"Notes on a Scandal"

By Cathy Caudill

In honor of our class session on the craft of interviews, I've chosen to analyze a feature on Jenny Sanford—the wife of South Carolina's famously adulterous governor Mark Sanford—written by Rebecca Johnson, and published by Vogue (September 2009).

Stories of wronged politicians' wives are far from new, and I've come to expect their inevitable feature to have the standard appeal for sympathy. They stand behind their husbands in photos that adorn front-pages nationwide, looking ashamed, violated, and withdrawn—the sub-caption might as well read "Woe is me." Sanford's wife, however, begs for none of it—which I found to be positively refreshing. 

The lead addresses her unique (and rather wise) approach to the political scandal: "Before Jenny Sanford came along, the options for wronged political wives were pretty poor. You could suffer silently (see Silda Wall Spitzer), deny everything (hello Hillary), or make catty asides about the harlot who caused your husband to stray (Elizabeth Edwards). Then came Jenny Sanford." This is a great lead, as it automatically makes the casual reader sharply aware that this story is not going to be the same wronged-politician's-wife tale that has been recycled since the emergence of politics (or the mass-media).

The following graph goes on to explain exactly how Jenny was different, while cleverly inserting both a description of her personality and physical makeup for the readers (who can glance at the opposite page at her photograph to confirm if the description is accurate—it is): "Petite, clear-eyed, strong-willed, pious without being smug, smart without being caustic, Jenny Sanford became an unlikely heroine by telling the simple truth. Her children were the most important thing in the world to her. She had kicked the lying bum out of the house when he refused to give up his mistress...[but] if he wanted to try and make the marriage work, the door was open."

Johnson's description of  her house on Sullivan's Island, where she interviewed Jenny, was written to give readers a sense of her personality—or practicality, rather. "[The house is] a modest cinderblock affair, albeit one with million-dollar views of the ocean. The kitchen counters are Corian, the rugs are sea grass. It's a house for the boys to knock around in and friends to gather in."

The article is heavy with quotes from Jenny Sanford and her closest friends. While the media are constantly trying to assess (or assume) how a woman in her situation would feel, the feature story does not take liberties with her thoughts and emotions—which feels far more appropriate. The article benefits from the fact that Jenny is particularly articulate—no need for a writer to paraphrase. Sanford's quotes aren't evasive either, but sound honest and intelligent.

Interestingly, the focus isn't entirely on the scandal—it's on Jenny herself. Much of the article is spent on her life prior to the scandal, addressing her career as a successful investment banker in New York City, and the large role she played in getting her husband elected to office. In the end, the article allowed the reader to view the governor's wife as an entity outside of a scandal—that the scandal was only one minor aspect of her life, another stone in the wall of life's many trials. Which was—and I know that I am repeating myself—absolutely refreshing.