PressEthic

Accounts of Rep. Mark Foley's behavior reaches the nadir of decorum, but news coverage of the scandal has not been pretty either. On the ABC News web site, a picture of Foley smiling is superimposed over empty liquor and wine glasses below a headline: "Foley Runs to Rehab: Will It Work? "

Aside from the New York Post-esque headline and picture, the article, to which it is linked, offers zero presumption of Foley's innocence. Reporter Anne-Marie Dorning's piece has a second headline inside: "Running to Rehab:When Athletes, Celebrities and Politicians Mess Up, Rehab Offers a Popular Escape."

This is by no means a defense of Foley's alleged behavior, but the press must give a modicum of presumed innocence -- at least check out the other side of the story. That's not how Dorning sees it: "When ex-Rep. Mark Foley revealed that he had checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation facility over the weekend, few in the crisis communications field were surprised.

"'This isn't new. This has been going on since the days of Errol Flynn. What Foley is trying to do is move from villain to victim,' said Richard Levick, of Levick Strategic Communications, a Washington crisis-management firm."

Rather than explore the possibility of Foley's genuine need for rehab or try to refute the move, Dorning's article presumes only an ulterior motive:

So, how does all this strategy play into an addict's actual recovery? Dr. Thomas Irwin, program director at the McLean Center at Fernside, a substance abuse treatment center, said it's not a recipe for success.

"Individuals need to ask themselves, what is the motivation for treatment? Is it to work on the problem … or avoid a crisis? Part of … treatment is to come to terms with what you've done and take responsibility for it."

It isn't clear whether the apology, rehab and recovery cycle will work in Foley's case.

Dorning goes for the easy mark, setting the table for a crucifixion, as it is easy to do with presumed pedophiles because no one defends someone who harms children, and rightly so. But does that excuse shoddy journalism?

Now, the scandal has reached talk radio and the blogosphere, where the left and right have vacated the victim and perpetrator as they seek to inflict maximum damage on one another.

A sickening story appears ready to upset more stomachs.