Marvin Kalb - One Scandalous Story: Clinton, Lewinsky, and Thirteen Days That Tarnished American Journalism

MARVIN KALB

Brooke Koven

THE FREE PRESS A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

ALSO BY MARVIN KALB

The Nixon Memo

Candidates 88 (with Hendrik Hertzberg)

The Last Ambassador (with Bernard Kalb)

In the National Interest (with Ted Koppel)

Kissinger (with Bernard Kalb)

Roots of Involvement (with Elie Abel)

The Volga

Dragon in the Kremlin

Eastern Exposure

MARVIN KALB

ONE
SCANDALOUS
STORY

CLINTON, LEWINSKY, AND
THIRTEEN DAYS THAT TARNISHED
AMERICAN JOURNALISM

THE FREE PRESS

New York London Toronto Sydney Singapore

THE FREE PRESS
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020
2001 Marvin Kalb

Copyright 2001 by Marvin Kalb

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

THE FREE PRESS and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales: 1-800-456-6798 or business@simonandschuster.com

Designed by Brooke Koven

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kalb, Marvin L.

One scandalous story : Clinton, Lewinsky, and thirteen days that tarnished American journalism / Marvin Kalb.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-684-85939-4

1. Clinton, Bill, 1946Relations with journalists.

2. Clinton, Bill, 1946Relations with women.

3. Lewinsky, Monica S. (Monica Samille), 1973.

4. Press and politicsUnited StatesHistory20th century.

5. Mass mediaPolitical aspectsUnited StatesHistory20th century.

6. Journalistic ethicsUnited StatesHistory20th century.

7. Sensationalism in journalismUnited StatesHistory20th century.

8. Privacy, Right ofUnited StatesHistory20th century.

I. Title.

E886.2.K35 2001

973.929092dc21

2001033690

ISBN-13: 978-0-684-85939-2

eISBN-13: 978-1-4391-3630-0

www.SimonandSchuster.com

In memory of William P. Green, a very special father-in-law, who set a model for elegant aging, political and literary engagement, and
a love of family that I try to emulate.

Let me explain my motivation in writing One Scandalous Story and then acknowledge my gratitude to colleagues and family.

After twelve years as director of the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, I wanted to write a book that would answer a number of questions. What had I, a veteran of thirty years as a broadcast journalist, learned about the practice of journalism? What impact had the press had on the fashioning of public policy? How had television affected our politics and politicians? What had I been able to pass on to my students? A number of ideas had been running through my mind, but none seemed quite right. None, that is, until January 21, 1998, when The Washington Post reported that President Clinton had been caught in an affair with a White House intern and that he had urged her to lie about it. Within hours, television pundits were on the air speculating about impeachment.

I had my subject. I decided to focus tightly on thirteen days of Washington coverage: the eight days leading up to the breaking of the story, the day it broke, and the next four days, when journalists focused on the scandal as if nothing else in the world mattered. In this way, through the lens of a breaking story, I could describe the revolutionary changes in contemporary journalism.

The first person I wish to thank is actually an institutionthe Shorenstein Center itself, where students mix with faculty and practitioners to explore the press/politics issues of the day. My successor, Alex Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author, is as excited and enthusiastic about the Center as I have been. Our principal benefactor, Walter Shorenstein, a businessman and friend from San Francisco, has supported the Center with exceptional dedication and concern.

Two of my students were particularly helpful: Kendra Proctor Goldbas, during the early months of the research, and Amy Sullivan, throughout the entire process of researching, writing, and editing the manuscript.

My Washington assistant, Michael Barre, also helped with the research. In addition, he collated and organized the chapters and maintained close liaison with the publisher.

I had two editors. Normally an author gets one; I was lucky. First Paul Golob, who helped shape the outline of the book before leaving for another publishing house. Then Rachel Klayman, who assumed Golobs responsibilities and threw herself into the project, reading the manuscript again and again with meticulous care. She made superb editorial suggestions, most of which I accepted with gratitude. Her assistant, Brian Selfon, was always available and helpful.

Among those who read and edited the manuscript were my brother Bernard Kalb and my friends Harry Schwartz and Andrew Glass. They offered gentle criticism.

My daughter Deborah Kalb, a journalist and writer, took time from her busy schedule to read and edit the manuscript. Her assistance was invaluable, best described as professional candor extended with loving concern.

My daughter Judith Kalb and her husband, Alexander Ogden, both professors of Russian language and literature at the University of South Carolina, provided a constant source of encouragement, advice, and good humor.

Finally, as always, I thank my wife, Madeleine G. Kalb, who is a scholar and writer and, without doubt, the best, toughest editor Ive ever had. After more than forty-three years and ten books, I have learned to adapt to the sharpness of her pen and appreciate the clarity of her mind. We have had our editorial differences, but I find that she has always been right.

ONE
SCANDALOUS
STORY

IT IS NOW ACCEPTED HISTORY THAT KENNEDY JUMPED CASUALLY FROM BED TO BED WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF WOMEN. IT WAS NOT ACCEPTED HISTORY THENDURING THE FIVE YEARS THAT I KNEW HIM.

Ben Bradlee, A Good Life

Late September in New York is a traffic and protocol nightmare. From all over the world, presidents and prime ministers, accompanied by foreign ministers and their many minions, arrive for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. Their limousines crisscross mid-Manhattan, adding to the usual, suffocating traffic. Aided by the FBI, the police provide the necessary protection. They are everywhere, standing in front of UN missions or sitting on horseback or in patrol cars looking at the passing parade for anyone or anything even slightly suspicious. Often, in triangular squadrons of motorcycles, they escort the VIPs from one corner of central Manhattan to another. Its an urban symphony of horns, sirens, and shrieking tires that, no matter the time of day, never seems to lose its urgency. The worst bottleneck, of course, is always near the United Nations, where cabs join the battle for every inch of maneuverable space. Its really quite a sight.