BROOKE GLADSTONE: From WNYC in New York this is NPR's On the Media. I'm Brooke Gladstone.

BOB GARFIELD: And I'm Bob Garfield. This week the Kobe Bryant bond hearing, a routine step in a criminal case, a hearing in which Bryant said two words, drew wall to wall coverage. It's all-Kobe, all the time, especially on cable news, and even Fox News Channel's Shepherd Smith sounded surprised.

SHEPHERD SMITH: On televisions in our newsroom we can watch live coverage on CBS, NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, ABC, ESPN, CNN, Headline News, Fox, Fox News, Fox Sports, Court TV, the Yes Network and E Entertainment. The hearing on more channels than the president's state of the union address.

BOB GARFIELD:By many media accounts, the Kobe Bryant case has all the elements of the great American scandal -- money, celebrity, sex, and - yes -race.

SHEPHERD SMITH: Interesting issue there. Is the race card going to be played? Criminal Defense Attorney Johnna Spilbor is with us again. There has been some discussion about whether race is going to become an issue in this case, and Johnna, let me start with you. Is it?

JOHNNA SPILBOR: You know, originally I wanted to say no, although I, I agree with....

BOB GARFIELD: That was from MSNBC shortly before Wednesday's hearing commenced. Joining me now is Leon Wynter, author of American Skin: Big Business, Pop Culture and the End of White America. Leon, welcome back to On the Media!

LEON WYNTER: My pleasure to be here, Bob.

BOB GARFIELD: Well, at the risk of belaboring the obvious, what is driving the media, particularly cable TV, into this particular feeding frenzy with Kobe Bryant. Is it just the August doldrums?

LEON WYNTER: I'm sure that doesn't hurt, but I think the answer is simply a perfect media storm. Here we have a very visible celebrity; he was one of the hottest players in the NBA last year. He's young, handsome. He is accused of a sexual assault crime and has admitted having sex outside of his marriage -- a recent marriage to also a very stunning young person. These are the kinds of things that cameras love.

BOB GARFIELD:Already, almost before this case has gotten under way, there have been references to the O.J. Simpson case. Here's one from MSNBC's Keith Oberman immediately after Wednesday's hearing.

KEITH OBERMAN: Legally this day pretty much was going to be limited to symbolism, and there it was. There were no confessions, nobody led away in handcuffs, nobody trying on gloves. A preliminary hearing in this case set for October 9th, and for whatever does or does not happen henceforth, [BACKGROUND HUBBUB] what we see of him, what we have just seen of him, will become in the minds of many the newest defining image of Kobe Bryant, speeding off in another pickup vehicle -- an SUV, a four-wheeler -- if that brings back any memories at all.

BOB GARFIELD:Well the reference is clearly to the "slow-speed chase" that O.J. Simpson led California law enforcement on shortly before his arrest, but what is the basis for any connection between O.J. Simpson and this Kobe Bryant case?

LEON WYNTER: I think the basis for any reference by someone speaking on a cable news station is more than anything else to the stupendous ratings that the O.J. case drew. More than the parallel, obviously, black athlete, white alleged victim in this case, we need to keep in mind what particularly on cable news they are about. They're about sensation. Now I mean you cannot ignore the fact that race certainly stands out. You can't ignore the fact that there's a tendency as storytellers to connect -- especially for television that needs these quick images and these subliminal ways of thinking -- to connect it to the last story that looked half way germane. So this is the question: is the attention to this a function of the fact that the victim is white or the fact that the alleged perpetrator is an NBA superstar -- and not just any NBA superstar. We need to keep in mind, and, and I think it's fascinating, the sort of confluence and almost maybe even conflicts of interest -- whatever happens in the fall with this trial, come the spring, ABC, ESPN, TNT as well -- they have a fairly substantial investment, not just in the NBA -- but actually in the fortunes of the Los Angeles Lakers, of which Kobe Bryant is going to be an integral part!

BOB GARFIELD:And in fact a Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, said bluntly that this episode will improve the ratings for the NBA -- at least in the early part of the season -- presuming Kobe Bryant is on the court -- and that the NBA would financially benefit from those increased ratings--

LEON WYNTER: And for, and for which he was immediately smacked down by NBA Commissioner David Stern for speaking out loud what I guess some people might be thinking. But the key thing here is this. Talking about race cards. One way to look at it is you could say that the media is playing a race card, just by paying so much attention, with the implication being because the victim is white and the alleged perpetrator is black. But-- you could also turn around and say that the media cannot really afford those kinds of cheap thrills. There's not that much for it to be gained, especially when it comes to the fact in this particular case that they are going to be training their cameras and have a huge investment in a bunch of other athletes who look just like Kobe Bryant including Bryant himself by next spring or so when the NBA championships are, are going on again.

BOB GARFIELD: Well, Leon, as always - thank you very much!

LEON WYNTER: Bob, it's been my pleasure.

BOB GARFIELD: Leon Wynter is the author of American Skin: Big Business, Pop Culture and the End of White America. [MUSIC]