BY DAN
KENNEDY
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Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Media Log's three rules for
reporting on extramarital affairs. After the Kerry sex-scandal
non-story imploded, Matt Drudge hit what might have been a new low
even for him. On Monday, the Drudge Report alleged that the young
woman who did not have sex with Kerry may have had sex with a veteran
Kerry-campaign operative.
Thus we have a new sex story that
may or may not be true - complete with names! - about two entirely
private figures. Other than the vicarious thrill Drudge apparently
receives from destroying two families, it is impossible to imagine
why anyone would do such a thing. As my late father liked to say,
it's enough to gag a maggot.
Garbage like this is going to come
up again. So with that in mind, I would like to offer Media Log's
rules for reporting on the sex lives of presidential candidates.
Conveniently enough, I learned them from eight years of watching Bill
Clinton, who, unfortunately for him, ran afoul of all three rules. To
wit:
The Gennifer Flowers Rule.
If an ex-paramour calls a news conference in order to talk about her
affair with The Candidate, it's okay to cover it, provided - in the
absence of proof - that the allegations are treated with suitable
skepticism. Public events are public events, and it would be an abuse
of the media's gatekeeper role to pretend they didn't occur. Nor
should the entertainment factor be overlooked.
The Paula Jones Rule. If a
woman files a lawsuit that alleges The Candidate harassed her by
soliciting a blowjob, it's okay to cover it - again with suitable
skepticism. If said lawsuit makes it all the way to the Supreme
Court, it's definitely okay to cover it. If said lawsuit further
alleges that the plaintiff can identify "distinguishing
characteristics" on the defendant's unit, then coverage is
mandatory.
The Monica Lewinsky Rule. If
a $40 million (at the time) government investigation reveals that The
Candidate (or, in this case, the president) was carrying on with a
woman other than his wife, and that his lies about said carrying-on
may constitute perjury in the context of a sexual-harassment suit
(see the Paula Jones Rule, above), then it's okay to cover it. It's
not okay to go berserk for six months, leading to a stampede that
resulted in the only presidential impeachment in the 20th century.
(Note: Media Log confesses to breaking the don't-go-berserk rule on
several occasions.)
There's a gray area here, too.
Occasionally, there will be a candidate - like Gary Hart in 1988 -
who essentially says, I've got nothing to hide. Please follow me
around and report on what you find! Of course, someone did, and
Hart's presidential ambitions went down on the Good Ship Monkey
Business.
The answer: damned if I know what
the media should have done. Hart was stupid, and stupidity is always
worth reporting on. Still, affairs between two consenting adults
should always be off limits unless one of the Clinton rules comes
into play. My best answer is to hope that someone else reports
it, then write a thumb-sucking think piece about the decline of media
standards.
posted at 11:02 AM |
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Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
