Drama Moral

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Moral rama

Journalists first identify actors and agency in a scandal story. They then

seek to craft a compelling tale, selecting language and images to charac-terize the actors and their actions and in this way framing the wrongdo-ing they na rrate .

This chapter will examine the kind of morality tales—moralizingframes—constructed by the press, looking at two specific dimensions offrame: catego rizations and generalizations . It will explore how theevaluations preferred for events, the critical terminology employed, andthe generalizations stimulated or suppressed produced different kinds

of morality tales for the va rious kinds of scandal stories.Qualitative analysis allows us to a rgue that the British press, as com-



132 Chapter Seven

CATEGORIZATIONS

The choice of labels that journalists make for scandal incidents tends to

place them in categories that conventionally either elicit or omit mora

evaluation.What are the categorizations used by editorialists in scandal storie

in the British and Spanish press? To answ er this, we established a typology based on four categories to which wrongdoing could be assignedwith the aim of elaborating a picture of the sort of evaluations that journalists preferred. Our final goal was to extricate the evaluating framethat dom inated categorizations of scandal na rratives. The four categorieare the fol lowing (defini t ions are taken from the Oxford EnglishDictionary 1999).

Mistake A mistake is a thing which is not correct ; an errorof judgm ent, a faulty judgment.

Incompetence This derives from incompetent, which refers to somebody who is not sufficiently skillful to do something suc-cessfully ; who is not qualified to act in a particu lar capacity.As compared to mistake , incompetence suggests a more gen-eralized incapacity, whereas a mistake could be specific and for-givable. Although making an isolated mistake is not necessarilya resigning matter (although it can be), incompetence suggests

unfitness for office.Immorality This derives from imm oral, which is not conform-ing to accepted stan dards of morality. M orality refers to theprinciples concerning the distinction between right and wrong,or between good and bad behaviou r. A more general definitiontalks of a system of values and moral princ iples.Crime This is an action w hich constitu tes a serious offenceagainst an individual or the state and is punishable by law.



Moral Drama 133

TABLE 7 1 Te rm s Used for C ategorizing W rongd oing in E ditorials

UNITED KINGDOM

MISTAKES INCOMPETENCE IMMORALITY CRIME

mistaken defence,

misjudgnnent

incompetence, inade-

qua te response, t o ta l -

ly powerless, unfit foroff ice, weak, unac-

countable, fool ish,

extraordinar i ly inef f i-

cient poppycock,

rudimentary knowl-

edge, p ret ty dumb

polit ics, fail to pro-

tec t the essent ial

r ights of the voter

d im, spineless han-

dlin g of a case, inca -

pable of understand-

ing, narrow apprecia-

t ion of his role, failed

polit icians, failure of

self-regulation, lack

of accountabi l i ty,

inert ia, lack of actio n,

ramb l ing and inco-

herent, ecce ntric,

bizarre, remiss, failed

at their jobs, stup idi-

ty, fut i le, lack of

judgement, protected

fools, confusion, stew

of uncer ta inty , s tum -

bl ing confusion,

merely m ad, fool ishdefiance.

wi th no honor to get

m ora l values upside

down, hypocrisy, mis-demeanor, sleaze,

cheat, shameless

adulterer, pious pro-

paganda, coward,

reeks of hypocrisy,

tainted source,

absence of any sense

of personal responsi-

bi l i ty, r iding

roughshod over

Br itain s un writ te n

const i tu t ion, mal -

practice, l ie, men daci-

ty, falsehood , deceit,

dupe, dishonesty,

greed, smear murky

wor ld , to spin a stu-

pid yarn, to move

from the darkness ofl ies to the tw i l igh t of

half-truths, cynical

world weariness,

averse to clarity, cyn -

ical, dishonourable,

dread ful display of

contempt , wi thout

contr i t ion , no accep-

tance of blame,manipulat ion, laxity,

bribery, cheating the

Inland Revenue, high

crimes.



34 Chapter Seven

TABLE 7 1

Terms Used for

Categorizing Wrongdoing in

Editorials Continued

SPAIN

MISTAKES INCOMPETENCE iMMORALITY CRIME

botch, continuous

and grave mistakes.

a big joke, passivity,

frivolous, fiasco,

insane, incapacity to

act foUowing a logic

shared with ordinary

citizens, terrible state

of the Judiciary, polit-

ically responsible,

political guilt, tack of

the sense of State,

events are out of

control, lack of agili-ty, insufficient quick-

ness, showing con-

tempt for Parliament,

chaos.

manichaeism, abuse,

indignity, grotesque,

dishonesty, sinister

activities, laxness,

threat, coercion,

intolerable financial

speculations, inde-

cency, to break one s

word, false, incom-

patible versions,

farce, deception, tie

to the country, lackof moral authority,

outrage, grave

excesses, govern-

ment s irregular

administration,

murky business, cor-

rupt, corrupted prac-

tices, giant farce of

scheming people,

cover up manoeuvres,

of poor moral catego-

ry, anti-paradigm of

the virtues of the

institution command-

e lying about one s

curriculum.

grave transgressions

of the law,

criminal, against the

taw,

to favor (ittegatty)

someone s friends,

tax evasion, contrib

tion to falsification o

documents, enrich-

ment from illegal

speculation on the

Stock Exchange mis-handling of public

funds, obstructer of

investigation, defend

er of a criminal, orga

nizer of a complex

network of black

money and fiscal

fraud, irregular fiscal

practices, fiscal crim

dirty war, embezzle-

ment of public funds

diversion of State

funds, fraud, terroris

barbarism, accom-

plice, mismanage-

ment of public funds

laundering of money

to cover up outrage,

he obtained moneywhich was not his



M oral Dram a 135

Table 7.2 shows similarities and differences between the two coun-tries.In both countries inciden ts were scarcely referred to in terms of mis-

takes. Very few assessments (there are just two terms in both countries)fall into this category. The notion that scandals are the result of specific,forgivable actions did not dominate narratives in the British or Spanishpress.

An assessment of incompetence is more common in both countries,

although it should be noticed that it is more frequently used in Britainthan in Spain, through categorizations in terms of incom petence (34 inBritain and 15 in Spain). Incom petence is referred to in terms of lack ofknowledge (rudimentary knowledge, lack of judgment, confusion, stu-pidity) and with insufficient skills for the position (lack of control, spine-less hand ling of the case, lack of agility, insufficient quickness).

Some categorizations of incompetence make reference to a third per-son, refiecting the accountability that political actors owe citizens: to

fail in protecting the essential righ ts of the voter, show ing contemptfor Parliam ent, incapacity to act following a logic shared with ordi-nary citizens. In the United Kingdom some assessments imply a gener-al judgm ent that the politicians are so incom petent that they show a gen-eral unfitness for office .

One clear difference between British and Spanish categorizations isthat Spanish assessments are most often expressed in terms of criminalculpability (30, or 22.89% of total m entions), whereas this categorization

is almost nonex istent in the British press (3, or 2.49% of total mentions).In Britain categorizations are expressed more in moral terms (44, or36.52% of total mentions, compared with 29 in Spain or 22.04% of totalmentions).

This difference is in keeping with the portrait of characters andagency discussed in the previous chapter. There we saw that throughthe use of the active voice, vivid language, and the names of individualsin headlines, direct attribution of agency was more common in the

British press than the Spanish press, where the predominance of techni-



36 Chapter Seven

ritish M oral Discourse

Over half of the total assessments (44 out of 83) in the United Kingdomfall under the categories of imm orality. Terms such as hypocrisy, malpractice, shameless adulterer, greed, smear, with no honor, are predominan t in categorizing British actors.

Many of these kinds of moral assessments refer to lack of truth: liesmendacity, falsehood, deceit, dupe, dishonesty, to move from the dark

ness of lies to the twilight of half-tru ths, false, cover up , deception.As we will see below, part of the reason for this predominantly

moral discourse has to do with the debates that British scandals generated. The fact that some of these scandals refer to sexual misdemeanoralso accounts in pa rt for why assessments are couched in mora l terms.

If we look at specific British cases we can see that the predominanuse of a moral discourse is clearer in the Sexual Misdemeanors case(where terms referring to incom petence or crime are alm ost nonexistentthan in the other cases. Therefore, Yeo is accused of hypocrisy {ThSun January 6,1994), Merchant is a liar and coward and a shamelesadulterer {The Sun March 29, 1997), an d the re is M ellor's dam nedcheek {The Sun September 9, 1992), and the accusation that he is a ambitious, upwardly mobile minister (of limited financial mearis) whhad come to believe that he could set his own terms and behave as hthought fit {The Guardian October 25, 1992). However, these moraexpressions apply not only to those who were found guilty of sexuamisdemeanors, but also to the government. Newspapers refer to thgovernment's cynicism {The Independent January 6, 1994), to policians who pontificate and exhibit rank hypocrisy {The Sunday TiJuly 26,1992), and to the general situation, which is a spectacle, a blendof tragedy and farce {The Independent January 12,1994).

The other two scandal cases. Arms to Iraq and ash for Questionshow a similar pattern of assessments. Moral assessments are again fre

quently used, as well as term s referring to incompetence. We find actorw ho are extrao rdina rily inefficient, w ith an eccen tric an d bizarre



M oral Dram a 37

official vers ion are com mon), which dep loyed every trick in its prodi-gious defensive and diversionary repertoire to prevent the instant resig-nation of vulnerable ministers {The Guardian February 16, 1996). Moralassessments of the Cash for Questions affair are ma inly orienta ted toshow that corruption is a general evil of the decade, and that politiciansand institutions are regarde d as discredited chums {The Sun October21, 1994), arrogant almost beyond belief {The Sun Novem ber 2, 1994),with problem s of pub lic cynicism {The Guardian November 26,1994).

Spanish rim inal Discourse

Criminal term s are used slightly m ore frequently than m oral ones by theSpanish press (22.89% for the first case compared with 22.04% for thesecond). Terms are used to describe actions that are punishable by law:grave transgressions of the law, coercion, tax evasion, contribution to the

falsification of documents, mishandling of public funds, the obstructionof legal investigations, irregular fiscal practices, fiscal crime, embezzle-ment of public money, diversion of State funds, fraud, mismanagementof public funds, launderin g of money, extortion, murder, torture, protec-tion of crime, kidnapping. State crime.

The use of criminal terms is clearest in the Gal Lasa and Zabala casthe fact that the case consists of two murders and an illegal detention issufficient exp lanation for this. Journalists write of violation of hum an

rights {ABC March 22 , 1995), terrorist barba rism {El País March 221995), murder and tortiare {El Mundo May 28,1996), dirty war {ElPaís Decem ber 14, 1999), terrible State crim e {El Mundo March 31,2000). In this case, references to incompetence and to immorality arealmost nonex istent.

In the Roldan and Rubio cases criminal terms are also predom inantand refer mainly to alleged fiscal crimes. Therefore we find referenceshere to tax evas ion {El Mundo May 9,1994), black money {El Mundo

M arch 10, 1994), or m ore extended judg m en ts such as that he [theMinister of Interior] has com mitted two crimes, embezzlement of public



38 Chapter Seven

Generalizations and Debates

Generalizations are another dimension of frames. They refer to the connections that journalists seek to make with bigger issues: journalists, isearching for a fresh angle to a story, look beyond the individual casand try to connect the specific characters an d their agency to a more general problem. Generalizations are frequent both in British and Spanisheditorials, and reflect the debates that dominated public opinion durin

the scandals.There are several differences between Brifish and Spanish general

izafions. Firstly, in Spain the generalizations refer to how a democracyshould funcfion and what are its key features such as, for example, throle of the rule of law^ and the separafion of powers. In Britain the generalizafions refer more to the need for reform of institufions and the specific role of Parliam ent.

In Spain there are frequent references to how a democrafic systemshould or ough t to function. Democratic society has mechanisms— afimes slow moving bu t eventually unstoppable— against po w er's claimto impun ity (£/ País, March 22,1995); It is inadm issable that in a demcrafic society, subject to the principle of legality and with the instrum entnecessary to settle its conflicts and demand accountability . . . (El PaSeptem ber 22, 1995); For the dem ocra tic hea lth of this coun try it iimportant that Roldan and his conspirators answer for his w rongdoing(£/ País, May 15, 1996); the new sp ap ers , w hich fulfill the invaluablfuncfion of contribufing to democrafic health ABC, May 26,1994).

Within this context, there are also generalizafions that refer to thseparation of powers as a requirement for a system to be democratic Felipism has gradually neutralized each and every one of the mechanisms that the Consfitution foresaw to ensure that the Execufive couldnot get out of hand and do as it wants El Mundo, May 5, 1994); Thdivision of powers appropriate in a democracy demands that polifica

control be exercised here to force back the government El Mundo, Ju20,1995).



M oral Drama 39

Editorial comment is also made about the existence of the rule oflaw as established by the Constitution: This trial is already in itself ahuge triumph for the rule of law {El Mundo M arch 31 , 2000); It isundisputedly a trium ph of the rule of law (£/ Mundo April 27, 2000).

British generalizations make claims about the need for wholesalesystemic reforms: The entire system nee ds to be reformed {The ndependent February 16, 1996); This demands reforming Whitehall,which requires both a Freedom of Information A c t . . . and new statuto-

ry protection for civil servants blowing the whistle on ministerial mis-conduct {The Guardian February 17,1996); If trust in government is tobe restored, then as a very first step the civil service machine must beable to stop ministerial fabrication {The Guardian February 17,1996).

References are also frequently made to the image of Parliament.Parliament is portrayed as a sovereign and venerable institution whichscandals put a t risk: The good nam e of Parliament was on trial yester-day. And it was found guilty of losing the trust of people {The Sun

November 7, 1995); We do not w an t to see one of the great politicalinstitutions damage itself in the defence of the indefensible {TheGuardian March 22,1997).

The specific role of the media receives more attention in Britain thanin Spain. As we saw earlier, the Mellor scandal occurred at the time whenpress behavior was under close scrutiny and threatened with the intro-duction of a privacy law. The Mellor case prom pted wider debates aboutthe role of the press and its use of public interest arguments to justify

intrusive repo rting. Thus it was claimed that: The Mellor scandal hasfreed newspapers from this debilitating posture (self-censorship in fear oprivacy laws) and the cause of press freedom is now being more robustlydefended {The Sunday Times July 26, 1992); The Mellor Affair demon-strates why MPs of all parties clamour for a Privacy Bill to gag newspa-pers {The Sun July 21, 1992). The issue is treated ironically: Fowlerwins the Poppycock of the Year Aw ard with the extraordinary view thatthe Press should keep its nose out if a minister wants to commit adul-

tery {The Sun January 1,1994 , and the editorial defends the position ofthe press: It is no t the m ed ia 's job to make life more comfortable for



14 Chapter Seven

ty. The reason for this is easy to find: sexual scandals favored thidebate: Public office and private imb ecility {The Guardian July 21992); W here does privacy begin and end ? {The Guardian October 1992). The debate was further fuelled by the Conservative Party 's bacto basics policy, encouraging people to preserve moral standard s anfamily values.

The press framed the debate in ironic terms [ pulpit politics {TIndependent January 6 , 1994)] , contras t ing the scandals of th

Conservatives with Major's attempt to inject moral behaviour in hir anks : The back - to-bas ics m essag e, cynical ly dev ised . . . haboomeranged {The Independent January 12, 1994); M r Major, for all lectures on moral standa rds in this country, carmot bring himself to utteso much as a batsqueak of disapproval {The Guardian October 3,199In this context, the Prime Minister was portrayed as somebody whoneeded to change the line of discourse: The only reason Mr Major wishes to deny the moralist logic of his own campaign is that he is trying to

avoid saying that other morally frail Conservative MPs as well as MYeo must l ive up to the rhetor ic {The Guardian January 7, 1994)Therefore incoherence and moral ambivalence are frequently dealt within British editorials: Family values are supposed to be the solid bedrockof Tory philosophy {The Sun January 12,1994). In a combative tone, thpress defends itself from attacks of politicians: [politicians are] moreangry at journalists' ethics than at ethics of their parliamentary colleagues {The Independent July 14,1994).

The press debated to what extent sexual misbehavior has an impacon public life: By no reasonable standa rds can a marriage underm inedby adul tery be considered incompat ib le wi th publ ic service {TheIndependent January 1, 1994); To em phasise tha t there is a distinctiobetween public and private morality is not to deny that the two canoverlap. There are certain standards of private behaviour and sexuamorality that cannot be flouted by those who hold public office withouthe risk of retribution {The Independent January 12, 1994). It askedwhether the sexual misdemeanors of politicians are of public relevance



M oral Drama 4

understatement of the year {The Sun October 21,1994). Corruption is a present malaise {The Sun October 26, 1994). The late 1980s are thebeginnings of a significant culture of corruption at Westminster {TheGuardian July 4, 1997), a Greasy termer cu lture {The Independent Ju4,1997), the culture of a low, dishonest decade {The Guardian May 121995).

The effects of this alleged general culture of corruption are clearlyvisible in the British press in reference to public trust in institutions:

[Scandals] destroy the last few scraps of trust the public ha s in theGovernment {The Sun October 21, 1994); Public confidence in theGovernment has sunk so low you could slip it under a door {The SunOctober 22, 1994); Like a boil that must be lanced, sleaze has poisonedpublic life {The Sun October 26, 1994). There are attempts to show thatthe problem is not about distrust in politicians but in the system: Healthy scepticism about politicians is natural and healthy. But cyni-cism about politics as a trade is a kind of poison {The Independent Jul

4,1997). There a re also frequent references to how this distrust can affectdem ocracy: There real ly is a cynical dan ger to dem ocracy {TheGuardian October 21, 1994); Pub lic trust is the cement w hich holdstogether a democratic society {The Guardian June 7, 1995). In sum, Sleaze corrodes democracy {The Guardian October 21,1994). The culture is so deep-rooted that i t is suffocating our democracy {TheIndependent February 16,1996).

In Spain this sort of assessment was not common. More common in

the Spanish press is editorializing about conspiracy theories advancedby those sym pathe tic to the government as possible explanations for theseemingly unending stream of scandals. Much press speculation con-cerned the alleged existence of plots to bring down the governmentthrough the concerted action of hostile journalists, judges and politi-cians. The allegations w ere in their turn the occasion for comment aboutattempts to polarize Spanish society and destabilize the political system,creating an extremely tense deb ate (E/ Fais September 8, 1996). Press

comm ent declared that we are faced with a Government crisis not witha crisis of the system { l Mundo May 5, 1994). The discovery of the



42 Chapter Seven

the media, should conspire against the Government, always as long as iis done in a peaceful manner and respecting the democratic rules oplay. How ever, blackmail of the Governm ent o r the State is ano ther matter. I t is a crime defined in terms of threats or coercion {El PaíSeptember 22,1995).

In summary, British generalizations and debates reflected moreexplicit references to moral standards, implying judgments about whais right and wrong, to what is accepted by the public and what is not

and to the erosion of public trust in politicians. They are also concernedwith the line drav^Ti between private and public life, and with the extento which the private life of politicians sho uld have public consequencesScandal stories in Britain, above all, interrogate morality, establishingtemplates of what is acceptable and what is not. Spanish editorials, inwhich debates about ethics are almost absent, generalize more about thetraits of the democratic system and related characteristics such as therule of law and the separation of powers.

CULTUR L CODES N D IDENTITY SSOCI TIONS

What resonant cultural codes and identity associations are present in theway British and Spanish press frame wrongdoing?

Both countries use popu lar cu ltural codes such as pu ns and popular

sayings: Roses can have painful thorn s {The Sun February 16, 1996 The apple's small spot of corruption will spread to the whole barrel{The Independent July 4, 1997); Too m uch eup horia spoils the brot{The Guardian December 12, 1996); The penal aspects of the case are ttrees that obscure the wood { l Mundo May 9, 1994); Vera, RoldanSiemens: all roads lead to Genova { l Mundo July 10,1995).^

Both countries use titles of films, television programs, and novels The minister 's Alice-in-Wonderland position {The Guardian June 7

1995); The Magnificent Seven {The Sun October 20,1994); [The publi



M oral Drama 43

menfion the youth of the Spanish constitution: Yesterday was 17 yearssince the first democrafic elecfions (£i Pat s, June 16,1994); [the clean upof the Inte r ior M inistry ] un re so lve d since the be gin nin g of theTransifion . . . (£/ Pat s, March 22,1995).

There are also idenfity associations in British editorials that areabsent in Spanish ones so that, for example, the Arms to Iraq scandal isdescribed as Britain's Iraqgate The Guardian, November 10,1993).

Whereas in Britain polifical corruption is portrayed as something

unusual and uncommon, there are words and expressions in Spanisheditorials which connect this country's identity with the picaresque, aSpanish literary genre in which violations of social and legal norms areseen as clever and comical.

In British newspapers, scandal and sleaze are considered to beuncommon in the cou ntry's political fi-adifion, an excepfion rather thanthe rule. Idenfity associations are made through comparisons with othercountries: Brifish pub lic life is am ong the least corrupt in the world

The Guardian, July 4,1997), because, after a l l . . . the level of corrupfionin France-Belgium-Italy is so much worse (The Independent, July 4,1997); For all the recent sleaze and scandal, Britain still has the mosthonest civil servan ts and polificians in the world . . . we can't say thesame for our European partners, who deal with corruption by banningthe press from reporfing it The Sun, May 12,1995).

Spanish editorials state that corruption would be more severelysanct ioned in o ther countr ies ; a t the same t ime, they evoke the

picaresque tradifion in discussing corruption in Spain.The picaresque, as Alborg (1966) explains, is a Spanish literary

genre (the term com es from picaro , which means crafty, cunning), inwhich the central character has an irregu lar life and is lacking in scru-ples (p. 401). The picaro is a rascal, shrewd and astute. His behavioroften provokes the amused indulgence of others who half admire his

cheekiness. ,Roldan is often presented as a rogue who became director ot the

Civil Guard without having the qualificafions he claimed to have and



144 Ch apter Seven

FR MING THRO UGH NEWS ICONS

In Chapter 3 we discussed the concept of frame . Here w e will considethe natu re of new s icons in reference to frames. A new s icon is an exceptional kind of frame that has a journalistic function. Recalling the defini-tion given by Bennett and Lawrence (1995), news icons occur w hen anentire story, narrative, or conflict becomes associated with and repre-sented by a single event, which in turn is crystallized into a single image

that dom inates the original narrative and later shifts the framing of othernew s stories (p. 46). A new s icon is a condensational symbol (Dahl &Bennett, 1996, p . 46).

We will now examine British and the Spanish coverage to seewhether there are incipient signs of emerging news icons and whether itwas the case that those incipient signs allow us to talk about news icons shifting the framing of other news stories.

In the first place, more explanation is required of what news iconsare (Bennett Lawrence, 1995; Dahl Bennett, 1996):

First, a new s icon is based up on a new s event.

Second, a news icon is reporter-introduced and not pegged tosources.

Third, its initial appearance in a new s story is as a vivid image orword picture.

Fourth, the imag e overw helm s the story and is repro duc edthroughou t the mass media.

Fifth, a new s icon is not specific to a single even t bu t can link var-ious events across time. This means that the icon is introducedin the narrative frame of other types of stories, breaking downnarrat ive boundaries . Linkages between otherwise isolatedevents are thus m ade.

Sixth, not only are events linked, but thematic connections arealso made through interpretive, less specific references. Thus,



M oral Dram a 145

enees, or technical information that may lack obvious newsvalue.

In order to identify news icons we first examined signs of emergingnews icons in the shape of word formulas, for which quantitative con-tent analysis was carried out to establish the most frequent word men-tions of certain terms in all articles coded. The words looked for were scandal , co rrup tion , and, in the British case, sleaze . Secondly, we

looked for the most frequently used shorthand expressions referring tothe scandal cases that appeared in the British and Spanish editorialpieces in order to see whether there were other frequently repeatedwords that could function as news icons. And finally, w e looked at bar-straps of special sections, sections specially created by the new spaper fora particular scandal case. The use of the word formulas in the title ofthese sections (included in the bar-strap) would give an indication of therole these words played in the way journalists conceptualized the scan-

dal stories.

Word ormulas for New s Icons

After a first review of coverage, three words were identified as possiblerepeated w ord formulas: corru ption , scand al , and sleaze . Thenumber of mentions in total articles was then codified with the follow-

ing resu lts (see Table 7.3).These figures show that in both countries these words were fre-

quently used in the coverage, though more in Britain than in Spain.Whereas in Britain 9.5 percent of articles mentioned the word corrup-tion and 16.6 percent mentioned the word scandal , in Spain only 7.8percent mentioned corruption and 4.9 percent the word scandal . Asfor sleaze , 24.9 percent of British articles (that is to say, one in four)mentioned the term.

The w ord sleaze also merits comm ent. As we saw in Chapter 2,sleaze denotes disparate, unethical, and/or corrupt acts. Dunleavy and



46 Chapter Seven

Weir (1995) showed how this particular word label permitted "other-wise discrete problems to be connected in an innovative but easilyunderstandable w ay" (p. 59).

The analysis of the most frequent shorthand expressions used in theeditorials highlighted other words to be taken into account. In theUnited Kingdom, apart from "scandal," "corruption," and "sleaze," theother two words frequently used were "crisis" and "affair." In Spain,apart from the words "scandal" and "corruption", the words "crisis"

and "plot"5 were also frequently used. The word "case" was also fre-qu ently u sed , mentioned in 41 of the 100 ba r-s tra ps . The word isemployed in popular usage to refer to a perso n as "a case [un caso] or an event as a real case [todo un caso]. A newspaper founded in t1950s called El Gaso, which dealt with sensational crime cases, may havhelped popularize the expression. The word "case" was frequently usedin bar-straps: the Gaso Roldan, Gaso GAL, Gaso Lasa-Zabala, Gaso Rucasos Gal and Roldan. The colloquial mean ing of the wo rd "case" was

used in editorials such as in "Roldan, a case" { l País, February 16,1994The terms scandal sleaze, affair case, crisis, and plot were cons

used in coverage and were used in the titles of the bar-straps of specialsections, thus functioning as general labels for stories related to a varietyof topics.

Journalistic Origin of the W ord ormulas

Were these word formulas source or reporter-introduced? Did journal-ists introduce them on their own authority or were they taken frompoliticians?

As far as the term "sleaze" is concerned, British prim e minister JohnMajor (2000) wrote: "Our critics chose the term shrewdly, and used ituns crup ulou sly" (p. 550). A ccording to journalis t M ark Skipw orth(Skipworth, personal interview, 1999), it w as the then Labour opposition

leader Tony Blair's use of the term in a conference that launched theterm in the journalistic imagination. Its use by the British press slowly



M oral Dram a 47

word co rrup tion as com pared to its use in 21.4 percen t of opinionpieces. For the w ord sca ndal the trend is less strong: 15 percen t ofnews articles used the word scandal as compared to 22.7 percent ofopinion pieces. Finally, the word sleaze was mentioned in 22 percentof news articles and 35.9 percent of opinion pieces.

The same occurs in Spanish coverage. The identified words weremore frequently used in opinion pieces than in news stories. The word corruption was only mentioned in 5.3 percent of new s articles com-

pared to 19.1 percent of opinion pieces. As for the word scandal , itwas used in 3.9 percent of news stories and up to 9.1 percent of opinionpieces.^

It cannot be conclusively shown who originated the terms to desig-nate the various kinds of wrongdoing. Tony Blair may have picked upthe expression sleaze from journalists. How ever, it is clear that the fre-quent journalistic use of the terms (and especially of the expression sleaze ) in contexts detached from the original usage allowed journal-

ists and com menta tors to ap pro pria te them as free-standing signifiersfor disparate kinds of wrongdoing.

News Icons Use fo r Them atic Connections

Did these terms serve to make connections among disparate events togenerate a particular kind of reporter-driven narrative? To see this we

looked at the way in which these terms were used for labelling the spe-cial sections in order to see whether links and connections among eventsand topics were made through these words, as well as less specific,interpretive, and euphem istic references to other social problems.

Spain: The Case of Generalized Corrup tion. First ly , these words

were used to label, at the close of a set of events, a general situation.Thus the beginnings of an affair start with references to specific events(for instance, Patrimony Under Suspicion { l Pats, February 18, 1994)



48 Chapter Seven

formula Caso Lasa Zabala with variafions according to the even t ofthe day: Caso Lasa and Z ab ala /the witnesses; Caso Lasa and Za ba la/th estatement; Caso Lasa and Zabala/the defence; Caso Lasa and Zabala/the conclusions; Caso Lasa and Zabala/ready for sentencing; CasoLasa and Zabala /the reacfions; and finally. Caso Lasa and Zabala /theverdict. The term case was no t specific to a single event, bu t linkedvarious events across fime.

Secondly, these words were used in the bar-straps to provide inter-

pretation and commentary rather than to funcfion simply as descripfivelabels. During the month of May 1994 a number of events occurred: aninterview with Roldan (while a fugitive from justice) was published inEl Mundo, a parliamentary commission was established to investigatethe Rubio affair, several officials resigned, and the Prime Miruster wento Parliament to give an account of Roldán's escape. The bar-strap ofspec ia l sec t ions dur in g th i s t ime de no ted a gen era l s i tua t ion : Insfitufional Crisis El Mundo, May 5, 1994) and Polifical Crisis E

Mundo, May 5, 8, 9,10 , 11, 12 ,13 ,14 , 1994). Again the wo rd crisis wasused to describe the general situafion after the arrest of Roldan led theMinister of the Interior to resign. The coverage of these days was charac-terized by the general formula Political Crisis El Mundo, March 3, 113,14 and 15,1995).

Thirdly, these words were used to make special links and connec-tions between different topics and scandals. The beginnings of theRoldan case were heralded with bar-straps referring to different case

the initial revelation related to the suspicions about Roldán's financialaffairs ( Patrimony Under Suspicion El País, February 16, 1994) arefer red to ab ov e, re ve lat io ns ab ou t the GAL af fair ( The GalControversy , El Mundo, February 18, 1994), and about the misuse ofstate funds ( The Reserved Funds , £/ Mundo, March 12,1994). All thesewere separate cases. From 22 April on, tmder the word formula ' cor-ruptio n ( Political C orrup tion [El Mundo, April 22, 24, and 30 anMay 2, 1994]); The Status of Corrup tion ABC, April 20, 1994); and Corrupfion Devours Government ABC, May 2, 3, and 4, 1994), cove



M oral Drama 49

1995). El Mundo, makes a link between two cases in its bar-strap ofSeptember 22,1995: The GAL Plo t/Th e CESID Scandal .Graphics of bar-straps in which these word formulas were included

helped to establish thematic connections and interpretive references.After publication of the information regarding the suspicions aboutRoldán's financial affairs, several bar-strap graphics depicted a specificevent. In subsequent coverage m ore interpretive references w ere includ-ed. The first bar-straps w ith the term State Reserved Funds depicted

somebody secretly handing over bank notes El Mundo, March 12,1994).Subsequen t ba r-strap s ran the hea dline Political Corrup tion with agraphic showing a hand giving a bank note to someone else {El Mundo,April 24, 1994). These were followed with the even more interpretiveand less specific headlines of Institutional Crisis and Political Crisiswith a graphic showing a series of dom ino-style, falling briefcases, refer-ring to the political resignations then taking place {El Mundo, May 5,1994). Few icons represen ted the person at the center of the scandal: only

Roldán's escape was shown in graphic form {El Mundo, May 3,1994). Corruption , case , and crisis were key words used in labelling

special sections devoted to scandal coverage. They linked isolatedevents, overwhelming the original event and providing an overarchinginterpretive frame.

The Sleaze Umbrella. The use of w ord formulas in the bar-strapsfor special sections was also analyzed in British coverage. As was the

case in Spain, word formulas were used as interpretive markers afterhaving first described a specific event. For instance, in referring to sexualm isdem eano r stories, the first ba r-strap s are very descriptive: TheMellor Affair {The Sun, July 22, 1992 and The Sunday Times, July 26,1992); The Mellor Crisis {The Sun, Septem ber 24, 1992); The Fall ofDavid Mellor {The Guardian, September 25, 1992); Heave H o for YeoQanuary 6, 1994); Yeo Resignation (January 6, 1994). Later bar-straphead lines contain more interpretive references: Scandal of Tory MP's

Mistress {The Sun, March 29, 1997); Tory Turmoil {The Sun, January11, 1994) and Tories in Turm oil (May 12, 1995). The Sun's bar-strap



150 Ch apter Seven

on Sleaze {The Independent October 26, 27, 28, 29 and Novem ber, 1 an3); Welcome to the House of Sleaze {The Sunday Times, October 23). 1996 the Sunday Times used a ser ies of bar -s t raps employing themetaphor of a tangled web to refer to a situation of chaos: Ham ilton'sTangled Web. Greer's Tangled Web (October 2, 3); The Tories TangledWeb (October 7) and The Tangled W eb (Novem ber 11). By 1997 titleof special sections were using the w ord sleaze to den ote a general situ-ation: Sleaze. Corruption in the Com m ons (March, 21, 22, 24, 27). This

si tuation charac ter izes the elect ion cam paig n: Spo tl ight . M ajor 'sTroubled Campaign {The Sunday Times, M arch 29,1997).

Sleaze was frequently used in graphics of bar-straps and in cartoons,particularly in the final weeks of the 1997 elections. The Guardian s headline Sleaze: The Evidence, sum m ed up the pa pe r 's assessm ent ofMajor's attempt to defend his government against allegations of sleazein the last prime minister's question time. As mentioned in Chapter 2, acartoon published in The Times w ith the w ord s N o escape from the

m aze (March 27,1997) show ed the letters of the w ord sleaze forminga labyrinth from which Major found it impossible to escape. The Sun sfront-page depiction of a Conservative rosette with a superimposedphotograph of the disgraced Conservative candidate Piers Merchantironically encouraged its readers to Vote Sleaze {The Sun, March 27and 28, 1997). The Guardian used the term emblazoned across a photograp h of Big Ben w ith the he ad line C orru ptio n in the C om m ons(March 21,1997).

Sleaze became the defining term of an entire political era, some-thing John Major (2000) himself acknowledged:

The word sleaze itself was a po ten t factor in the destructiveness ofthe issue. Its power lay in the fact that it was, at the same time, avery strong word and a very weak one. Strong in its ability to con-vey a generalised sense of decadence and wickedness. Strong in itscatch-all ability to encompass everything from sexual sin to officialmalpractice. But weak in its capacity to identify with precision any



Moral Drama 151

TABLE 7 4 D im ensio ns of New s Frames

UNITED KINGDOM SPAIN

CHARACTERS Consensus am on g th e press

about w ho the wrongdoer is:

• Politicians: th em and

the ir bad actions.

• The Press: us and our

good actions.

• The public: the a ffected.

Direct attr ibut ion of act ion to

specific individuals

M oral evaluation is more

expl ic i t wi th predominantly

m ora l assessments.

High degree of m ora l discourse,

generalizing about the principle

of parl iamentary sovereignty

and consequences of malpractise

for the pol i t ical system and

society.

Historical references

AGENCY

CATEGORIZATIONS

GENERALIZATIONS

and DEBATES

CULTURAL CODES

Identi ty associations with the

traditional uncorrupted Brit ish

culture

NEWS ICONS The w ord form ula sleaze

func tioned as effective news

icon.

Lack of consensus among

the press about who the

wrongd oer is:

• Socialist characters

and their bad actions.

• Critics of the Socialists

and their bad actions.

Diffuse attr ibution of action

M oral evalua tion is no t as

explici t, with predominantly

legal assessments.

High degree of technical

and legal discourse with

generalizations about the

dem ocratic system and the

separation of powers

Few historical references

Reference to the picaresque

tradi t ion

W ord formulas such as

case and crisis were

used for making thematic

connections, thoug h th ey

did not fu nctio n as effective

news icons.



52 Chapter Seven

OT S

1. The Span ish express ion is Estado de D erecho.

2. Genova is the name of the street where the Popular Party's headquarters are

in Madrid.

3 Arthur Daley was an unreliable character from a British television series.

Quien sabe dónde? [Who knows where?] was the title of a Spanish televis

series.

4 In the original comedy sketch is sainete, a one-act comedy sketch orfarce typical of the Andalusian region of Spain. We have translated esper-

péntico by the term grotesque . The Spanish term comes from the term

esperpento which was the theater of the grotesque created by the Spanish

writer Valle Inclán.

5 The original Spanish term is trama.

6. In Britain and Spain these figures were found to be statistically significant p

= 0.00).

7 Bonk was a British tabloid slang term to describe sexual intercourse. The

doyen of bonk journalism in the late 1980s and early 1990s was the News o

the World followed by The Sun (Chippindale & Horrie, 1999, pp. 277-304).



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