(CNN) -- Sen. Ted Kennedy would have had a "very, very difficult" time politically surviving the drowning death of a young woman if it happened in the era of blogs, talk radio and 24-hour news cycles, experts said. Sen. Ted Kennedy hit the airwaves to say it was "indefensible" he didn't immediately report the accident. Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, drowned after Kennedy drove his Oldsmobile off a bridge following a regatta party in July 1969. The incident on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, helped dash the youngest Kennedy brother's chances at the Oval Office in 1972 and 1980. Massachusetts was more forgiving than the rest of the nation, however, backing Kennedy by a 3-to-2 margin in his 1970 bid to keep his Senate seat. That his brothers, John and Robert, had been assassinated in recent years may have been a factor, experts said. Watch Kennedy attend brother Robert's funeral »
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Media "more ferocious" today, wouldn't have left questions unanswered, expert says
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Ex-police chief says he would have charged Kennedy with vehicular homicide today
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Chappaquiddick incident credited with ending Ted Kennedy's presidential hopes
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Chief: "What happened afterward has never been completely explained"
In his national address, Kennedy said he was driving @placeholder to a ferry landing because she was tired.