Peepshow: Media and Politics in an Age of Scandal - Softcover

Sabato, Larry J.; Stencel, Mark; Lichter, S. Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 074250011X ISBN 13: 9780742500112

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2001

Synopsis

The line dividing public life and private behavior in American politics is more blurred than ever. When it comes to questions about sex, substance abuse and family life, anything goes on the political desk in many newsrooms, including uncorroborated hearsay disguised as news. But some stories still never make it into print or on the air. What are the rules for politicians and journalists in the aftermath of WashingtonOs biggest sex scandal? Peepshow looks behind the scenes at news coverage of political scandals, analyzing what gets reported, what doesnOt, and why. The authors talk with top news editors to get a fix on what will make the evening news and what weOre likely to read about in the next campaign season. The costs of todayOs politics-by-scandal are mounting, with disaffected voters, discouraged candidates, and a news corps distracted from policy issues and substantive debate. But the forces driving Oattack journalismO have as much to do with voters and candidates as they do with what the press is organized to report. Peepshow offers an alternative view of the prurient side of election coverage, helping newsroom decision-makers and campaign managers see through the inevitable scandals of election year 2000 and gain insight into presenting a politics of public trust. CASE STUDIES include: _ South Carolina Governor David BeasleyOs denial of an unsubstantiated extramarital affair; _ Georgia gubernatorial candidate Mike Bowers' admitted affair with his secretary; _ Reporting on rumors sparked by Texas Governor George W. BushOs admission that he was once Oyoung and irresponsible;O _ Congressional affairs involving Representatives Barr, Burton, Chenoweth, Hyde and Livingston; _ The divorces of Bob Dole and John McCain; _ The outing of Arizona Rep. Jim KolbeOs and the sexuality of other members of Congress and candidates; _ Mississippi Governor Kirk FordiceOs off-again, on-again divorce; _ Coverage of Colorado Governor Roy RomerOs OaffectionateO relationship with a top aide and adviser. _ Speaker Newt GingrichOs relationship with a Hill committee aide; _ Coverage of once and possible first ladies and the children of political figures, including Chelsea Clinton and Sarah Gore; _ Reporting on unfounded rumors about Representative Bill PaxonOs retirement.

About this title

Review:

"Even presidents have private lives," declared Bill Clinton in August 1998, as he admitted his affair with Monica Lewinsky to a live television audience. Yet in recent years, a cursory examination of news coverage would suggest that almost nothing about politicians' lives is private. Most Americans--as well as journalists--would have it otherwise, write media experts Larry J. Sabato (of the University of Virginia), Mark Stencel (politics editor of the Washington Post's Web site), and S. Robert Lichter (of the Center for Media and Public Affairs). In Peepshow, they propose a few rules governing what should and should not be off-limits to the press. Acceptable areas of coverage, in their view, include financial information about candidates, health as it pertains to job performance, "any incident or charge that reaches the police blotters or a civil or criminal court," sexual activity that blurs private and public duties, debilitating behavior (such as drug use), and private behavior that involves public funds. Out of bounds are nonlegal matters involving a pol's family, discrete extramarital sex, sexual orientation, and past drug or alcohol abuse.

What makes Peepshow an engaging book is its string of up-to-the-minute anecdotes. The authors take real-life incidents that made it into the press and assess whether they should have been there in the first place. When Colin Powell's wife convinced her husband not to run for president, a few media outlets reported that she had been treated for depression. This, say the authors, is out of bounds. On the other hand, the story of a Republican member of Congress from North Carolina who allegedly caused a traffic accident, left the scene, and traded places with his wife in the passenger seat before returning is worth public examination. Sabato, Stencel, and Lichter relate dozens of similar examples, touching upon recent stories and rumors involving Bob Dole, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, Al Gore, Henry Hyde, and others. The book at times reads like a gossip column; even political junkies may find themselves saying, "I didn't know that!" about certain figures. But the point is not to titillate. The authors earnestly lay out a few principles that, if followed, will make the news business seem more dignified, even when it's covering indignity. --John J. Miller

About the Author:

Larry J. Sabato is director of the Center for Governmental Studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and author of numerous books including Feeding Frenzy: How Attack Journalism Has Transformed American Politics. Mark Stencel is politics editor for washingtonpost.com and coauthor with CNN's Larry King of On the Line: The New Road to the White House. S. Robert Lichter is president of the Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington, D.C., and editor of the online magazine Newswatch. His books include The Media Elite and Good Intentions Make Bad News.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 074250011X
• ISBN 13: 9780742500112
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208