Coverage of the political scandals involving Bill Clinton, Paula Jones and Gennifer Flowers do not conform to the pattern described by Larry Sabato in 'Feeding Frenzy: How Attack Journalism Has Transformed American Politics.' Articles from the New York Times and the Washington Post were analyzed in relation to components discussed by Sabato, such as competitive pressures, pack journalism, the character issue, women in the press corps, and public tolerance of corruption. The credibility of the story's genesis point also plays a role.