News Magazine Coverage of the Petraeus/Broadwell Affair: The
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Research In Depth News Magazine Coverage of the Petraeus/Broadwell Affair: The Disjunction between Power and Agency By Tetyana Lokot, Antonio Prado, become more likely to think that off-hours morality Boya Xu, and Linda Steiner and marital infidelity are relevant to the career as- sessment of those political figures, potentially forc- All four authors are in the Philip Merrill College of Jour- ing the resignation or firing of a scandalous figure. nalism at the University of Maryland. No wonder, then, that the extramarital affair be- tween General David Petraeus (Ret), then Director Tetyana Lokot is a doctoral candidate whose research inter- of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and his ests include augmented dissent and the use of digital me- biographer Paula Broadwell aracted significant dia and social networks in protests in post-Soviet coun- media aention in November and December 2012, tries. dominating front pages and leading broadcast news shows. Admiing his sexual relationship with Antonio Prado is a doctoral candidate whose research in- Broadwell, Petraeus resigned as the CIA Director terests include collective contemplation enabled by con- aer major FBI investigations. temporary communications technology, news portrayals of The FBI and Justice Department recom- people with disabilities, and convergence culture. mended bringing felony charges against Petraeus, saying that while CIA director, he provided classi- Boya Xu is a doctoral candidate whose research interests fied information to Broadwell, whom the New York include media effects, audience studies, public sphere in Times described as his lover and mistress. Ultimate- the digital era, and political communication. ly, Petraeus was convicted of non-felony mishan- dling of classified materials. He was sentenced to Dr. Linda Steiner is a Professor of Journalism whose re- two years’ probation and fined $100,000. search interests include the news potential of emerging In this case, as with most high profile sexu- media technologies, alternative media, and gender and al scandals, the man had much more power and sta- feminist issues in the media. She is author, co-author, or tus than the woman. Usually this results in the man co-editor of six books. being held wholly responsible for the affair and the “other party” regarded as a pawn, if not a victim. What made the Petraeus/Broadwell scandal notable This examination of three U.S. news magazines’ and worthy of research is that most journalists made coverage of the David Petraeus/Paula Broadwell scandal of Broadwell the party responsible for the affair. Pet- 2012 finds discrepancies and disjunctures regarding gen- raeus was largely portrayed as a military hero, but der, power and agency. having lile active agency in terms of the affair. We follow Thompson’s (2000) definition of In the United States, citizens and therefore scandal as involving transgression of particular val- journalists have always been interested in scandals ues, norms, or moral codes, and shrouded in secre- involving political and military figures. Journalists cy; disapproved of by non-participants and de- have paid increasing aention to high profile sexual nounced by the public; and damaging the reputa- scandals over the last several decades; journalists are tions of the individuals involved. Inherent in the spending more time investigating rumor and editors notion of scandal is that the misconduct of the per- are willing to publish what they come up with. Scan- son understood to be the causal agent gets public dals can undermine trust in individual leaders, moral condemnation and some kind of remedy is affecting their short- and long-term careers and lega- debated or even demanded (Entman 2012). cy. Our study of the media coverage of this Media exposures of scandals can also affect scandal begins with the assumption that scandaliza- the credibility and effectiveness of systems and struc- tion is a powerful element in public controversies. tures more generally; they can “prime” public opin- Scandals can generate outrage or anger, frequently ion so that, at least hypothetically, news audiences forcing political actors to resign; more specifically, reading about sex scandals involving political figures the type, amount, and completeness of news cover- age influences citizens’ evaluations of politicians, Media Report to Women Spring 2015 6 www.mediareporttowomen.com parties, and even the entire political system. With The major news magazines in the U.S., these scandals nearly all of the aention focuses on high- three weeklies have long enjoyed prestige and status. power figures, including on the consequences of They offer broad summaries—oen with greater the scandal for that elite actor. The power of news depth and context—of major stories; as weeklies they media to influence public understanding of issues can address issues more thoroughly than dailies, should not be overstated, especially when coverage “distilling the results in a narrative reflecting the is highly consistent across media outlets. Aer all, principle themes in the news” (Entman 1991). as much as journalists try to The purpose of ana- outsmart political figures, lyzing the major stories in the government officials, and three magazines in the 6- military brass, those sources/ week period aer Petraeus’ subjects work hard to get resignation was announced favorable coverage (Entman was to assess how journalists 2012) and to avoid negative in these magazines made scrutiny, through spin, stone- meaning of the affair and walling, and other strategies how they contextualized and for granting or withholding explained it; we especially of information. But neither sought to understand the should journalists’ profes- roles and responsibility as- sional choices be ignored. cribed to Petraeus and Word selection and other Broadwell in and for the journalistic strategies de- affair. We examined the ployed in covering the Pet- terms used to describe both raeus/Broadwell scandal not Petraeus and Broadwell; the only help illustrate how gen- dominant themes of the story der and power were contexts; who was assigned “framed” by journalists but also how news audi- blame and agency in the affair; and how the broader ences are taught to understand gender politics and impact of the scandal was explained. We assumed gender power. that journalists’ “frames” provide a central idea or story line that helps create meaning for an unfolding Method set of events; frames help journalists organize their coverage (to identify and classify information) and This study evaluates feature articles about help audiences understand the issues (Scheufele, the Petraeus/Broadwell scandal found in 1999). Through framing, journalists make some part Newsweek, Time, and U.S. News and World Re- of reality more salient, in a way that effectively pro- port published online from November 9 (the day motes a particular definition of a problem and how it the scandal became public knowledge) to Decem- is morally situated and interpreted (Entman, 1993). ber 30, 2012, when coverage petered out. This is Frames define problems, diagnose causes, make mor- also when, its print advertising having dropped 70 al judgments, and suggest remedies for those prob- percent in four years, the 80-year old Newsweek lems. switched to being an internet-only outlet, joining its online partner The Daily Beast. Time, published Description of Parties to the Scandal since 1923, has always been known for a light, spritely tone and an interest in celebrities. Com- The lion’s share of the headlines in all three pared to the other two, U.S. News and World Re- magazines mentioned Petraeus by name; far fewer port (it represents the long-ago merger of two mag- mentioned Broadwell. Time and U.S. News headlines azines) has historically been regarded as more con- only rarely mentioned Broadwell whether by name servative, more serious, and less interested in celeb- or in another way, though one headline, “U.S. News rities and entertainment news. We analyzed 26 Exclusive Interview: Broadwell Hailed Petraeus as Newsweek feature articles, 31 Time articles, and 21 'Relentless' Mentor During Affair,” mentioned both U.S. News and World Report articles; we excluded Broadwell and Petraeus. Newsweek, on the other columns, op-ed pieces, commentary, and articles hand, regularly identified her as his “alleged mis- that did not address the scandal as a central event. tress.” Newsweek headlines included such examples www.mediareporttowomen.com 7 Spring 2015 Media Report to Women Research In Depth as: "Paula Broadwell, David Petraeus's Biographer, is “just a really nice man, very gracious […] he’s bright, allegedly His Mistress" and "Sco Broadwell, he’s stimulating, he’s challenging, just a wonderful, 'Adventure Junkie' Husband of Alleged Petraeus Mis- all-American guy, and real credit to our nation.” In a tress." Its comparison with another high-profile scan- handful of cases, however, Petraeus was referred to dal was headlined “A Scarlet Leer—the Monica as “fallen,” “disgraced,” “General Betray Us,” Lewinsky-ing of Paula Broadwell.” “lecherous spymaster,” and a “seducer.” Most of the articles across all three magazines Broadwell faced significantly more judgmen- described Petraeus and Broadwell using terms based tal language than did Petraeus; besides “the other on their occupations or the work that defined their woman” and “mistress,” the “seductress” and professional relationship. Terms most oen used to “paramour” appeared, albeit very rarely. Winston describe Petraeus included “general” (sometimes Ross’s Newsweek story about