Political Scandal: Power and Visibility in the Media Age (review)

Political Scandal: Power and Visibility in the Media Age. By John B. Thompson. Polity Press. 2000. 324 pp. Cloth, $57.95; paper, $24.95.

This book has a lot to say about mediated political scandals — including their roots and consequences in liberal democratic societies — and its author says it very, very well. John B. Thompson takes us on a highly illuminating journey through media, political, and cultural history, which provides a map for understanding why we are living in an age of scandal stories, and what this means for our relationships with our political leaders and systems of government. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for its several audiences: scholars, their graduate and undergraduate students, and a wider readership interested in political and social issues.

Even above the marvelous insights Thompson provides in this work, perhaps what is to be most appreciated is the way the author lets the story of today's scandal reporting unfold. Thompson begins by developing a definition of his subject that is richer than what has come before, placing "political scandal" in the zone of moral transgression, which must be named misconduct by some interested party, which then must be commented upon with some level of opprobrium, and which at least risks damaging the reputation of the alleged transgressor. This working definition proves useful for the author's next foray, which is to trace the meteoric rise of political scandal since the nineteenth century and to distinguish the differences between scandals that took place in more local settings in the past and those that occur in the despatialized and synchronized world of today's mass media. Careful not to give the impression that scandal was born anew in the last 200 years, the author nonetheless provides compelling evidence that its presence has been felt far more acutely in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries than in times past, due to transformations in political culture (increased visibility and "intimacy" of political leaders), media culture (the fragmentation and professionalization of the industry), and technological innovation (print, radio, television, and now the Internet). Thompson treats each of these areas with care, privileging none as causally more important than the others but, rather, looking at their profound interdependence in creating the conditions we live in now.

If Thompson had limited the book to a discussion of the conditions that combined to create this world of mediated scandal, readers would have had sufficient reason to be satisfied. But the author does much more. One of the most impressive contributions Thompson makes is to describe what it feels like to be a citizen in this age of political scandal and to investigate how this experience contributes to current political culture. Thompson argues that since midcentury, political parties have lost their strong class affiliation and that candidates now must compete more vigorously for voter loyalty — that is, they cannot assume support based on their left-right positions. Combine this competition with (1) voter concern that the world has become increasingly complex, with decreasingly simple answers, while at the same time throwing in (2) increased visibility of candidates' private lives, due to changing media practices and communication technology, and we now have political races built on candidates' character. We vote for candidates we can trust — less because they have a firm grasp on issues or policies, and more because we like them as people and think they have integrity. And so scandal ultimately begets a politics of trust or mistrust — with the consequences we are enduring now.

Thompson ends his book with a set of "modest interventions" that might be implemented to alter the landscape of political scandal. Rightly shying away from activities that repress freedoms, the author recommends three partial correctives that systems of government might make to minimize the opportunity for scandal and two sets of behaviors that media might consider. He suggests that governments become more open and accountable, that they establish clear standards of conduct for public officials...