-shirts, 717 00:33:24,002 --> 00:33:25,980 movie deals and media appearances. 718 00:33:26,004 --> 00:33:27,982 -Bobbit turned his infamy into profit 719 00:33:28,006 --> 00:33:29,650 making TV appearances 720 00:33:29,674 --> 00:33:33,237 and acting in pornographic films. 721 00:33:33,261 --> 00:33:35,531 -The Bobbitts get paid for exclusive interviews 722 00:33:35,555 --> 00:33:37,450 to the tabloid news shows, 723 00:33:37,474 --> 00:33:40,786 which are now paying out big money to anyone with a story 724 00:33:40,810 --> 00:33:43,998 they hope will boost their ratings. 725 00:33:44,022 --> 00:33:45,750 -I want to tell people exactly what happened. 726 00:33:45,774 --> 00:33:47,335 You know, I'm not the bad guy. 727 00:33:47,359 --> 00:33:49,086 I didn't rape my wife and I didn't beat my wife. 728 00:33:49,110 --> 00:33:52,965 -My bosses, that's all they cared about was ratings. 729 00:33:52,989 --> 00:33:55,134 There's nothing bigger than ratings, 730 00:33:55,158 --> 00:33:58,054 especially in the world of tabloid television. 731 00:33:58,078 --> 00:34:00,681 -Exclusives with the Bobbitts give "Inside Edition" 732 00:34:00,705 --> 00:34:01,974 a boost in their numbers. 733 00:34:01,998 --> 00:34:04,602 - just how turbulent it was. 734 00:34:04,626 --> 00:34:06,103 -But finding stories that will deliver 735 00:34:06,127 --> 00:34:08,356 blockbuster ratings night after night, 736 00:34:08,380 --> 00:34:13,319 five nights a week becomes an increasingly difficult task. 737 00:34:13,343 --> 00:34:16,572 -Alan Masters was a big shot in Willow Springs, 738 00:34:16,596 --> 00:34:19,033 a town where men ruled everything. 739 00:34:19,057 --> 00:34:23,162 -The self-confessed nymphomaniac charged with prostitution. 740 00:34:23,186 --> 00:34:25,873 -When "A Current Affairs" ratings hit an all time low, 741 00:34:25,897 --> 00:34:28,668 they decided to return to a story that always worked, 742 00:34:28,692 --> 00:34:30,795 the Long Island Lolita. 743 00:34:30,819 --> 00:34:32,255 -Just when you thought you'd heard the last 744 00:34:32,279 --> 00:34:34,340 from Amy Fisher and Joe Buttafuoco, 745 00:34:34,364 --> 00:34:37,843 the latest bombshell in the case against the alleged lover 746 00:34:37,867 --> 00:34:43,182 {\an8}of the Long Island Lolita, Joey and the jury. 747 00:34:43,206 --> 00:34:45,184 Joey Buttafuocoa is back in the news 748 00:34:45,208 --> 00:34:48,896 when he gets charged with the statutory rape of Amy Fisher. 749 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:51,107 -The media had gotten so crazy with us 750 00:34:51,131 --> 00:34:52,984 that they became a demand for Joey 751 00:34:53,008 --> 00:34:55,820 to be held accountable for what happened. 752 00:34:55,844 --> 00:34:59,198 {\an8}-Peter and I were working back at "A Current Affair." 753 00:34:59,222 --> 00:35:00,950 {\an8}We had taken over "A Current Affair," 754 00:35:00,974 --> 00:35:04,078 working with Steve Dunleavy again. 755 00:35:04,102 --> 00:35:06,539 We were brought in because Rupert Murdoch knew 756 00:35:06,563 --> 00:35:07,832 that we needed to do something to get the ratings 757 00:35:07,856 --> 00:35:09,625 back up for "A Current Affair." 758 00:35:09,649 --> 00:35:13,462 And the only way to do that was to infuse a lot of money. 759 00:35:13,486 --> 00:35:19,885 {\an8}So we paid $500,000 for an interview in which 760 00:35:19,909 --> 00:35:24,098 {\an8}Joey would finally admit on camera to his wife 761 00:35:24,122 --> 00:35:26,892 {\an8}that he had had an affair with Amy Fisher 762 00:35:26,916 --> 00:35:32,064 {\an8}and Mary Jo would say, I know, I forgive you. 763 00:35:32,088 --> 00:35:35,234 {\an8}-But there's only one problem with their plan. 764 00:35:35,258 --> 00:35:38,029 {\an8}Despite agreeing to plead guilty to the rape charges, 765 00:35:38,053 --> 00:35:39,739 {\an8}Joey's still telling Mary Jo 766 00:35:39,763 --> 00:35:42,325 {\an8}that he never had sex with Amy Fisher. 767 00:35:42,349 --> 00:35:47,038 {\an8}He claims he only plea bargain to spare the family a trial. 768 00:35:47,062 --> 00:35:48,706 {\an8}-He won't come to terms with the fact 769 00:35:48,730 --> 00:35:50,750 {\an8}that he did have an affair. 770 00:35:50,774 --> 00:35:52,335 {\an8}-Says who? 771 00:35:52,359 --> 00:35:56,088 {\an8}-And at this point, Mary Jo still believes him. 772 00:35:56,112 --> 00:35:58,507 -Shortly before the interview began, Joey Buttafuoco 773 00:35:58,531 --> 00:36:02,762 admitted that he had never actually let his wife know 774 00:36:02,786 --> 00:36:04,889 that he did have an affair with Amy Fisher. 775 00:36:04,913 --> 00:36:07,183 He still had been denying it to her. 776 00:36:07,207 --> 00:36:09,977 The Fox attorneys got on with with Mary Jo 777 00:36:10,001 --> 00:36:13,773 and Joey's attorneys and said, look, this is $500,000. 778 00:36:13,797 --> 00:36:14,857 You've got to say this. 779 00:36:14,881 --> 00:36:16,150 {\an8}So we reconvened 780 00:36:16,174 --> 00:36:17,526 {\an8}at Steven Dunleavy's house 781 00:36:17,550 --> 00:36:20,905 {\an8}and redid the interview. 782 00:36:20,929 --> 00:36:23,532 {\an8}-As I recall, he's going to say I have the affair 783 00:36:23,556 --> 00:36:25,534 and I'm going to say and I forgive you. 784 00:36:25,558 --> 00:36:27,328 That was the stipulation. 785 00:36:27,352 --> 00:36:29,497 Again, I didn't believe it. 786 00:36:29,521 --> 00:36:34,168 I still didn't believe it, but I... I had to say it. 787 00:36:34,192 --> 00:36:35,961 {\an8}-A lot of women with bullets in their head 788 00:36:35,985 --> 00:36:39,382 {\an8}wouldn't forgive Joey Buttafuoco. 789 00:36:39,406 --> 00:36:41,175 {\an8}But what's your reaction? 790 00:36:41,199 --> 00:36:46,055 {\an8}-I love him. I forgive him. He's my husband. 791 00:36:46,079 --> 00:36:48,099 -With those nine words, the Buttafuocos 792 00:36:48,123 --> 00:36:50,309 collect the $500,000. 793 00:36:50,333 --> 00:36:54,063 At the time, it's the highest payout by a tabloid show 794 00:36:54,087 --> 00:36:57,191 and a new low for checkbook journalism. 795 00:36:57,215 --> 00:37:00,152 -It wasn't easy, but I did it. I did it. 796 00:37:00,176 --> 00:37:04,949 {\an8}I sold out. I sold out hoping they'd all go away. 797 00:37:04,973 --> 00:37:06,182 They didn't. [ Chuckles ] 798 00:37:07,976 --> 00:37:10,955 -For the crime of rape in the third degree, 799 00:37:10,979 --> 00:37:14,250 you're to serve six months in a county jail 800 00:37:14,274 --> 00:37:16,377 as conditions are going to concur 801 00:37:16,401 --> 00:37:19,713 with a five-year probationary term. 802 00:37:19,737 --> 00:37:21,507 -Within minutes of being sentenced, 803 00:37:21,531 --> 00:37:26,011 Joey Buttafuoco was a prisoner at the Nassau County Jail. 804 00:37:26,035 --> 00:37:29,473 -Even after both Amy Fisher and Joey get sent to prison, 805 00:37:29,497 --> 00:37:32,017 the Buttafuocos remain in the spotlight, 806 00:37:32,041 --> 00:37:35,062 not just on tabloid shows, but also as punchlines 807 00:37:35,086 --> 00:37:38,441 on late night comedy shows. 808 00:37:38,465 --> 00:37:43,529 -Mary Jo, I see you have a hell of a bald spot there. 809 00:37:43,553 --> 00:37:45,531 It must have been some accident. - Oh, yeah. 810 00:37:45,555 --> 00:37:49,076 I'll tell you, a crazy teenage bitch tried to kill me. 811 00:37:49,100 --> 00:37:53,414 -When I would see myself portrayed on "SNL" 812 00:37:53,438 --> 00:37:55,166 or "In Living Color," 813 00:37:55,190 --> 00:37:58,961 it bothered me because I was a victim of a violent crime. 814 00:37:58,985 --> 00:38:01,714 It wasn't funny. They made fun of my face. 815 00:38:01,738 --> 00:38:04,258 Well, my face looks like that because I got shot. 816 00:38:04,282 --> 00:38:05,885 It bothered the hell out of me for a long time 817 00:38:05,909 --> 00:38:07,678 because it's what they did. 818 00:38:07,702 --> 00:38:12,600 It was... we were ripe for anything, any parody, any joke. 819 00:38:12,624 --> 00:38:17,646 -Hey, Joey, what are you kissing that whore for? 820 00:38:17,670 --> 00:38:19,899 -Hey, Mary Jo. 821 00:38:19,923 --> 00:38:21,275 I wasn't kissing her. 822 00:38:21,299 --> 00:38:24,612 I was, uh, giving her CPR over here. 823 00:38:24,636 --> 00:38:27,198 [ Cheers and applause ] 824 00:38:27,222 --> 00:38:30,201 {\an8}-The media's appetite for the Buttafuoco-Fisher debacle 825 00:38:30,225 --> 00:38:33,204 {\an8}is insatiable, until... 826 00:38:33,228 --> 00:38:36,081 {\an8}Yeah, well... 827 00:38:36,105 --> 00:38:39,418 {\an8}-...O.J. Simpson and the crime of the century. 828 00:38:39,442 --> 00:38:43,088 {\an8}-This just culminates a series of unbelievable events 829 00:38:43,112 --> 00:38:45,090 {\an8}that took place today. 830 00:38:45,114 --> 00:38:48,177 -When the O.J. Simpson story happened, 831 00:38:48,201 --> 00:38:51,347 I remember saying to Joey we're free. 832 00:38:51,371 --> 00:38:53,015 We're free. They're done with us from. 833 00:38:53,039 --> 00:38:54,391 -From the L.A. County Courthouse, 834 00:38:54,415 --> 00:38:56,477 {\an8}the site of the trial of the century. 835 00:38:56,501 --> 00:38:58,270 {\an8}Good evening. I'm Barry Nolan. 836 00:38:58,294 --> 00:39:00,147 -The O.J. Simpson trial was probably 837 00:39:00,171 --> 00:39:04,610 the craziest media event I've ever seen in my lifetime, 838 00:39:04,634 --> 00:39:06,794 and I don't think I'll ever see anything like it again. 839 00:39:12,767 --> 00:39:14,328 {\an8}-O.J. Simpson is wanted, but he's been charged 840 00:39:14,352 --> 00:39:17,122 {\an8}in the two murders that took place Sunday night. 841 00:39:17,146 --> 00:39:19,375 {\an8}-Heading into 1994, 842 00:39:19,399 --> 00:39:22,378 {\an8}tabloid television was out of control. 843 00:39:22,402 --> 00:39:26,298 {\an8}Everything was leading up to what happened 844 00:39:26,322 --> 00:39:30,761 {\an8}when Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were slaughtered. 845 00:39:30,785 --> 00:39:32,471 {\an8}-In the summer of 1994, 846 00:39:32,495 --> 00:39:34,348 {\an8}the manhunt for the former running back 847 00:39:34,372 --> 00:39:37,351 {\an8}and Hertz rental car pitchman O.J. Simpson 848 00:39:37,375 --> 00:39:39,520 {\an8}mesmerizes the nation. 849 00:39:39,544 --> 00:39:41,897 -Prosecutors said O.J. had the motive. 850 00:39:41,921 --> 00:39:44,858 They painted him as a jealous wife abuser. 851 00:39:44,882 --> 00:39:48,279 -Once the trial gets underway, 150 million viewers 852 00:39:48,303 --> 00:39:50,823 watched the trial like a daily soap opera, 853 00:39:50,847 --> 00:39:55,828 turning the judge, attorneys and witnesses into mini celebrities. 854 00:39:55,852 --> 00:40:02,084 -The nation was absolutely gripped by that story. 855 00:40:02,108 --> 00:40:03,919 They could not get enough of it. 856 00:40:03,943 --> 00:40:07,381 -Experts put the former football star's voice to the test. 857 00:40:07,405 --> 00:40:11,135 {\an8}-It's called a psychological stress evaluator, 858 00:40:11,159 --> 00:40:12,303 {\an8}and it analyzes a person's... 859 00:40:12,327 --> 00:40:14,263 {\an8}-It's a classic tabloid story. 860 00:40:14,287 --> 00:40:16,265 It has everything in it. It has murder. 861 00:40:16,289 --> 00:40:19,018 It has sex. It has celebrity. 862 00:40:19,042 --> 00:40:21,395 -It also has the power to obliterate the line 863 00:40:21,419 --> 00:40:24,148 between network and tabloid news. 864 00:40:24,172 --> 00:40:25,733 With the tabloid shows regularly 865 00:40:25,757 --> 00:40:27,526 outreporting the mainstream press. 866 00:40:27,550 --> 00:40:28,861 -Secret bank account. 867 00:40:28,885 --> 00:40:30,863 "Hard Copy" gets to the bottom line 868 00:40:30,887 --> 00:40:34,700 about how much money O.J. really has. 869 00:40:34,724 --> 00:40:38,370 -The networks saw that we were out scooping them 870 00:40:38,394 --> 00:40:43,000 on everything O.J., and that viewers 871 00:40:43,024 --> 00:40:45,878 were watching "Current Affair," "Hard Copy" 872 00:40:45,902 --> 00:40:47,421 and "Inside Edition" 873 00:40:47,445 --> 00:40:50,549 instead of their nightly news programs. 874 00:40:50,573 --> 00:40:52,009 -After a decade looking down 875 00:40:52,033 --> 00:40:53,844 their noses at the tabloid news... 876 00:40:53,868 --> 00:40:56,096 -Another amazing day in Los Angeles. 877 00:40:56,120 --> 00:40:58,474 {\an8}...mainstream networks start looking a lot 878 00:40:58,498 --> 00:41:01,685 like the thing they once despised and criticized. 879 00:41:01,709 --> 00:41:04,271 -NBC News and other media reported that Caitlyn 880 00:41:04,295 --> 00:41:06,690 told law enforcement that Simpson was not at home 881 00:41:06,714 --> 00:41:08,734 when a limo arrived and take him to the airport. 882 00:41:08,758 --> 00:41:11,737 -I really think the momentum shifted during 883 00:41:11,761 --> 00:41:13,155 the O.J. Simpson trial. 884 00:41:13,179 --> 00:41:16,825 I see it as the time where the networks said, 885 00:41:16,849 --> 00:41:19,870 we can't beat them, we got to join them. 886 00:41:19,894 --> 00:41:21,455 And that's what they did. - Good evening. 887 00:41:21,479 --> 00:41:23,582 Tonya Harding is still insisting 888 00:41:23,606 --> 00:41:27,252 she was never in on the plan to attack Nancy Kerrigan. 889 00:41:27,276 --> 00:41:30,214 -But for the first time today, Harding admitted she did not 890 00:41:30,238 --> 00:41:32,591 go to the authorities immediately. 891 00:41:32,615 --> 00:41:34,551 -For Mary Jo Buttafuoco, 892 00:41:34,575 --> 00:41:37,596 the media's fascination with O.J. gives her enough 893 00:41:37,620 --> 00:41:41,266 time away from the spotlight to get her life together. 894 00:41:41,290 --> 00:41:46,563 In 2003, she finally divorces Joey. 895 00:41:46,587 --> 00:41:51,026 -Joey never, ever, ever, ever to this day said, 896 00:41:51,050 --> 00:41:54,279 "Mary Jo, I did something really horrible and really wrong, 897 00:41:54,303 --> 00:41:55,823 and I'm so sorry. 898 00:41:55,847 --> 00:41:58,784 Because he continued on with his crazy life. 899 00:41:58,808 --> 00:42:01,537 -Both Joey and Amy continue to bask in the limelight 900 00:42:01,561 --> 00:42:03,288 a little bit longer. 901 00:42:03,312 --> 00:42:05,416 {\an8}For Joey, its stints on "Judge Judy" 902 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:07,793 {\an8}and "Celebrity Boxing." 903 00:42:07,817 --> 00:42:11,505 For Amy Fisher, it's a string of more sex tapes. 904 00:42:11,529 --> 00:42:14,466 But by the end of the decade, the tabloid TV shows 905 00:42:14,490 --> 00:42:18,554 that made them famous are essentially dead. 906 00:42:18,578 --> 00:42:22,307 -The tabloid shows kind of lost their relevance. 907 00:42:22,331 --> 00:42:24,518 The networks took over. 908 00:42:24,542 --> 00:42:26,770 They started covering stories like O.J. Simpson. 909 00:42:26,794 --> 00:42:28,021 They started covering the stories 910 00:42:28,045 --> 00:42:29,648 they wouldn't have touched. 911 00:42:29,672 --> 00:42:31,108 "A Current Affair" was canceled. 912 00:42:31,132 --> 00:42:35,446 "Hard Copy" was canceled by the end of the decade. 913 00:42:35,470 --> 00:42:39,032 -Even the host of the last show standing, "Inside Edition," 914 00:42:39,056 --> 00:42:40,617 seems to be feeling the strain. 915 00:42:40,641 --> 00:42:42,995 -That's tomorrow, and that is it for us today. 916 00:42:43,019 --> 00:42:47,916 And we will leave you with a... I can't do it. 917 00:42:47,940 --> 00:42:50,878 We'll do it live. - Okay, 918 00:42:50,902 --> 00:42:53,505 We'll do it live! It! 919 00:42:53,529 --> 00:42:55,799 Do it live! 920 00:42:55,823 --> 00:42:59,428 -In 2019, Steve Dunleavy, the man who best 921 00:42:59,452 --> 00:43:02,431 epitomizes tabloid journalism in the '90s, 922 00:43:02,455 --> 00:43:04,850 dies at the age of 81. 923 00:43:04,874 --> 00:43:08,604 But the legacy of what he helped create lives on. 924 00:43:08,628 --> 00:43:12,024 {\an8}♪♪ 925 00:43:12,048 --> 00:43:15,527 -I think you can find any sort of form of tabloid 926 00:43:15,551 --> 00:43:17,321 you want on the Internet, 927 00:43:17,345 --> 00:43:20,991 {\an8}whether it be "TMZ" for your gossip, 928 00:43:21,015 --> 00:43:26,371 {\an8}TikTok for some piece of video that everybody wants to see. 929 00:43:26,395 --> 00:43:28,957 -Police are still searching for 22-year-old Gabby Petito. 930 00:43:28,981 --> 00:43:31,210 She disappeared while on a cross-country road trip. 931 00:43:31,234 --> 00:43:36,006 -You can get whatever you want, and that's where tabloid is. 932 00:43:36,030 --> 00:43:37,591 -We thought with "A Current Affair" 933 00:43:37,615 --> 00:43:40,385 that we were democratizing newstelling. 934 00:43:40,409 --> 00:43:42,930 Only certain people were allowed to tell the news 935 00:43:42,954 --> 00:43:45,349 {\an8}in the early '90s. 936 00:43:45,373 --> 00:43:47,059 {\an8}But once the Internet came along, 937 00:43:47,083 --> 00:43:48,644 {\an8}look at where we are now. 938 00:43:48,668 --> 00:43:51,480 {\an8}The world tabloid really doesn't even matter anymore. 939 00:43:51,504 --> 00:43:53,732 {\an8}-Let me interrupt you, Congresswoman. 940 00:43:53,756 --> 00:43:55,400 {\an8}Let me interrupt you just for a moment. 941 00:43:55,424 --> 00:43:56,944 {\an8}We've got some breaking news out of Miami. 942 00:43:56,968 --> 00:43:58,695 {\an8}Stand by, if you will. 943 00:43:58,719 --> 00:44:01,406 {\an8}Justin Bieber has been arrested on a number of charges. 944 00:44:01,430 --> 00:44:03,408 {\an8}-Everything is tabloid today. 945 00:44:03,432 --> 00:44:09,522 {\an8}♪♪