Most Surprising Revelation: Larry King is Still Alive?

Serious props to Bob Costas, for refusing to spend more time on the Natalie Holloway story...

Costas, hired by CNN as an occasional fill-in on "Larry King Live," refused to anchor Thursday's show because it was primarily about the Alabama teenager who went missing in Aruba. Chris Pixley filled in at the last minute.

"I didn't think the subject matter of Thursday's show was the kind of broadcast I should be doing," Costas said in a statement. "I suggested some alternatives but the producers preferred the topics they had chosen. I was fine with that, and respectfully declined to participate."

Costas' manager declined to elaborate on what Costas didn't like about the topic.

Thursday's guests included Beth Holloway Twitty, the girl's mother; a television reporter; and an investigator in the case. Seven of the show's 10 guests talked about the missing girl, the other segments were about the BTK killer.

The Holloway case has been a big attraction on cable news networks during a slow news period, with Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren getting record ratings as she's paid almost nonstop attention to it. Reports of Costas' decision first surfaced on the mediabistro.com Web site on Friday.

...The NBC Sports personality, also host of "Costas Now" on HBO, had agreed to be host for about 20 editions of "Larry King Live" this year. He's done six, the network said.

His decision is reminiscent of Keith Olbermann, the former sportscaster who left his MSNBC news show in the late 1990s in part because he was asked to repeatedly cover the Monica Lewinsky story. Olbermann is back now for his second run at MSNBC.

Reminiscent is probably okay, but the situations aren't similar -- Olbermann's protest featured far more whining and far less class, and involved a story that was worthy of national attention for an extended period, since Slick Willie had adopted his usual strategy of lying until no one cared that he lied. It's disturbing that the networks opt to exploit this story so effectively for ratings, but it's part and parcel our fault in many ways. I can't believe people want to watch this much coverage on Van Susteran's show, but maybe that's because the competition at CNN (I think it's Aaron friggin Brown, who may soon rival Katie Couric on the list of people I'd like to punch in the face) and MSNBC (Chris Mathhews?) stink so much.

But due credit should go to Costas, who seems to have taken a stand that enough is enough. Our hearts and sympathy go out to Natalie Holloway's family, but the disproportionate level of media coverage dedicated to her story demonstrates that the media's obsession with ratings continues to lead to less real news and more sensationalism.