Peepshow

Sabato, Stencel, and Lichter aren't calling for a return to a bewigged, courtly gentility that never quite existed anyway. They well understand the demands placed upon editors and reporters anxious not to be scooped by the competition, as well as the greater fecundity of information tidbits expected in modern times by the reading and viewing public. Instead, they would have us all—especially professional journalists and all who inform or form opinion—step back and reflect upon the effects, political and otherwise, of recent spates of systematic scandal journalism, and in so doing they offer ways to raise editorial standards, increase journalistic credibility, and provide reasonable protections to those who seek public office. * The Weekly Standard *
Treading carefully through complex terrain, Stencel, Lichter and Sabato manage to illuminate workable guidelines for navigating the line betwen public and private. * Publishers Weekly *
At a time when people are becoming more skeptical of a brand of journalism that focuses on the personal lives of those in public service—sometimes at the expense of substantive debate—the authors of Peepshow have done a great service by outlining the new journalistic rules. Acknowledging that personal character is important in politics as in other fields, they make clear what’s at stake in the emerging debate about where to draw the lines. -- Senator Paul Wellstone
Peepshow is a fascinating study of the ever-changing boundaries separating public life from private—a remarkably useful reminder to the press of right and wrong in their profession. -- Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
The authors’ proposed ‘fairness doctrine’ is a considerable contribution to the debate over how the media should cover candidates’ sexual, medical, legal, and financial histories. There isn’t a newsroom in America that couldn’t benefit from the authors’ wisdom. -- Stephen Hess, The Brookings Institution
More than a peep at the show of politics, Peepshow is a serious study of how scandal coverage has corrupted political coverage. The authors deserve credit for criticizing not just the journalists, but the candidates and voters too for degrading our politics. -- Marvin Kalb, Harvard professor emeritus; now senior adviser to Pulitzer Center; former network correspondent
Three of America's best political analysts have brilliantly tackled a grisly truth: sex and scandal have been institutionalized in American politics, with 'oppo' researchers digging not just through an adversary's old speeches and voting records, but divorce papers and the garbage. A must-read (and weep). -- Morton Kondracke, Roll Call
An insightful, troubling, and—for a journalist—embarassing account of the impact on American public life of the news media’s propensity to personalize and attack in covering politics. The authors lay down prudent guidelines that should be must-reading in every newsroom. -- Robert Novak, CNN's "Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields"
In lucid, illuminating prose that invites the reader to breeze through the entertaining book in one sitting (a book of this nature could easily be overly pedantic), the authors provide context to the recent sea change in media attitudes. . . . Too many of the recent quickie books in the post-Monica era have been either cobbled-together accounts of the sequence of events or ideological rants from Clinton haters or apologists. University of Virginia professor Sabato, Washingtonpost.com scribe Stencel, and Center for Media and Public Affairs president Lichter offer a bias-free analysis that is insightful and a sheer pleasure to read. Considering the public fatigue with the subject matter, the authors' achievement in this regard cannot be underestimated. * The Hotline, (National Journal) *
Warnings well worth heeding! * Indianapolis Star *
The book is an easy read, and the authors' premise is straightforward, humane and control-sensical. Their guidelines are worthy goals to consider. * The Dallas Morning News *
We are now all well acquainted with the fallout of scandal-driven political journalism, but most of us have little sense of where it comes from, and even less of a notion of what to do about it. In Peepshow, Sabato and Lichter—two leading critics of media conduct in the political science academy—have teamed with Mark Stencel, politics editor for Washingtonpost.com, to pull back the curtain on the machinery of scandal, stressing the central role of campaign operatives in slinging the muck of 'character'.
The book offers several practical guidelines to aid journalists in deciding when personal failings deserve a public airing. * Press/Politics *
Peepshow should be applauded for its accessible examination of the editorial decisions behind news stories on the private lives of politicians between 1996 and 2000. * Political Communication *