Interview: Andrew Cohen
by Joe Crea

Andrew Cohen, earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism (’88) and a law degree (’91), both from BU, worked as a trial lawyer in Denver and is now a full-time legal analyst for CBS News, including television, radio and online work.

Why did you immediately go to law school after receiving your degree in journalism?

Because when I graduated from COM it was a difficult time in journalism. There were a lot of low-paying jobs, but not many good ones. Many of my friends went after them, but I wasn’t ready to pay my dues in that fashion. I wanted to get into journalism at a higher level, rather than an entry level. Most of the folks I’ve worked with at BU have done wonderful things by going the route of the small paper to the larger ones. I just took a different route and got lucky.

How did you land your legal analyst position at CBS News?

I started practicing law in 1991 and in 1995 took a sabbatical. At that point, I began to realize how much I missed journalism. I began making some media contacts locally in Denver and then, before I knew it, the Oklahoma City bombing trial came to Denver and I began working for a local TV and radio station commenting about the legal aspects of the case. This case allowed me to blend what I had done at BU with my profession. As a result, I was soon hired as a part-time legal analyst by CBS News Radio in 1997. I was able to gain enough experience in TV to convince the powers- that-be that I was able to explain on the air and put into context legal issues.

And since you became a legal analyst, you’ve been able to cover some high-profile cases.

Yes. After the Oklahoma trials, President Clinton’s deposition in the Paula Jones case followed and then the ensuing impeachment trial. That dominated 1997-1998. Then in 1999, the Microsoft and Elian Gonzalez sagas dominated the news. Then came the election recount story in Florida in 2000. I’ve covered every big legal story since 1997.

Now, when a story is big enough, CBS will fly me to the scene, like they did during the Andrea Yates case or the Florida recount story, and I’ll be a part of that “package,” or do a live Q/A with the morning anchors. I am brought in when CBS wants someone to explain things in stories with a legal element.

Describe your CBS work:

A lot of what I do is off-air. At times, I’m essentially a consultant to the reporters. I offer off-air guidance, making sure the product is better even if I’m not involved on-air.

I try to put legal issues into context and perspective. You could say I provide an additional dimension: the good and bad and what’s likely to happen. In my online role, I write a column for CBS.com that is more opinionated. I’m not a correspondent who must be objective. I merely look at the different sides of an issue and offer some thoughts. Those are more like op-ed pieces. I have a little more leeway as an analyst. I try not to say, “This is outrageous,” because people who offer more heat than light tend to tick people off.
I’m held to standards of accuracy and fairness, of course. But provided my legal training, role and experience, fairness is defined a little more broadly than a correspondent’s position would be.

Aside from being able to analyze legal issues, did your time as a lawyer help contribute in other ways to your new career?

I moved out to Denver and was a trial lawyer – civil trial work, corporate litigation. I didn’t have a ton of criminal experience. I’m not a former federal defense attorney or prosecutor. I don’t have a bias one way or the other like a defense attorney who might always side with defendants or a federal prosecutor who might always side with the government. This has helped me attempt to explain to people what a decision, ruling or a trend means, without offering too much hyperbole or opinion.

Other than your studies at BU, what else has helped shape the person you are today?

The Daily Free Press. I was editor there and it was the best experience of my life. I hope it is still as good as it was then. As far as teaching people how to write and act and think, it was an invaluable experience for me. Almost as valuable as the courses I took. Most of my memories are from The Daily Free Press. It’s just an amazing thing to do when you are 19 years old. I learned a lot of lessons then that I apply now. Ian Fisher and Don Van Natta Jr. (now foreign correspondent and Washington investigative reporter, respectively, for The New York Times) taught me about writing and being a journalist. Had I not stumbled upon the Free Press, I might not be where I am today.