LJX998M15– MA Thesis Journalism
Mark Kranjc
s2445727
Crack, Lies, and Videotape: An analysis of the Rob Ford scandal in Canadian newspapers
Date Submitted: April 22, 2015
Submitted to: Chris Peters, Todd Graham
Abstract
The Rob Ford crack scandal turned Canada’s largest city into a circus. It lasted for more than a year and became a sustained international phenomenon, a rare feat for a Canadian news story. Scandal research, led by John Thompson (2000) established that most scandals involve sex, money, or the abuse of power. Substance abuse scandals, however, are rare in the field of mediated scandal research. This thesis uses qualitative grounded theory methods in order to research how the Rob Ford scandal was constructed in Canadian newspapers, and how these media drove, changed, or maintained the scandal over time. Its findings show that the different newspaper outlets had similar narrative shifts over time, allowing for amplification of the scandal. Ford aided in this amplification process through a repeated pattern of misbehaviour, allowing the scandal to be maintained in the news cycle. The analysis illustrates that substance abuse scandals should be considered a fourth major type of scandal and a fifth stage of the scandal, the background stage, should be considered relevant as well, as it provides context to the media narratives surrounding the subject of a scandal.
Keywords: scandal, Thompson, grounded theory, Rob Ford, Canada, substance abuse
Table of Contents
Section Page
Abstract 1
Table of Contents 2
List of Figures 4
1. Introduction
5
2. Literature review
2.1: What is Scandal? 12
2.2: The Elements: Necessary Conditions for a Scandal 15
2.3: Déjà vu: The Steps of a Scandal 19
2.4: Uh-Oh: The Effects of Scandal 21
2.5: Alpha and Omega: The Role of Media and Journalists in Scandal 25 2.6: A Perfect Storm: The Rise of Mediated Scandal 28
3. Methodology
3.1: The Five Phases of the Ford Scandal 36
3.2: Sample 40
3.3: Grounded Theory 43
3.4: Coding 45
3.5: Rob Ford Dataset: Variables and Stages of Analysis 47
3.6: Limitations 50
4. Findings
4.1: Uniform Frames and Personas 53
4.2: An Ally in the Sun 59
4.3: The Media Driver 67
5. Analysis
5.1: Elements of a Scandal Satisfied by Ford 74
5.2: The Role of the Media 79
5.3: The Progression of the Scandal 82
6. Conclusion 86
7. Works Cited 89
8. Appendix
Appendix I: Coding scheme, Memo, Coded Article 100
Appendix II: Codebooks 128
List of Figures
Figure Title Page
3.1
The five stages of the Rob Ford scandal 38
3.2
The Rob Ford scandal newspaper sample 42
4.1
Primary frames in the pre-scandal stage 55
4.2
Primary frames in the scandal proper stage 55
4.3
Primary frames in the culmination stage 55
4.4
Top personas in the scandal proper stage 57
4.5
Top personas in the culmination stage 57
4.6
Political casualty frame 60
4.7
Political casualty persona 60
4.8
Toronto Sun tone 63
4.9
Toronto Star tone 63
4.10
Back-region behaviour in the culmination stage 66
4.11
Toronto Sun’s use of sources 69
4.12
Percentage of editorials 69
4.13
How Toronto Sun primary sources discussed Rob Ford 70
4.14How Toronto Star primary sources discussed Rob Ford 70
4.15The influence of time in the Toronto Sun 71
4.16The influence of time in the Toronto Star 71
Chapter 1: Introduction
It’s not often that a news story emerging from Canada gains traction internationally.
However, in 2013, a Canadian political scandal broke that quickly became a global phenomenon. The coverage of the Rob Ford scandal, in which the mayor of Toronto admitted to smoking crack cocaine while in office, spread far beyond Canada’s borders.
Reports of Mayor Ford’s behaviour originated in Canadian media outlets, but thanks to the instantaneous and global reach of the Internet, it spread the world over. The 24-hour news outlets in the US, the BBC, television and newspaper outlets throughout the world, late night comedy shows like the Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Tonight Show,
Letterman, and even Saturday Night Live reported on or skewered the sitting mayor ofCanada’s largest city (Shah 2013, Kennedy 2013, Ryan 2013). The scandal even became a Jeopardy clue. The level of coverage from global media outlets was unheard of for any Canadian event, let alone a political scandal (Panetta 2013).
Before the scandal had erupted, Rob Ford had been a controversial figure in the
city of Toronto. In 2006, he was accused of public drunkenness at a sporting event, a
charge he initially denied before confessing. During the 2010 mayoral election, the press
uncovered a drunk driving conviction in the United States that had occurred a decade
previous. Once more, Ford denied the allegation before admitting to it. In 2012, a
provincial judge ordered his removal from the mayor’s office over a conflict of interest,
and Ford only maintained hold of his position after the appeals process. Mayor Ford also
had a testy relationship with the Canadian media before the outbreak of his crack scandal
(CBC News, 2 May 2012; CBC News 26 May 2013; Stead 2013). While it is
commonplace for critical media and politicians to clash, the initial allegations by Gawker
and the Toronto Star in May 2013 escalated a back-and-forth sparring that has not subsided at the time of writing.
1The rumour stage of the scandal began on May 16, 2013. The website Gawker and the Toronto Star both published reports that a Toronto resident was trying to sell a video of Mayor Ford smoking crack (Cook 2013, Doolittle & Donovan 2013). The authors of both articles claimed to have seen the video, and published a still image from the tape. The next day, Rob Ford called the rumours “ridiculous” as the press confronted him outside his home (CBC News, 17 May 2013). His first official public appearance was a week later when he held a press conference to deny both the use of crack cocaine and the existence of the alleged videotape (Church 2013). The rest of the summer saw denials from the mayor and police raids involving the men who had tried to sell the tape.
Details of the police raids slowly began to emerge and on October 31, Chief Bill Blair revealed that the Toronto Police were in possession of a tape that allegedly showed the mayor smoking crack. International coverage of the scandal soared and, five days later, Ford finally admitted to smoking crack.
The following month was a media circus, as the scandal proper began. The
Toronto Star purchased and published new videos of the mayor drunk and ranting. Otherorganizations printed rumours of previous incidents of public intoxication and drunk driving. Ford made lewd comments in regards to female staffers on morning television and the Toronto city council voted to strip him of all power as mayor. Through it all, the
1The time range of this thesis is until October 28, 2014, the day following the Toronto mayoral election.
mayor managed to launch his re-election campaign and squeeze in a two-month stint in rehab.
What makes this scandal interesting from a scholarly perspective is that it did not fit into the traditional “Big Three” political scandals established by John Thompson (2000) in his foundational work on the topic. These are sex scandals, financial scandals (including bribery), and power scandals (abuse of power, corruption). Most political scandals fall somewhere within those three categories. However, Ford’s scandal involved substance abuse, specifically alcohol and crack cocaine. It also played out over the course of 17 months. There is very little academic study devoted to the coverage, progression, and consequences of a scandal of this nature. It is unique in its character and certainly worthwhile to analyze, in order to compare and contrast with previous sex, financial, and power scandals. In an age of digital media, the private lives of notable celebrities and politicians are increasingly more exposed, so scandals involving substance abuse are likely to continue. In addition, most political scandals involve ethics violations, as in the case of financial and power scandals, or morality, as in the case of sex scandals.
Substance abuse scandals are separate from this, as they involve the politician’s competence to perform their duties as an elected official. It is a type of scandal that is different from often studied Big Three.
Moreover, Canadian political scandals that warrant this degree of coverage are
seldom. They are often smaller in scope, hardly sensational, and rarely given such a
sustained attention from reporters and commentators at home, let alone abroad. To pass
up such a large pool of data to analyze would do a disservice to the academic study of
Canadian media.
This research paper is devoted to contributing to the study of scandal in Canadian media studies. It aims to investigate how Rob Ford and his unique crack-smoking scandal were constructed in Canadian newspapers using a qualitative content analysis to reveal how these media drove, changed or maintained the scandal over time. Through its findings, this thesis illustrates that the different newspaper outlets had similar narrative shifts over time, allowing for amplification of the scandal. Ford aided in this amplification process through a repeated pattern of misbehaviour, allowing the scandal to be maintained in the news cycle and impossible to ignore. More broadly, it argues that a mainstream media ally, which constantly presents an alternative narrative, can aid a politician in the survival of a substance abuse scandal. In this respect, this research project adds to the scholarly literature and debate on scandal, particularly substance abuse scandal, by showing that they satisfy the previously-established definitions, ritualistic stages, and characteristics of a mediated scandal.
The following chapters outline a theoretical framework based on previous
academic literature devoted to scandal, specifically mediated political scandal. The first
chapter looks at the evolution of the term scandal and arrives at a working definition of
the mediated political scandal. ‘Scandal’ refers to actions or events involving
transgressions which become known to others and are serious enough to elicit a public
response (Thompson 2000, p. 13). The next section of this chapter establishes the
required conditions for an event to be considered a scandal. The most important element
is a process of ‘making public’ (Thompson 2000), since only extensive mediatisation can
cause an event to evolve into a scandal. The third section of the literature review outlines
the steps of a scandal. Mediated scandals have distinct and observable steps that routinely
occur. Thompson (2000) defined them as the pre-scandal or rumour phase, the phase of scandal proper, the culmination, and the aftermath (p. 73). While scandals do increase the probability of exit for the incumbent (Basinger 2012), the likelihood of public outrage often depends on the political context at the time of the scandal. (Zaller 1998, Lawrence
& Bennett 2001). If the politician is mired in a scandal during prosperous times, or has stuck to an economically sound platform in spite of the scandal, the public is more willing to forgive the transgression. Scandal cannot occur without the help of media and journalists, so the next section of the literature review is devoted to the specific role of media and journalists in a scandal. The media is the most frequent initiator of scandal and media amplification is the central role of the news media in a scandal (Thompson 2000).
The final section looks at the reasons for the rise in mediated scandals. Advances in technology is one of the more significant drivers, and it has led to a greater visibility for politicians and opened up multiple axes of power (Williams & Delli Carpini 2000, Liebes
& Blum-Kulka 2004). As well, the Internet has opened up a space for bloggers to ignite a scandal.
Understanding how the Ford scandal develops over time demands
operationalizing its phases and seeing the progression within each phase. This is done in
Chapter 3, which outline the research design and methodological approach taken in this
thesis. Specifically, it uses qualitative grounded theory in order to determine how the Rob
Ford scandal was constructed in Canadian newspapers, and how these media drove,
changed, or maintained the scandal over time. Qualitative analysis of the texts was
chosen to understand their deeper meanings and likely interpretations by audiences,
which is the ultimate goal of analyzing media content (Macnamara 2005, p. 5). The
Toronto Star, the Toronto Sun, and the Globe and Mail were the three newspapers chosen
for the research design, as they have high circulation within Canada and cover a range of editorial positions. The idea of political scandal was operationalized methodologically by breaking it down into five phases – background phase, pre-scandal phase, scandal proper phase, culmination phase, and aftermath phase. Variables such as frame, sources used, influence of time, and tone were analyzed within each phase in order to determine how the coverage of the Rob Ford changed over the course of the scandal.
Chapter 4, discusses the results of the data analysis and highlights meaningful patterns in particular codes for each newspaper over the course of the five scandal phases.
It found that shifts in the top primary frames and crafted personas of Ford over the three most significant stages of the scandal show that homogeneity did exist in the scandal narrative, which was primarily negative towards the mayor, and was consistent across the three newspapers. This is media amplification, which drove the scandal and kept it alive for more than a year. Through his repeating behaviour, Ford himself was an active driver of the scandal, along with the media. There is variation in coverage from one outlet, the
Toronto Sun, which actively produced an alternative and more complimentary scandalnarrative for Rob Ford. Their coverage highlighted the value of a mainstream media ally in surviving a scandal.
The next chapter, Analysis, relates the above results into the theoretical framework established in Chapter 2. Substance abuse scandal satisfies the previously- established definitions, characteristics, and ritualistic stages of a mediated scandal (Thompson 2000, Jacobsson & Lofmarck 2008, Ehrat 2011, Kantola and Vesa 2013).
That is to say, it is also a media-driven collective outrage that tests the moral boundaries
of a society. In this case, it revealed Canada to be forgiving of substance abuse, but extremely critical of lying about it. While technology allowed a non-mainstream source to break the scandal, it would not have survived without mainstream media reporting on the scandal events daily. The media is crucial to driving and proliferating scandals.
Technology has broken down barriers of entry for a scandal to emerge in the rumour stage, but the proliferation of a scandal still relies on mainstream media.
Substance abuse scandals should be considered a fourth major type of scandal, as
Ford’s scandal satisfies the previously-established definitions and characteristics of a
mediated scandal, and due to developments in technology, should be expected to increase
in the future. A fifth stage of the scandal should be considered relevant as well. This is
the background stage, which provides context to the media narratives surrounding the
subject of a scandal.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 - What is scandal?
In order to successfully discuss the literature surrounding the characteristics, consequences and rise of mediated political scandal, we must first take a step back and establish a working definition for scandal, specifically within the context of media studies.
The word scandal originates from the Indo-Germanic root skand-, which means to spring or leap (Thompson 2000, Ehrat 2011). This term evolved into the early Greek term
skandalon, which refers to an obstacle (Thompson 2000), trap or snare for the enemy(Poiana 2010) or ‘cause of moral stumbling’ (Kantola and Vesa 2013). This derivation, which is retained in the Greek version of the Bible and refers to scandal as a stumbling block (Poiana 2010), is more analogous to the contemporary understanding of scandal.
Thompson (2000) notes that it wasn’t until the sixteenth century that the word ‘scandal’
first appeared in the English language (p. 12). By then it had grown to refer to a
“transgression of moral codes” which didn’t necessarily have to be religious (Thompson 2000, p. 13). This is the current understanding of the term scandal: a form of moral transgression (Thompson 2000). Scandal occurs when someone does something morally wrong.
In order to discuss scandal in the context of media studies, we must look at the
definitions offered by leading scholars in the field. Once more, John Thompson (2000) is
a strong place to begin. Thompson’s definition, which other scholars have since built
upon, classifies scandal as “actions or events involving certain kinds of transgressions
which become known to others and are sufficiently serious to elicit a public response” (p.
13). Scandal is the result of the disclosure of an act of wrongdoing (Nyhan 2014), but this wrongdoing is more than a mere verbal gaffe (Ekstrom and Johansson 2006). Rather, it is some act that causes a “collective outburst of outrage” (Jacobsson & Lofmarck 2008, p.
213) or “universal indignation” (Esser & Hartung 2004, p. 1041). For an action or event to transform into a scandal, a particular threshold of offensiveness has to be met, and it has to offend enough people. Jacobsson & Lofmarck (2008) argue that this public reaction is “a sanction against the transgression” (p. 213).
A scandal occurs when enough people are outraged by some action or event, and this can occur through word-of-mouth on a scale as small as a community or, arguably, a family unit. It follows then that a media scandal will almost certainly reach more people.
Lull & Hinerman (1997) state that media scandals occur when disgraceful or offensive private acts are made public and narrativized by the media. Ehrat (2011) takes this distinction further, by noting that media narrativization of an act is constructed to spawn public outrage. The moral outrage produced by scandal is a result of the media’s selective reportage of the offensive act. Moreover, this public outrage is also a construction of the media (Ehrat 2011, p. 5). Due to the central role of media in producing public outrage, or at least the image of public outrage, Waisbord (1994) argues that scandals need to be treated, above all, as news events and media stories.
A key component of the definition of scandal is that it involves a breach of moral
norms in society. The outrage that emerges from coverage of a scandal is due to a “moral
order that is temporarily disrupted” (Jacobsson and Lofmarck 2008, p. 205). Scandals
then reveal the moral boundaries of a society. Kantola and Vesa (2013) contend that
scandals “serve as a test of society’s moral orders” (p. 296), and can be seen as a “litmus test of societal morality” (p. 304). In this respect, the coverage of the Rob Ford scandal in Canadian newspapers can be seen as indicative of the social attitudes of Canadians towards drug and alcohol use (and abuse).
Scandals can serve to strengthen (Cottle 2006) or negotiate (Kantola and Vesa 2013) moral boundaries of a society. The public will either react negatively to reaffirm the limits of morality, or a scandal will open up a dialogue which will see progress made and perhaps moral boundaries will shift. In their study of Finnish media scandals, Kantola and Vesa (2013) find that as Finnish society has become more liberal-minded, their moral codes for elites have become stricter. They reference the fact that alcohol abuse and drunk driving by politicians, which was considered a mild offense in the 1960s and 1970s, is now grounds for resignation. Mediated scandals allow a society to discuss and alter their definitions of morality.
When discussing mediated political scandals, the “Big Three” are often invoked.
Established by John Thompson (2000), these are the three categories of scandal that are most often documented in the media. They are power scandals, financial scandals and sex scandals. Power scandals, as the title indicates, involve an official’s abuse of power associated with their position. Financial scandals, such as bribery or kickbacks, “reflect negatively on the official’s honesty and fairness, as well as their ability to fulfill their democratic role as an elected official” (York 2014, p. 16). Finally, sex scandals involve a breach of moral norms, though not necessarily a violation of legal standards (York 2014).
Rob Ford’s scandal despite being a breach of legal norms, as smoking crack is considered
illegal in Canada, is in this sense not an abuse of power or a corrupt act, but more a breach of moral norms.
Going beyond Thompson’s three categories, a final category of scandal, which is certainly more applicable to Rob Ford, is the talk scandal. Ekstrom and Johansson (2006) define a talk scandal as a type of scandal where the risk of legal consequence is “virtually nonexistent” (p. 6). It occurs when, in defense of an original scandalous revelation, a person creates a separate scandal that revolves around what they said. A controversial choice of words is the gasoline that ignites the scandal. This is observable in the newspaper coverage of Rob Ford, as his scandal maintained momentum throughout 2013 as a result of his denials, justifications, and attacks on the media.
Now that we have established a working definition of scandal, the next step is to look at the necessary conditions that have to be satisfied in order for an event to be considered a scandal.
2.2 – The Elements: Necessary conditions for a scandal
What conditions need to be met before something can be called a scandal? There are several elements that contribute to an act or event being considered a scandal.
Amongst these, we could consider: how much it’s believed by the public, how
understandable and significant the public believes an event to be, the context surrounding
the parties involved, and most importantly the level of media amplification given to an
issue.
The media does not need evidence to create a scandal. Even in the digital age, scandals are not triggered by visual evidence any more than they were pre-Internet (Anden-Papadopoulos & Widestedt 2006). The online adage “pictures or it didn’t happen” highlights how sceptical Internet users have become. However, with scandals, a lack of evidence is overlooked; a scandal will still emerge. In fact, Nyhan (2014) notes that evidence plays a “relatively weak role” in scandal (p. 5). Waisbord (2004) furthers this argument by stating that legal proof is not necessary for a scandal, only the allegation of wrongdoing. This is why tabloids, TV talking heads, or blogs can ignite a scandal; they don’t need actual proof to set it off. As Johannes Ehrat (2011) says, “Scandals are not true or false, they just function or not” (p. 20).
In the absence of proof or physical evidence, a scandal claim cannot be too outlandish. Thompson (2000) says that to become a scandal, an action or event must be
“strongly and plausibly believed by others to exist” (p. 18). A preposterous scandal claim will not be believed and it will not emerge into a scandal. As well, scandalous events need to hit the sweet-spot of public interest. It cannot be too high-order, nor too banal (Anden-Papadopoulos & Widestedt 2006). This is why Tomlinson (1997) argues that the success of scandals depends on them being “middle-order moral events” (p. 69), or an act the public can easily wrap its head around. If the scandalous action is too complicated or boring, the public will lose interest. A sex scandal, for example, is easy to comprehend and often contains enough salacious details to maintain public interest.
Finally, Waisbord (2004) argues that “scandals require the publicity of
information that contradicts widely held ideas about individuals (p. 1090). When elected
officials are caught stealing or pro-family politicians are caught cheating, this activates
public interest in the details of the scandal. Perhaps this is why international audiences were so intrigued by the story about Rob Ford. It contradicts many stereotypes about Canadians, who are often perceived as well-behaved, polite, and unassuming (CBC News 1/11/13). In addition, this was not the mayor of some small town in the Yukon, but rather the elected leader of one of North America’s largest cities. The contrast between the world’s previous perception of Canadians and the scandalous allegations contributed to the interest and momentum of this scandal, at least in the initial stages.
Apart from the juiciness of a scandal, context is another factor that determines whether or not an allegation will evolve into a full-blown scandal. In his 2014 study, Nyhan found that scandals are more prone to erupt in the press when the political and news environment is unfavourable, and that under favourable conditions “even well- supported allegations can languish” (p. 2). As the hostility of a politician’s opposition base increases, so too does the likelihood of scandal (Nyhan 2014). Rob Ford had clashed with the media and his opposition base several times before allegations of his drug use emerged, easily meeting this criteria (CBC May 2013, Stead 2013).
The most important element of a scandal is the amplification of the scandal by the
media. A scandal is not simply an act that is disclosed, but something that is reported,
staged, and kept alive day after day (Ekstrom and Johansson 2006, p. 17-18). Without
this, a scandal will disappear quickly. Waisbord (2004) argues that “media inattention is
tantamount to symbolic annihilation” (p. 1079). Media images bring scandals into being
and when they are buried or ignored, the scandal can be considered over (Waisbord
2004). Even if the courts are pursuing the allegations, if the press is ignoring a scandal, so
too will the public. This is why media amplification is so crucial to the lifespan of a scandal. Thompson (2000) describes this process of media amplification:
The headlines in newspapers, the articulation of negative judgments in the press, the scathing and sometimes humiliating caricatures of the individuals whose actions (actual or alleged) are the object of reproach: it is the repeated expression of these mediated acts of communication which generates the climate of disapproval characteristic of mediated scandals. (p. 67)
All of these elements of media coverage combine to breathe life into the scandal and keep it in the public discourse. A scandal is finished when it is no longer front-page news and images of the scandal become less frequent in the press (Waisbord 2004).
Lastly, an interesting theory in the literature devoted to scandal involves the argument that the type of government in a country will influence its ability to experience a scandal. In their 1989 book, The Politics of Scandal: Power and Process in Liberal
Democracies, Markovits and Silverstein claimed that political scandals can only occur inliberal democracies. Their assumption was that authoritarian regimes would have too much control over the information that the press receives and publishes and could swiftly squash any emerging scandal. Tumber and Waisbord (2004) agree with this argument, saying that “the presence of a press that maintains some autonomy from government is required for scandals” (p. 1443-4). As do Esser and Hartung (2004), who say that scandal is “possible only in open and democratic societies with a free press” (p. 1048). However, there has been evidence that contradicts this claim. In his analysis of contemporary political scandals in Russia, Toepfl (2011) found that political scandals originating on the Internet can be picked up by traditional mass media and become large media scandals.
This study showed that scandals can also emerge in semi-authoritarian environments, not
just liberal democracies. Thompson (2000) perhaps sums this dispute the best when he
says that democracy is not necessarily a requirement, but there is a “discernable affinity”
between political scandals and liberal democracy (p. 94).
Scandal has distinct characteristics, but it also has ritualistic steps that can be observed over time. The next section of this literature review outlines the stages of a scandal.
2.3 – Déjà vu: The Steps of a Scandal
We have defined the mediated scandal and looked at the elements that need to be satisfied in order for a scandal to occur. The next logical step is to look at the ritualistic steps of a scandal. Not all scandals will include every step. Though analysis of several different scandals in several different contexts has shown that most do. A mediated scandal is more than an event or transgression, it is a ritual; a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. The outbreak of one scandal can give rise to secondary scandals, mainly when reports of the original indiscretion endure in the media.
The argument that scandal is ritual is one of the most common in academic literature (Thompson 2000, Cottle 2006, Jacobsson & Lofmarck 2008). Like any ritual, scandals have a “predictable pattern of behaviour” (Jacobsson & Lofmarck 2008, p. 207).
The four main stages of a scandal, as established by Thompson (2000) are the pre-scandal phase, the phase of the scandal proper, the culmination, and the aftermath.
The first stage in a scandal, the pre-scandal stage, is the rumour stage. This is
when a story is discussed at the level of gossip. Allegations in the tabloid press, Twitter,
or a blog can set this phase in motion. If the media picks up these rumours, even if it is
presented as an unconfirmed report, it becomes difficult to stop a scandal from breaking out (Thompson 2000). The scandal proper does not begin when the legal or moral transgression occurs, but rather when the information about that act becomes disseminated publicly (Thompson 2000, Waisbord 2004). If the reports surrounding this transgression become impossible for the accused party to ignore, “they may feel obliged to respond publically, either by explicitly denying the rumours … or by adopting some other strategy of defence” (Thompson 2000, p. 28). When the accused acknowledges the existence of the media-driven rumour, it begins the scandal proper phase.
The scandal will spread quickly. “The significance of an event is amplified by virtue of the fact that it is picked up by other organizations (and by other media), and thereby given greater prominence and visibility in the public domain” (Thompson 2000, p. 84). Thompson calls this a “hall of mirrors”, where every discussion and movement of the scandal is reported in the media in multiple forms (p. 84) and coverage of a scandal can “easily spin out of control” (p. 70). The media has something to report on, they will not let the story disappear, and the public is reminded of the watchdog role of the press.
Jacobsson & Lofmarck (2008) say that this process reminds society of the media’s underlying system of values and norms.
Once the reports of a transgression are extensively reported by the mainstream
media, the accused has only a handful of options. This is the culmination stage of the
scandal. He or she can admit wrongdoing and ask for forgiveness, deny everything, or try
to justify the action (Esser & Hartung 2004). However, Esser & Hartung (2004) find that
denials and justifications can “bear risk” (p. 1045). They say that it almost always
inspires journalists to do more research, which can lead to an entirely new scandal,
centred around the denial or justification of the original. Thompson (2000) refers to this as a “second-order transgression”. The media focuses on whether the defence was true or not (Esser and Hartung 2004) and attention is shifted from the original offence to any actions which were aimed at concealing the offence (Thompson 2000). Thompson (2000) wisely states that “scandal breeds scandal” (p. 113), precisely because denials intensify media efforts to uncover wrongdoing.
A second-order scandal was observable in the Rob Ford coverage. Even when he admitted to smoking crack cocaine, he justified his previous denials by stating that the media “didn’t ask the correct questions” and claiming that he was not an addict (Mahoney 2013). There was observable coverage surrounding his denials as newsworthy
‘scandalous’ incidents, comparable even to the act of smoking crack cocaine itself.
The final stage of a scandal, the aftermath, can be considered a reflection phase. It can only occur when the scandal has died down and journalists, politicians, and principal actors in the scandal engage in reflection through the media (Thompson 2000). This may occur through retrospective interviews, memoirs, and even films about the scandal.
The steps of the ritualised scandal end with the aftermath stage. It is to the significance of this stage, where the effects of a scandal on the parties involved is revealed, that we now turn.
2.4 – Uh-Oh: The Effects of Scandal
Scandal does not always lead to the downfall of a politician. While there are many
instances of this happening, research into mediated scandal has uncovered some
additional effects of a political scandal. While scandal does increase the likelihood that a politician will be ousted at the next election or earlier, social and political context at the time of the scandal has significant influence as well.
The most common assumption is that scandal can lead to the end of political careers, at least for a period of time. This trend is observable to anyone who reads the news, just ask Anthony Weiner,
2but it is not always a given. In his study of U.S.
Congressional scandals, Basinger (2012) found that scandals increase the probability of an incumbent’s exit. York (2014) similarly found that the more a scandal was mentioned in the press, the higher the probability of a House member’s electoral defeat. Scandal might not guarantee the end of a political career, but it can be argued that it acts as a catalyst.
The type of scandal has an influence on how willing a candidate may be to resign.
Politicians will resign more frequently when accused of sex scandals, compared to financial scandals, due to the fact that sex scandals receive more coverage in the press and the accused would rather resign than face the media spotlight (York 2014, p. 18).
There is has been little study towards the effects of substance abuse on an incumbent’s chances for survival. This is either due to sex, money and power acting as greater temptations, or fewer politicians allowing themselves to be filmed engaging in heavy drug use, such as smoking crack. Kantola & Vesa (2013) found that Finnish society is less accepting of “heavy drinking”, compared to the past (p. 304) and that alcohol abuse is more likely to end a political career in the new millennium. The limited frequency of
2Weiner was a U.S. Congressman for twelve years before resigning after a 2011 “sexting”
scandal. Two years later he ran for mayor of New York City, again became caught in a scandal over sexting, and lost in a primary.
scandal around drug and alcohol abuse made Rob Ford’s re-election campaign all the more interesting to follow because it can provide insight into a politician’s chances of survival, or willingness to resign, during a substance abuse scandal.
At times, it may seem that politicians continue to follow the same patterns of behaviour that lead to a scandal. This is because scandals don’t necessarily change the political culture. Esser & Hartung (2004) looked at political scandal in Germany and found that none of them resulted in any “profound changes in the political culture” (p.
1056). Their results found that the impact of scandals is “incremental at best” (p. 1056).
Unless this changes, politicians are destined to continue getting mired in scandal, giving researchers more instances to analyze.
Much like context determines whether or not a scandal is believed in the rumour stage, it also plays a role in the effects of scandal on politicians. In his analysis of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, Zaller (1998) found that “peace, prosperity, and moderation”
very heavily influence support for a President involved in scandal (p. 186). Lawrence &
Bennett (2001) similarly found that public support for a U.S. President in a scandal relied
more on heuristics like the state of the economy than media coverage (p. 425). Media
coverage of a scandal will not ensure a politician’s demise, if that politician has found
success, especially economic success. “Even when … public opinion is initially
responsive to reports of scandal, the public’s concern with actual political achievement
reasserts itself” (Zaller 1998, p. 182). This can help explain why, as of August 2014, Rob
Ford was polling only 3% behind the front-runner in his re-election bid (Hudes 2014). In
spite of his abuse issues, he is viewed by his supporters as an economically responsible
mayor who has helped cut the fat from of the city of Toronto’s budget (Mayer 2013).
This shows that scandalous behaviour can still be trumped by political achievement.
Political successes aside, mediated scandals have an overall negative effect on the strength of democracy. Maier (2010) found that scandal coverage leads to a greater distrust of politicians. While this is not surprising, what is notable is that his results found that the decline of political support is not limited to politicians embroiled in a scandal, but all politicians (Maier 2010, p. 293). This extends further, as the author found that support of all political parties, regardless of their connection with the scandal, “significantly eroded” after participants of the study read one press report about the issue (Maier 2010, p. 293). With each passing scandal, the public grows more disenfranchised with politics.
Mediated scandals, which have become more frequent and resulted in little change to the political system, alienate the public from politics. Delli Carpini & Williams (2001) found that scandals occur “with maximum media attention and minimal public response” (p.
178). The public has grown apathetic towards scandals, but is hasn’t stopped the media from covering them ad nauseam. Politics have been “reduced to a somewhat amusing, sometimes melodramatic, but seldom relevant spectator sport” (Delli Carpini & Williams 2001, p. 178).
The increasing media coverage of scandals and the apathetic response by the
public leads to what Waisbord (2004) refers to as “scandal fatigue”. Every scandal
reaches a saturation point (Jacobsson & Lofmarck 2008), where the media has said all
there is to say. Thompson (2000) says that, however interesting the details of a mediated
scandal may be, it is “likely to be experienced by most individuals as a rather distant
event which bears a relatively tenuous connection to the issues which matter most to
them in the practical contexts of their daily lives” (p. 88). Journalists may be experiencing career success in their scandal coverage, but citizens can become overstimulated, bored, and their reporting will amount to nothing more than “media static” (Waisbord 2004, p. 1089). If a scandal goes on long enough, prolonged coverage may result in the public tuning out. In this respect, the political consequences of a scandal are not pre-determined, but contextually-informed. The treatment and timing by the media and journalists is a key part of this context, and it is to the significance of this role that we now turn.
2.5 – Alpha and Omega: The Role of Media and Journalists in Scandal
Media is the most important driver of scandal. Without the media there is no scandal. We know it is crucial, but what exactly is the role of media and journalists in scandal? The media is the initiator of every scandal. They are active participants who craft the narratives that represent a scandal. There is no other body or institution that can compete with the media for this role.
The media is responsible for bringing scandalous actions into the public sphere. If
the media fails to report on a rumour or accusation of a transgression, it will never
become a scandal. “It is only through journalistic practices – whether involvement in
framing the act as offensive or reporting others’ claims regarding its offensive nature –
that acts are transformed into transgressions” (Kampf 2011, p. 76). The media is not only
the most frequent initiator of scandal, but it plays a central role in proliferating scandals
(Kantola & Vesa 2013). When the media storm – or “media amplification” as Thompson
(2000) calls it – begins and multiple organizations are reporting on a scandal through
multiple platforms, the media acts as a driver that keeps scandal relevant and hard to ignore. “Letters to the editor, news interviews, debates and discussions in various forms keep the scandal alive” (Ekstrom and Johansson 2006, p. 22). The comprehensive nature of reporting breathes life into a scandal from the outset. This is impossible without sustained media attention.
The concept of scandal is unthinkable without propulsion from media. Jacobsson
& Lofmarck (2008) argue that without media, there would be no scandals in modern society. Because the press plays such “a vital role” (York 2014) and is a “fundamental component of scandal politics” (Arsenault 2008), scandals are “not conceivable” (Maier 2011), and “unthinkable” (Waisbord 1994) without it. The media, specifically media attention, is the most important element of a scandal. Without it, there is no scandal, regardless of the transgression.
A final point of interest on the media’s role as an initiator and driver of scandal is the nature of the power struggle during a mediated political scandal. Anden- Papadopoulos & Widestedt (2006) say that “modern mediated political scandal is in its essence a power struggle between the two important institutions of politics and journalism” (p. 22). Even if citizens are victims of a political scandal or asked to give their opinions to the media, the public is not a very important actor in a scandal. This is because the press is the “most visible catalyst” for turning government vices into public events (Waisbord 1994, p. 30). The media is unrivalled in its role. “No public space can successfully compete with the media as the ringmaster of scandals” (Waisbord 2004, p.
1078). The media alone decides when a scandal begins and ends, and no other
organization or institution is even close to threatening this.
The media also does more than report the facts of a scandal and maintain its presence in the public sphere. Their most important role is that of the constructor of the narrative. Arsenault (2008) says that the media are “active participants” in scandal politics (p. 2). The scandal stories that the media construct is the entire scandal narrative, a “pre-scripted drama with set roles for the actors involved” (Anden-Papadopoulos &
Widestedt 2006, p. 6). The media not only report on the story, but also present the characters and plot of the scandal to the public. When journalists include some information while ignoring other information, emphasize some facts and downplay others, they frame events that audience members come to perceive as reality” (Scharrer 2002). This is the significance of the power the media wields in a scandal. They are the artists with the paintbrushes. They can decide what the public needs to know and what elements of a scandal are remembered by history. Waisbord (2004) says that scandals are fundamentally experienced and remembered as media images. He cites Richard Nixon saluting from the helicopter after resigning, or Bill Clinton wagging his finger as he denies his affair. It could be argued that the image of Rob Ford admitting to crack use while wearing a necktie with NFL team logos will become one of the lasting images of his political career. As a result of so much power, York (2014) argues that the media may hold “undue influence” over the framing of a scandal.
Finally, it is worth noting that Puglisi & Snyder (2008) found that newspapers can
be biased in their coverage of local scandals. He found that different papers cover scandal
in different ways. Most notably, that coverage “panders” to the partisan leanings of a
newspaper’s readers (p. 27). This phenomenon only occurs for scandals involving
politicians in the areas where the newspaper is sold. As such, we might expect that the
different coverage of the Rob Ford scandal to be slanted across the political spectrum, depending on the political leanings of each Toronto-based newspaper. As discussed in Chapter 4, section 4.2, this is exactly the case.
As mediated scandals have become more prominent over the decades, the final section of the literature review will focus on what has led the rise of the mediated scandal.
2.6 – A Perfect Storm: The Rise of Mediated Scandal
There is not one singular element that has contributed to the rise of mediated scandals. Rather it is an amalgamation of several factors. Namely, technological developments, an increase in the visibility of political actors, a decrease in the gatekeeper function of mainstream media, which has given rise to multiple axes of power, and structural changes in the media. Together, these combined factors explain the rise in mediated scandal.
The first factor to consider is technology. The technology of every generation has improved the speed and coverage of media messages. From the printing press, to the book trade, the telegraph, telephone, radio, TV, and Internet – each invention represents a development for media and journalists to spread their message further and further (Thompson 2000). At present, smart phones, lipstick-size video cameras and miniature tape recorders are just some of the innovations that have become “part of the technological arsenal of scandal politics” (Tumber and Waisbord 2004, p. 1148).
Technology alone cannot explain the rise of scandal coverage, but it can be argued that it
is a significant driver.
The reason technology is such a significant driver of scandals in the 21
stcentury is that digital technologies make it effortless to gather evidence. Liebes & Blum-Kulka (2004) say that the technological ease of producing evidence and easy access to the screen once you have produced it, has changed the nature of scandal reporting. This digital media has created what Castells (2007) calls “horizontal networks of interactive communication” that can connect local and global (p. 246). The relative low-cost of technologies also ensures that they are accessible by those outside the mainstream media.
They are becoming increasingly sophisticated and widely available (Thompson 2000, p.
109). All of this allows for an environment where information can flow instantaneously to nearly anyone with an Internet connection, and scandalous reports and images can be reproduced again and again (Thompson 2000, p. 71).
Once the spark of scandal is lit, technology spreads the scandal like wildfire. New media “fuels the flames of scandal” and extended mediatization allows scandals to
“easily spin out of control” (Thompson 2000, p. 70). Tumber & Waisbord (2004) note that new media outlets have a “relentless appetite for scandal news” (p. 1147). It is inconceivable that a politician can somehow limit the damage of scandalous allegations in the new media age. It is too difficult. Once something is on the Internet, it is there for good, and scandalous images or recordings are no exception.
A direct consequence of the aforementioned technological developments is an
increase in visibility for politicians. In public, they can expect that they are always being
watched. This increased visibility has “redefined the relations between public and private
life” and created a new kind of “publicness” that didn’t previously exist (Thompson
2000, p. 32). Politicians can send the message of their platforms around the world at any
given time, extending the reach of their campaigns. Mediated visibility also gives them an opportunity to craft and control their public image (Anden-Papadopolous & Widestedt 2006). However, this increase in visibility is a double-edged sword (Thompson 2000, Ekstrom & Johansson 2006). Increased visibility increases the risk of semi-secret or private acts made public by the media (Anden-Papadopolous & Widestedt 2006). Dirty secrets or skeletons that politicians were able to hide in the past become at risk when media focus heightens.
Another important factor that has increased the risk of political downfall through scandal is the shift from judging a politician on their platform to judging a politician by their character. This is an especially true phenomenon in North America, with electoral polls asking voters which politicians they would rather have a beer with (Rothman 2012).
Thompson (2000) notes that political leaders are increasingly using “self-disclosure” to appeal to audiences and win their support (p. 41). However, character carries risks. If it becomes the focal point for an election, the destruction of character can be a powerful political weapon in the hands of opposition parties and journalists (Castells 2007).
Private becomes public and increased media attention can uncover a politician’s secrets or faults, especially if they are not prepared for such scrutiny. They are never “off the clock”, as most citizens have a smart-phone with a video camera in their pocket. Any lapses in judgment or character flaws can be on YouTube in seconds. This change has contributed to the rise in mediated political scandals.
Technological developments have not only allowed visibility to grow, but this
trend has also yielded multiple axes of power in the mediaspace. Specifically, the decline
of the gatekeeper and an opening of multiple axes of power. Williams & Delli Carpini
(2000) say the most profound impact of the new media environment is the way it undermines the ability of any organization or institution to maintain the role of the gatekeeper (p. 62). Since the Internet has removed any distinct gates that information must pass through to get to the public, there can therefore be no gatekeepers (p. 62-3).
Mainstream media is no longer the central agenda setter, determining what is and is not newsworthy (Delli Carpini and Williams, 2001). There are few obstacles to publishing something online, few advertisers that bloggers or citizens must consider, and few news values that these writers are professionally obliged to follow (Tumber and Waisbord 2004). As a result, the “floodgates of scandal news have been opened”, and it is easy to disseminate gossip, innuendo, and scandalous allegations (Tumber and Waisbord 2004, p.
1147).
The website Gawker, which first published the Rob Ford allegations, did something that other newsrooms may not have done, given the limited evidence they had.
This is similar to the Clinton-Lewinsky sex scandal, which was first revealed by the online writer Matt Drudge, after the story had been turned down by Newsweek. Non- mainstream political actors are now able to influence the framing of the political agenda (Delli Carpini & Williams (2001). It has created what John Fiske calls “multiaxiality”
(Fiske 1996 in Williams and Delli Carpini 2000, p. 65). There are now more points of entry for a scandal, and more actors willing to set the news agenda, with fewer restrictions to publication when compared to mainstream news organizations.
In addition to technological developments, structural changes in the news media
have created conditions where scandal can more easily occur. First, investigative
journalism is useful for uncovering scandalous acts or events. The Watergate scandal
contributed to a “vigor” for investigative journalism in Western democracies in the 1960s and 1970s (Tumber & Waisbord 2004, p. 1143). This scandal altered the culture of journalism and digging for hidden secrets became regarded as an accepted and encouraged role for journalists (Thompson 2000). It started a trend that has contributed to more investigative work by journalists and more scandals have been broken as a result.
Secondly, the new media environment has increased the volume of information that is available. The more fragmented media audiences are, the more decentralized the media becomes (Williams & Delli Carpini 2004). Tumber & Waisbord (2004) say this results in alternatives to state controlled media (p. 1148). Alternative news channels can chase official corruption without worrying about repercussions. The authors also argue that this has weakened the grips of state-controlled media in nondemocratic systems such as China and Iran (p. 1148). As the proliferation of media alternatives continues, so too does the likelihood that private, illegal, or immoral activities become exposed.
The increasing importance of newsroom economics has also contributed to the rise of scandal. “Market dynamics have caused the press to be more attentive to first- hand, sensational stories” (Waisbord 1994, p. 27). Furthermore, as media alternatives multiply, competition increases. Extended coverage of a political scandal can generate profits for a news organization (Tumber & Waisbord 2004). The type of scandal matters though, as York (2014) found that the average sex scandal requires fewer resources to cover than the average financial scandal (p. 20). Lighter and more entertaining scandals are usually then more financially lucrative for the media.
As quality journalism that investigates hard issues becomes more costly, there is a
trend towards press tabloidization. This is when the mainstream press goes
“downmarket”, and tabloid formats filter into quality journalism dailies, television, and radio (Tumber 2004, Kantola & Vesa 2013). Kantola & Vesa (2013) show that this general pattern has been observed in the UK, Finland, Germany, France, Belgium, Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil. The economic benefits to sensationalized scandal coverage is another contributing factor to the rise of mediated scandal.
Finally, breaking or covering a scandal can become a career-maker for journalists.
This creates an environment where reporters are encouraged to devote day after day to scandal coverage. They can achieve professional notoriety (Waisbord 2004), as breaking news about a scandal creates prestige for journalists and can lead to increased consumer interest (Nyhan 2014). Waisbord (2004) compares scandal coverage to war coverage, where professional names can be made through scandal reportage (p. 1087). One only needs to look at the example of Toronto Star city hall reporter Robyn Doolittle, who gained international fame by literally writing the book on the Rob Ford scandal.
3In an atmosphere where professional status is on the line, reporters are inclined to cover scandals, especially juicy ones, as comprehensively as they possibly can.
First appearing in the English language in the sixteenth century, the definition of scandal has evolved to refer to moral transgressions which elicit a strong public response.
This strong public response is as a result of the violation of traditional societal norms.
Scandals are driven by media coverage of the scandalous acts and serve as an opportunity for a society to negotiate or reinforce its moral codes. While Rob Ford’s scandal is
3Doolittle went from Toronto Star city hall reporter to appearing on The Daily Show and Late Night with Seth Meyers
neither a power, financial, or sex scandal, it does share elements of the “Big Three”, specifically in terms of the characteristics that are required for a scandal to occur.
To sum: there are several conditions that must be met in order for an act or event to progress into a scandal. It must be a middle-order transgression, it must be believed by the public, and it certainly needs to be amplified by the media for a sustained period of time. While liberal democracies are the best breeding grounds for political scandals, it is not an absolute requirement. The same can be said for the actual evidence to support a scandal claim. It may help the life-span of a scandal, but it is not necessary for a scandal to grow.
Scandals have several routine steps that are observable in nearly every instance.
There is a pre-scandal, or rumour stage, where allegations begin to surface. When the extended mediatization of the scandal ensues, the accused party has to publically acknowledge the accusations and the scandal proper begins. He or she can admit, deny, or justify the scandalous actions, though the latter two options can give rise to second- order transgressions, where the media creates a secondary scandal around the words used to deny or justify the original scandal.
Scandals, especially sex scandals, can contribute to the resignation or electoral
defeat of a politician. However, if a politician has had political success, the public might
overlook their transgressions. Scandal still leads to decreased support of politicians and
political parties, and results in apathy from the public. As a scandal continues to get
coverage, scandal fatigue can occur, where media oversaturation leads the public to feel
increasingly distanced from a scandal.
The media holds an unrivalled influence over the production of scandal. It initiates and drives scandal, but also holds the power to manipulate the story and control which details become the lasting images of a scandal.
The rise of mediated scandal cannot be explained by one factor alone. Rather, it is a combination of reasons, driven by technology. Technological developments have created an environment where time and space are delocalized and information about a scandal can travel to all corners of the globe instantaneously. Politicians are now always
“on the record” and scandal can emerge more easily from their failure to recognize this.
New media has also reduced the gatekeeper role once held solely by the mass media.
Now citizen journalists and bloggers can create a scandal by publishing rumours on a
website or social media. What's more, the decline of state-owned media, the rise of cable
news, and the economics of the news industry has compelled many organizations to
pursue tabloid-like structures, where entertainment and news become blurred. Scandalous
allegations can be published more liberally within these structures.
Chapter 3: Methodology
This chapter outlines the grounded theory approach used to analyze the newspaper coverage of the Rob Ford scandal, in an attempt to answer the research questions. It details the step-by-step methodological strategy used to examine newspaper articles from the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, and the Toronto Sun over the course of Rob Ford’s controversial time as an elected public official in the city of Toronto. The research design uses qualitative grounded theory in order to determine how the Rob Ford scandal was constructed in Canadian newspapers, and how these media drove, changed, or maintained the scandal over time. Qualitative analysis of the texts was chosen to understand their deeper meanings and likely interpretations by audiences, which is the ultimate goal of analyzing media content (Macnamara 2005, p. 5). Furthermore, grounded theory methods allow researchers “to develop a theoretical account of the general features of a topic while simultaneously grounding the account in empirical observations or data” (Martin & Turner 1986, p. 141). Researchers can construct theories on a topic, while simultaneously analyzing the data, aided the entire time by intense note taking. This note taking provides a way to manage a great deal of data, allows theoretical ideas to be cultivated, and therefore more easily synthesized during analysis. This chapter outlines and justifies the dataset used in the research design, and details the step-by-step process of how the Rob Ford crack smoking scandal data was collected and analyzed.
3.1 – The Five Phases of the Ford Scandal
