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 brought wall-to-wall media coverage devoted to the Senate confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Samuel J. Alito. This is, of course, a momentous event. Justices do serve for life, after all, and shape the legal underpinnings of the Republic. This is reason enough to cover the hearings, but perhaps there is another as well. As the week went on, some of the coverage took on another aspect, that of a civics lesson. The mass media were actually informing us about the issues at stake. Legal analysts discussed precedents, senators bickered about procedure and Judge Alito staked out clear positions on a variety of key issues. Well, two out of three isn't bad. Here to talk with us about these illuminating moments - and some of the less illuminating ones as well - is Tony Mauro, Supreme Court correspondent for Legal Times and American Lawyer Media. He's been closely watching the hearings, and he joins us now. Tony, welcome to OTM.

TONY MAURO: Thanks for having me.

BOB GARFIELD: Well, first of all, we certainly did not see from Judge Alito a whole lot of detail about his positions on some very central issues. Here is what at least one of his answers sounded like.

JUDGE

SAMUEL ALITO: Answering the question of whether the Constitution provides a right to free speech is simply responding to whether there is language in the First Amendment that says that the freedom of speech and freedom of the press can't be abridged. Asking about the issue of abortion has to do with the interpretation of certain provisions of the Constitution.

BOB GARFIELD: We heard a lot of that, didn't we?

TONY MAURO: Yes, we sure did. And he, like most nominees in the last 20 years or so, has felt it necessary to put off questions like that. He feels that if he even hints at what he really thinks about an issue that he will be prejudging cases that could come before him. A lot of people think that's a thin argument, because if impartiality means anything, then they'll set aside their personal views anyway, so he may as well tell the public what those views are.

BOB GARFIELD: Well, of course, since Robert Bork was "borked" some 20 years ago, nobody's been particularly forthcoming under these circumstances. At least one senator suggested that the Senate change the way it goes about the confirmation process and do away with the hearings altogether. Here's Joe Biden on that subject.

JOE BIDEN: I, I - I don't know. I'm not sure there's much value to these hearings any more. I think maybe we should go back to the old days where you just debated it on the floor of the United States Senate.

TONY MAURO: Well, I think the system is broken. I think these hearings really have turned into little more than political theater, and senators feed that as well by a lot of grandstanding and not very much listening. But I don't think going all the way to just putting a nominee up on the Senate floor and having a few speeches and then voting is the way to go either.

BOB GARFIELD: What we mostly learned about Judge Alito is that he's perfectly [CHUCKLES] capable of evading direct questions and examination. But, you know, I learned a lot of other stuff as well, as I often do, even in these theatrical settings. I learn a lot about case law and precedent and procedure. Were there any moments in this for you that you thought were particularly illuminating about the way our judiciary works?

TONY MAURO: Well, take this issue that's come up in the news about President Bush's domestic surveillance program. Alito had given a speech in 2000 on a concept called the "unitary executive," which is a concept of the Presidency that is very muscular and very strong. Because of Bush's domestic surveillance program, the Democrats raked him over the coals about it. I'm not sure he really answered their questions, but along the way I think there was a good discussion about the balance of power in wartime.

BOB GARFIELD: We got to see something about how the judiciary works. We also got to see [LAUGHS] how the judiciary committee works. There was a little inter-party squabbling between Chairman Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the Republican head of the committee, and Democrat Teddy Kennedy from Massachusetts. It sounded like this.

TED KENNEDY: And we're going to have votes of this committee again and again and again until we have a resolution. I think it's - [OVERTALK]

ARLEN SPECTER: Well, Senator Kennedy, I'm not concerned about your threats to have votes again, again and again.

BOB GARFIELD: What was America to make of that little squabble?

TONY MAURO: Just that there are two senators up there with big egos. It provided, you know, one of the few sparks and, you know, the media always likes sparks and controversy.

BOB GARFIELD: On a more basic level, doesn't it tell the viewer that, oh, yes, there is a majority and there is a minority? That's civics, ain't it?

TONY MAURO: It sure [LAUGHING] is. Now, that is part of the lesson of the entire week, that the Democrats are in the minority and that they're not going to be able to influence this process too much.

BOB GARFIELD: Okay. So I understand why you think there was quite a bit of theatrics involved as opposed to actual substance. But we've heard about the politics of the Democrats and the Republicans on the committee. We've learned something about the constitutional underpinnings of Presidential power and the Congress, and we've even seen Mrs. Alito leave the hearing room in tears. It seems like a pretty full plate the media's served up here.

TONY MAURO: Oh, absolutely. I hadn't thought of it that way, but it is a full program. I just hope that people continue to pay attention to the Supreme Court, but I have the suspicion that unless another Justice retires, the public will put it on the back burner, as it usually does.

BOB GARFIELD: Tony, thank you very much.

TONY MAURO: Glad to be with you.

BOB GARFIELD: Tony Mauro is Supreme Court correspondent for Legal Times and American Lawyer Media. He spoke with us from Washington, D.C.