Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 19, 1995 TAG: 9509190068
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
In a special section added to Tuesday's editions, the Post published a 35,000-word manuscript written by the bomber - unedited and in its entirety - in response to his bizarre offer to halt a 17-year string of mail-bomb murders if the Post or the New York Times agreed to publish his treatise.
After consulting with Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh, publishers at the Post and the Times jointly agreed to print the document in the Post with the Times footing half the cost, which was not disclosed late Monday.
``For three months, the Washington Post and the New York Times have jointly faced the demand of a person known as the Unabomber that we publish a manuscript of about 35,000 words. If we fail to do so, the author of this document threatened to send a bomb to an unspecified destination `with intent to kill,''' Post publisher Donald E. Graham and Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., said in a statement released late Monday.
``From the beginning, the two newspapers have consulted closely on the issue of whether to publish under the threat of violence,'' the statement said. ``Both the Attorney General and the director of the FBI have now recommended that we print this document for public safety reasons, and we have agreed to do so.''
The papers agreed that the document would appear in the Post rather than the Times because the Post ``has the mechanical ability to distribute a separate section in all copies of its daily paper,'' the statement said.
Neither paper would offer further comment about the decision, which is believed to be unprecedented in the history of modern journalism.
However, the Times published a front-page story about the deal in Tuesday's editions. In that story, Graham and Sulzberger explained their reasoning, saying they were acting solely to save lives.
``Neither paper has any journalistic reason to print this,'' the Times story quoted Graham as saying.
``Whether you like it or not,'' Sulzberger added, ``we're turning our pages over to a man who has murdered people. But I'm convinced we're making the right choice between bad options.
In a statement released late Monday, U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Lee Douglass said Reno and Freeh recommended publication out of ``concern for public safety.'' Plus, she said, Reno and Freeh hope that publishing the document will produce tips leading to the bomber's identity.
by CNB