(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 »



"Great expectations and great tragedy has always been the storyline of the Kennedys," said Christopher Arterton, dean of George Washington University's graduate school of political management. "The people of Massachusetts were prepared to forgive a lot of transgressions."



Kennedy vanished to the family compound for days after the incident, huddling with advisers before emerging the following week to plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. A judge suspended his two-month jail sentence.



Critics saw the plea as an attempt to stifle details that would have emerged during a trial.



In a display of the senator's legendary oratory, he delivered a nationally televised explanation and apology, saying it was "indefensible" that he hadn't called police until the day after the accident.  See how Chappaquiddick fit into Kennedy's legacy »



"If at any time, the citizens of Massachusetts should lack confidence in their senator's character or his ability, with or without justification, he could not in my opinion adequately perform his duty and should not continue in office," Kennedy said.



Jim Baughman, author of "The Republic of Mass Culture: Journalism, Filmmaking, and Broadcasting in America since 1941," said he recalls Kennedy's address being "less an explanation to the country than to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."



The nation's response was tepid. According to a Time-Harris poll in August 1969, about 44 percent of respondents said Kennedy failed "to tell the real truth," 51 percent said his explanation was inadequate and 77 percent said he was wrong not to report the accident immediately.



However, 58 percent of respondents said "he has suffered, been punished and should be given the benefit of the doubt."  Watch a timeline of Kennedy's tragedies, triumphs »



"I think the national repercussions would have been more severe [today]," Baughman said.



In 1969, the national media were dominated by three TV networks and a handful of magazines and newspapers. New media and talk radio would be a "much more ferocious force" today, he said.



Media reports from the time indicate few mysteries were solved by Kennedy's address.



Then-Edgartown Police Chief Jim Arena was often lambasted for his handling of the case. He said Thursday he would handle it no differently today except that he would charge Kennedy with vehicular homicide, a charge that did not exist in 1969.



"I will always contend that what happened that night was an accident. What happened afterward has never been completely explained," said Arena, who is now 79.



In his national address, Kennedy said he was driving Kopechne to a ferry landing because she was tired. He denied "widely circulated suspicions of immoral conduct" and also refuted reports that he was "driving under the influence of liquor."  Watch Kennedy's explanation »



Kennedy said his unfamiliarity with the bridge, which had no guardrails and met the road at an awkward angle, caused him to drive off the side and into Poucha Pond.



"The car overturned in a deep pond and immediately filled with water," Kennedy said. "Water entered my lungs and I actually felt the sensation of
where was the incident credited with ending Ted Kennedy's presidential hopes? who says he would have charged Kennedy with vehicular homicide? According to the ex-police chief, what would he have charged Kennedy with today? When did the Chappaquiddick incident take place? The Chappaquiddick incident ended what person's presidential hopes?
Chappaquiddick Island, Then-Edgartown Police Chief Jim Arena vehicular homicide, July 1969. Ted Kennedy
question: where was the incident credited with ending Ted Kennedy's presidential hopes?, answer: Chappaquiddick Island, | question: who says he would have charged Kennedy with vehicular homicide?, answer: Then-Edgartown Police Chief Jim Arena | question: According to the ex-police chief, what would he have charged Kennedy with today?, answer: vehicular homicide, | question: When did the Chappaquiddick incident take place?, answer: July 1969. | question: The Chappaquiddick incident ended what person's presidential hopes?, answer: Ted Kennedy