Feeding Frenzy: Attack
Journalism & American
Politics
-Larry J. Sabato
Becky Canovan
Ryan Hoover
Lindsey Boyett
Lyndsay Leggott
Overview

History of Journalism


Lapdog, Watchdog, Junkyard Dog
Factors causing attacks
Watergate
 Mob Psychology


Consequences

Press, Candidate, Voters, Political System
Remedies
 Discussion and Conclusions

“Feeding Frenzy”

“…a feeding frenzy is defined as the
press coverage attending any political
event or circumstance where a critical
mass of journalists leap to cover the
same embarrassing or scandalous
subject and pursue it intensely, often
excessively, and sometimes
uncontrollably.” ~Sabato, p. 6
History of Journalism

Began around 1690

Party papers

Penny press

Yellow journalism and muckraking

World War I
Lapdog Journalism

Rooseveltian rule of thumb

Supported and protected politicians

JFK and Camelot

THE END OF IT ALL
Watchdog Journalism

Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick

Private life influencing politics

Everything is fair game
Junkyard Dog Journalism

Women in journalism

Television overtaking newspapers

Extensive research discarded
Factors in Attack
Prominence

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan

Slow news periods

“If you are going to fuck up, don’t fuck
up in the middle of August when there
is nothing else to write about.” ~Steve
Roberts, 1989, U.S. News & World
Report
More Factors

Women & feminism in the media

Search to validate the subtext

Watergate
Watergate

Most profound impact of any modern
event on how the journalism world
changed

Guilt about underplaying political
disasters

Character issues
Mob Psychology

“I’ve been in that group psychology; I know
what it’s like. You think you’re on to
something, you’ve got somebody on the
run. How dare they not come clean? How
dare they not tell the full story? What are
they trying to hide? Why are they hiding it?
And you become a crusader for the truth.
Goddammit, you’re going to get the truth!”
~CNN’s Frank Sesno
Consequences of Attack
Journalism

Press Consequences

Candidate Consequences

Voter Consequences

Consequences for the Political
System
Press Consequences
Declining standards
 LCD journalism
 Increase in competition
 Invasion of privacy areas
 Strengthening of pack journalism
 Reduce access to elected officials
 Growing hostility toward the press

Candidate Consequences



Damaged by controversies
Can end political careers
“People were always waiting for the other
shoe to drop with Barry, and it always did;
then people would say, ‘now the mayor’s
finished’—but they ignored the fact that he
was a centipede who had more shoes left to
drop than Imelda Marcos.”
~Tom Sherwood, journalist, speaking of
Mayor Marion Barry
Voter Consequences

Less news watching

Encouragement of cynicism

Candidates eliminated before the
electorate speaks

“Sentence first—verdict afterwards.”
~Queen of Hearts – Alice in Wonderland
Consequences for the
Political System

Increased openness and
accountability

Candidates not focusing on issues

Many viable candidates steer clear of
the system
Remedies






Independently verify news stories by
network
Do not raise dead-and-buried tales from the
crypt
Go after the evildoers when false rumors
come to the surface
Internal checks and balances
Changing attitudes of journalists
“The most rational, logical solution for
candidates is to avoid the sins and
circumstances that spawn frenzies.” p. 167
Voter Contribution

If public chooses not to listen

Choice of outlet for information

Decreasing voter cynicism
Quotes

On Clinton saying he’s capable of
commanding the U.S. military
because he’s headed the Arkansas
National Guard: “Isn’t that like saying
you can fly the space shuttle because
you’ve seen every episode of Star
Trek?”
~Jay Leno, August 31, 1992
Quotes
Top Ten Reasons Clinton Is Losing
His Lead: No. 2 – “More and more
people like the idea of a tiny, insane
millionaire running things.”
~ David Letterman, October 29, 1992
 Said Letterman: “In, out, in, out – isn’t
that what got him in trouble in the first
place?” - said in reference to Gary
Hart

Omissions
 Internet
 Updated
examples
 Discussion
Take Home Lesson

“If we tell people there’s absolutely
nothing private left to them, then we
will tend to attract to public office only
those most brazen, least sensitive
personalities. Is that what we want to
do?” ~New York Times columnist
Anthony Lewis