By: Payton Lauer
In May of 2001, Federal Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Ann Levy was reported missing by her parents. Levy’s disappearance took the nation by storm. Every type of media was following her case and giving the world the answers they desperately wanted. Cable TV networks such as CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC were the leading channels covering the Levy case. This type of media was a breakthrough in spreading News nationally. With the use of cable TV, those all over the nation were able to receive information the same day, rather than having to wait till papers were printed or for the information to spread. Even though the first cable TV system was developed in the 1940s, the video delivery service did not reach its full potential till the late 90s and early 2000s.
The disappearance of Levy was one of many high-profile events that drew millions of viewers to numerous TV networks. Levy made herself known in Washington. She was there on an internship through her graduate program from the University of Southern California, getting her master’s degree in public administration. Levy was not only making headlines for being missing but for her possible relationship with a congressman.
Gary Condit was aDemocratic congressman in the House of Representatives from 1989 to 2003. Around the time of Levy’s disappearance, rumors of her involvement with Condit quickly spread. In July of 2001, it was confirmed by Levy’s aunt and later by Condit himself that he had been having an affair with Levy. This news broke the airwaves, sending the nation into a media frenzy. News channels were no longer solely covering the story of the missing intern but switched to reporting a political sex scandal. With more information coming out about the relationship between Levy and Condit, the speculation of Condit’s involvement in her disappearance grew. This only led to more people tuning into the 24-hour news programs. As the summer continued, there was little new information on what happened to Levy or if she was even alive; networks needed to keep people tuned in. The best way to do that was by painting a picture of Condit.
The two most popular in 2001 were CNN and Fox News, both had adapted their own political identity. CNN is leaning more democratic, whereas Fox News was more Republican. There was no denying that news networks believed that Condict had been involved, but each portrayed him in a different light. CNN focused on his affair with Levy as a whole, and Fox focused on the hypocrisy of his affair, given the family-first platform he ran on.
Though this case made headlines, it eventually went quiet with the event of the tourist attack on 9/11, which took over all media networks. The Levy case came back into the limelight in May 2002, when remains were found at Rock Creek Park in D.C, and later dental records confirmed that the remains were of Levy. There was not enough evidence to connect Condit to her murder, and the media soon lost interest in her murder. The disappearance and murder of Levy became one of many on a list of unsolved murders, but it also helped the growth of cable TV media in the United States.
