Most in the Media Were Blindsided By Justice

Novak said yesterday that he was tipped by a non-governmental source very close to the situation. He said he then had it confirmed by government sources.

"A lot of people from organizations outside the government on both sides, the left and the right . . . they have spent full time on the judicial nominations. This was one of those people and he had contacted me and I thought he really sounded like he knew," Novak said.

Novak and Kristol were out front with their predictions but it was Brian Wilson of Fox News, along with the Heritage Foundation, that led the day on the resignation.

The news was released to the media at 10:20 a.m., according to a spokeswoman for the court. Wilson, however, hit the airwaves at 10:11 a.m. He was at home and phoned in his report, says Peter Schur, a network spokesman.

"Brian Wilson has been working on this for a while, so he had an idea that it was going to be her," Schur said, adding that Wilson called in the news to anchor Brigitte Quinn and attributed it to three Capitol Hill sources.

A few minutes after the Fox report, the Heritage Foundation released an e-mail alerting news organizations, says Chris Kennedy, a press officer for the think tank.

Kennedy said Heritage had the story in the "9 o'clock hour" from "a source we had reason to believe had good knowledge of the bench." He was somewhat surprised that the foundation beat most of the media. The foundation e-mail landed at 10:15 a.m.

"I actually held that e-mail until one reputable outfit ran with the story," Kennedy said. He said the foundation had been watching O'Connor even more than Rehnquist.

"She is the swing vote. . . . This battle is going to be bloodier than Rehnquist because her spot on the bench is a little bit shakier," he said, referring to O'Connor's often independent opinions.