The latest storm to rip through the headlines does not go by the name Wilma, Rita or Katrina, and its wrath is not limited to the Gulf Coast.
The eye of this hurricane is centered on our nation’s capital, and the great wind-blower goes by the nickname Scooter. The clouds gathered for months, and the torrential rains of scandal have been linked to the death of 2,000 soldiers. The storm’s aftermath has prompted bumbling government reactions reminiscent of their disorganized hurricane rescue efforts.
Now everyone is all wet, from the government officials involved in “the leak,” to the respected news outlets who reported on it. And no matter your politics, you have to love it.
There is something alluring and shamefully satisfying about an unfolding scandal. We crave drama, so even when there is not a Lewinsky affair or Scooter-gate in the news, we find ways to create our own. We at Northwestern have produced some respectable mini-scandals, from the accusations against Professor Bailey about sexual misconduct with a transgender research subject, to Joanne LaBonte, a fallen Sociology lecturer, whose class was a great excuse to tap the Rockies.
We live in a country where the fastest-growing magazines are celebrity gossip glossies. It’s usually easy for people to ignore “hard news” about Washington insiders, but when the Op-Ed pages of the New York Times begin to conjure images of a catfight between Maureen Dowd and Judith Miller, it’s hard to resist.
As the story shifted from vague speculation to impending indictments, more readers were willing to spend afternoons logged on to cnn.com piecing together who said what to whom over the past two years.
As much as readers enjoy scandals, muckraking pundits and acid-tongued columnists love them even more. I’m sure the pleasure Matt Drudge took in writing headlines over this “All Hallows Eve” weekend was downright orgasmic. The official charges put the debate into concrete terms, so now news outlets are free to accuse Libby of lying in big, bold headlines, without fear of a libel suit.
On some level, readers are drawn to these stories for their theatrical elements – the crazy cast of characters, the shadowy deeds and questionable motives, all topped off by public displays of human frailty.
Coverage of scandals prompts those who usually only read US Weekly to watch the news, and also allows New York Times junkies to indulge in a natural guilty pleasure. So go ahead and admit that you like this juicy drama.
A little dirt never hurt anyone.
