Women: United States Redefining the ‘Private Lives’ of Public Officials Women journalists have played a major role in this changing coverage.

By Florence George Graves

or some journalists—especially people more about today’s journalism whether particular allegations of inap- those with old-guard thinking— than the blurring of lines between the propriate or abusive sexual behavior— Fthe September 11 World Trade public records of candidates and their the kind that was well known in the Center attacks that led to aggressive private lives,” Broder wrote. And in a past by some reporters but kept from reporting on Osama bin Laden and New York Times op-ed, Schlesinger readers and viewers—merit journalis- bioterrorism brought an oddly wel- posited that “Reporters seem obses- tic scrutiny. This reassessment has been comed relief. Then Enron followed. sively interested these days in getting part of evolving changes in society, Finally, there was a return to “real candidates to tell all” about various which for centuries had been condi- reporting,” and “important journal- aspects of their private lives including, tioned to believe—based on Aristotle’s ism.” No longer was there a focus on he says, “their sex lives.” In arguing for conception of the private and public “tabloid stories” such as Gary Condit tighter guidelines, he wrote that “A spheres—that anything involving and the missing Chandra Levy and what- measure of privacy is of estimable value women (considered a lesser order) or ever they were doing in private that in protecting the stability and sanity of sex (even abusive sex)—belonged in dominated some news outlets before our public servants.” the private realm. As attention increas- the 11th. No more messy tales about Public officials, like private individu- ingly has been paid to consequences of and Paula Jones or Monica als, deserve a zone of privacy. On that inappropriate sexual behaviors, jour- Lewinsky. In their minds, at least, no point there is little debate. However, nalists—among others—have helped more voyeuristic reporting on the so- far too often those urging privacy sug- the public to understand that many called “private lives” of public officials. gest that all stories with a sexual angle behaviors involving sex should be con- Of course, for some media organiza- are, by definition, about a public sidered legal or ethical matters rel- tions, especially the supermarket tab- official’s private life. Although it per- evant to the public interest. loids and some cable news networks, haps should seem obvious by now, Intellectually, at least, most of us there’s no question that a primary at- some critics still fail to fully recognize now accept almost without question traction in these stories was the sure- that even if an abusive sexual act is that rape, incest, child molestation, to-boost ratings combination of sex, committed in private—meaning no and child pornography are not private power, fame and mystery. This is inevi- witnesses, or in what traditionally has matters. Rape was the first abusive be- table when the story involves an emo- been considered a person’s private havior to face legal sanction. As a soci- tion and instinct as powerful, mysteri- realm—it still may be of legitimate ety, we have been slower and more ous and easily exploited as sex. But public concern as a potential violation ambivalent about judging—legally or even though the media sometimes re- of law or ethical standards. Some ex- ethically—abusive behavior when it port gratuitous stories involving sex— hortations for privacy also suggest that involves subtler questions concerning something I regard as unethical—we the way a politician (usually these sto- consent among adults. should not forget why some aspects of ries involve males) treats women (or What about a husband who forces what for decades the press has defined men) has no relevance to his fitness for his wife to have sex against her will? Is as the “private lives” of public officials, office. that a private, family matter? What about when reported responsibly, are not Before this kind of backlash think- a boss who demands that his secretary only of legitimate public interest but ing takes hold, it is important to reflect have sex with him to keep her job? Is also important to pursue and publish. on how and why perceptions about that private? What about a boss who Unfortunately, this is not the mes- what should or shouldn’t be consid- makes repeated sexual advances to an sage some influential media commen- ered publicly relevant sexual behavior employee but does not make any overt, tators seem to be sending. In the wake have changed during the past 30 years. explicit quid pro quo? What about a of the Monica experience, for example, It remains very rare for a journalist to boss who has what he says is a “consen- historian and former presidential as- ask about a politician’s truly private sex sual” sexual relationship with an em- sistant Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and Wash- life, as it should be. However, thanks in ployee? Does that mean it is consen- ington Post columnist David Broder part to the increased presence of sual? Does that mean it is ethical? What each have warned journalists about women as both reporters and editors, about a politician who presents him- invading the “private lives” of public particularly political journalists, media self as a happy family man and publicly officials. “[N]othing seems to bother decision-makers are finally asking promotes women’s equal rights while

Nieman Reports / Spring 2002 69 Women: United States

like the most obvious follow-up story. At the time, I wondered why no major news organizations were doing it. Working as a freelance journalist, I began months of reporting to confirm the Senator Bob Packwood story, most of the time in despair, fearing it would never be published. I am pretty certain that, pre-Anita Hill, no major newspa- per would have published it. Even post-Anita Hill, I had trouble finding a news organization willing to take it on before I finally decided to approach , which eventually agreed to pursue it. Others I’d approached told me they didn’t consider it “a story.” If it was a story, a major newspaper would have done it already, or so the thinking went. Some media brass still considered it a story Former senator Bob Packwood catches an elevator in the Capitol a few hours after his “about sex,” about Packwood’s private resignation on September 7, 1995. On September 6, the Senate Select Committee on life, instead of about abuse of power Ethics had concluded its three-year investigation into allegations of sexual and other that involved sexual misconduct rather misconduct by recommending his expulsion. Photo by Kenneth Lambert, courtesy of The than financial or some other miscon- Washington Times. duct traditionally deemed relevant to the public interest. After the Packwood story—a story of “privately” is a serial adulterer? What inappropriate sexual remarks by Su- repeated sexual misconduct by the about a politician who has an affair preme Court nominee Clarence Tho- senator over many years—was pub- with a young woman who later disap- mas came five years after the 1986 lished in 1992, political pundits and pears without a trace? landmark U.S. Supreme Court deci- prominent journalists acknowledged These are the kinds of questions sion in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson there had been rumors about Packwood society—and journalists—have been established that even a “hostile work- suggesting this behavior for years. Ap- grappling with over the years. It wasn’t place” (not just quid pro quo harass- parently none had bothered to follow until the early 1980’s that an increasing ment) could be illegal sexual harass- up sufficiently. One reason might have number of courts began to adopt femi- ment. This decision led U.S. companies been the prevalent shared narrative nist and legal scholar Catherine to create major new guidelines and that sexual favors were a perk of the MacKinnon’s theory that sexual harass- training programs for employees. Even powerful. This sense of privilege was ment is a form of illegal sex discrimina- so, much of the press and the Congress reinforced by the fact that Congress tion. Prior to that, society did not view seemed unaware that sexual had exempted itself from most work- sexual harassment as a violation of a harrassment was a significant problem place laws—including sexual harass- person’s rights. The “shared narrative” for women in the workplace. As Geneva ment—that it had passed for employ- said it was considered private, or “the Overholser, then with The Washington ers in the rest of the country. (This way things are,” or perhaps a cost of Post Writers Group observed, exemption disappeared for senators being a woman in the workplace. And “Women’s reporting” made the Tho- after the Packwood case, when the Sen- over time, as author Suzannah Lessard mas-Hill story about allegations of un- ate adopted the Congressional Account- observed when writing in ethical conduct “the story it was.” In ability Act of 1995.) about presidential candidate Gary fact, “I don’t think it would have been Or perhaps journalists had internal- Hart’s “Monkey Business” in 1987, “a that story if men had been the only ized some editors’ attitudes. For ex- feminist sensibility has seeped into the ones in those political reporting posi- ample, when we were guests on Na- public consciousness…” so that even tions,” she told Columbia Journalism tional Public Radio’s “On the Media” unethical behavior such as Hart’s be- Review. program in 1994, Martin Tolchin, who came an issue of public concern re- Following the Thomas-Hill hearings, was then one of ’ flecting “awareness of the dignity and the general problem of sexual harass- top Washington reporters, observed equality of women.” ment on Capitol Hill—known to many that his paper would have been very Anita Hill’s allegations in 1991 about Washington reporters—seemed to me reluctant to pursue the story of Sena-

70 Nieman Reports / Spring 2002 Women: United States tor Packwood’s predatory sexual be- reported incidents). At issue was abuse cially those at more prestigious publi- havior. He explained that stories in- of power, an ethical issue. cations, still seem skittish about re- volving sex made editors “skittish.” And The committee concluded in its 1995 porting stories that involve question- in Tolchin’s new book, “Glass Houses: report that Packwood had “engaged in able sexual behavior by public officials, Congressional Ethics and the Politics a pattern of sexual misconduct between especially when there is no clear viola- of Venom,” co-authored with his wife, 1969 and 1990” that brought “discredit tion of law. This reluctance was re- Susan J. Tolchin, they argue that one of and dishonor upon the Senate” result- flected by then New York Times execu- the senator’s diary entries, suggesting ing in “conduct unbecoming a Sena- tive editor Joseph Lelyveld in a 2001 professional misconduct in soliciting tor.” The committee’s report concluded Times article by Felicity Barringer. She work for his estranged wife from a that “these incidents, taken collectively, concluded that the story about Repre- lobbyist, “was much more damaging” reflect a pattern of abuse by Senator sentative Gary Condit and the missing than the charges of sexual misconduct. Packwood of his position of power Chandra Levy “shows that the press Their reasoning: “because the allega- over women who were in a subordi- can have legitimate reasons for open- tion involved the more serious charge nate position, either as his employees, ing the door to a private life,” espe- of using public office for private gain.” as Senate employees, prospective em- cially when someone’s life or safety is I disagreed with this old-school rea- ployees, campaign workers, or persons at stake. She also noted her paper’s soning when I began working on the whose livelihood prevented them from mostly low-key coverage of the story story. I believed this was a story about effectively protesting or seeking redress and quoted Lelyveld as saying, “We do human rights, injustice and serious for his actions. These women were not our best not to be dragged into a con- abuse of public office for private gain. on an equal footing with Senator sideration of the sex lives of people Even though the media often Packwood, and he took advantage of public or private.” “However,” he downplayed—sometimes even that disparity to visit upon them unin- added, “there are certainly legitimate trivialized—the profound conse- vited and unwelcome sexual advances, questions about whether he has been quences Packwood’s behavior caused some of which constituted serious as- forthcoming and helpful in the search many of his victims, I knew there were saultive behavior, but all of which con- for this woman whom he obviously serious repercussions for several stituted an abuse of his position of knew well.” women who not only had been humili- power and authority as a United States His words caught my attention. Was ated, scared or degraded, but also pro- Senator.” he saying that the Times makes every fessionally or financially ruined. Some This was a groundbreaking decision effort to avoid stories involving rape, quit their jobs—uprooting their fami- not only because it recognized sexual sexual harassment, battering or incest? lies or taking lower-paying work—be- misconduct as an ethical issue for sena- Presumably Lelyveld, who did not re- cause of Packwood’s persistent tors, but also because it recognized turn my phone call seeking clarifica- unwelcomed advances. that abuse of power, in a case like this, tion, would respond that that isn’t what Our reporting identified more than could extend beyond women in the he meant and that, of course, the Times 40 women whose lives had been nega- workplace to, for example, conduct does cover those kinds of stories. tively affected by the Senator’s actions. with a hotel worker, a waitress, or a However, some journalists continue Seventeen chose to testify during the babysitter. The committee, whose to be confused about what the real subsequent Senate Select Committee members and staff included high-rank- public issues are when stories involve on Ethics investigation, and several said ing women, also set an historic prece- politicians and abusive sexual behav- they’d been terrified by his advances. dent by making no distinction in grav- ior. Consider two of numerous ex- Some allegations were tantamount to ity among the three abuses of power amples in which journalists say—erro- sexual assault. For the first publicly they charged him with—sexual mis- neously—that high-profile stories known time, the committee consid- conduct, obstructing the investigation involving politicians and sex focused ered sexual misconduct allegations as by altering his diaries (evidence), and on their private lives. In a 1999 New a violation of the Senate’s ethics stan- linking personal financial gain to his Republic article, Peter Beinart referred dards. Although the media repeatedly official position when soliciting jobs to articles about Gary Hart, Clarence referred to Packwood’s behavior as for his wife. (The other two abuses of Thomas, and Bob Packwood as “sexual harassment,” the committee power were uncovered during the “groundbreaking investigations into avoided using such legal terms and Senate’s investigation of the sexual politicians’ personal lives.” Writing in instead made the same distinction we misconduct allegations.) The commit- these pages about Packwood in 1994, made in our Post stories by using the tee voted unanimously to recommend Patrick Yack, then editor of The News broader term “sexual misconduct.” The his expulsion from the Senate. & Record in Greensboro, North Caro- issue was not whether Packwood’s con- Despite this widely publicized, un- lina, noted that “Americans genuinely duct met a legal standard for harass- precedented official articulation of an dislike the notion that the press…is ment or sexual assault (in fact, the ethical standard involving politicians, snooping into the private lives of poli- statute of limitations had passed on the much of the mainstream media, espe- ticians” (my italics in both examples).

Nieman Reports / Spring 2002 71 Women: United States

In concluding his New York Times than a century later. They wrote that But because sex is a highly charged op-ed, Arthur Schlesinger tried to bol- “in varying degrees,” political figures issue, traditionally considered a strictly ster his case by citing the oft-quoted “have renounced the right to live their personal or private subject, even an remark about privacy made by Justice lives screened from public observa- unquestionable “right,” some women Louis D. Brandeis in a 1928 Supreme tion” and assert that the right to privacy believed they risked their careers by Court dissenting opinion. He wrote Americans cherish should not keep the urging mostly male editors to recon- that the creators of the Constitution public from learning information—es- sider conventional definitions of pri- conferred on Americans “the right to pecially about those serving in the po- vate sexual behavior. Several women be let alone—the most comprehensive litical sphere—that is “of public or gen- journalists tell me this continues to be of the rights of man and the right most eral interest.” They thought this usually a challenge in some newsrooms today. valued by civilized men.” should include information that has a ■ But what about “civilized women”? “legitimate relation to or bearing upon Don’t they have a right to be let alone, any act” by an individual “in a public or Florence George Graves, a resident too? quasi public capacity” or that has “a scholar at Brandeis University In an 1890 Harvard Law Review ar- legitimate connection with” a person’s Women’s Studies Research Center ticle, Brandeis (writing before he joined “fitness for a public office” or for “any and the founder of Common Cause the court) and Samuel D. Warren con- public or quasi public position” that a Magazine, broke with Charles E. demned the press for “overstepping in person seeks “or for which he is sug- Shepard (Nieman Fellow 1991) the every direction the obvious bounds of gested.” They fully acknowledged that Senator Bob Packwood sexual mis- propriety and of decency” by publish- many judgments would be somewhat conduct story for The Washington ing “gossip,” such as “details of sexual subjective but necessary. Post. Her research on the public/ relations,” to “satisfy a prurient taste.” Applying their principles depends private dichotomy in politics and in Commentators often cite this passage on your definition of “legitimate.” For- the media has been supported in as they urge journalists to keep their tunately, over time, especially as more part by an Alicia Patterson fellow- notebooks away from public officials’ women have entered journalism, the ship, a Pope Foundation Journalism private lives. definition—like the definition of Award, and a Goldsmith Research But in this article, Brandeis and news—has been evolving and matur- Award from Harvard University’s Warren—who were agonizing then ing. And after hundreds of years of Shorenstein Center on the Press, about the dangers of the newly devel- being irrelevant to society’s evaluation Politics and Public Policy. Some oped camera—actually argue for a very of a politician’s character or compe- portions of this article were pub- broad standard when it comes to re- tence, sexual misconduct gradually has lished in the Radcliffe Quarterly. porting on political people, one that become considered, at a minimum, a continues to make sense now, more relevant factor. [email protected]

An Internet News Service Reports News and Views of Women For Women’s Enews, the challenge is to be able to finance the telling of these stories.

By Rita Henley Jensen

ve Burton takes a bite of her member of Women’s Enews’ advisory Covering stories often missed by fettuccini while she checks her e- board. behemoth commercial news outlets is Email on a gadget she wears on “This is so great,” Burton exclaims precisely why Women’s Enews exists. her belt. She now teaches law at Co- when she sees the day’s Women’s Each morning, Women’s Enews serves lumbia University’s Graduate School Enews story pop up on her tiny screen. up one story to 6,000 e-mail subscrib- of Journalism, and after spending her “I already know what the news is that I ers and on Wednesdays a commentary formative years as deputy general coun- get from everywhere else—the White appears. Updates are made each day to sel for the New York Daily News and House did this, the Congress did that, our Web site (www.womensnews.org), then as CNN’s top lawyer, she admits Rumsfeld thinks this. Women’s Enews which receives 70,000 daily visitors. to being a news junkie. She also is a tells me what I don’t already know.” Not only do e-mail subscribers consis-

72 Nieman Reports / Spring 2002