The Lesson of Lincoln: Regulation as Narrative in the Savings and Loan Crisis

Nichols, Lawrence T.; NolanIII, James J.

doi:10.1007/1-4020-7898-6_9

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT) described the situation as 'confi dence man who runs a Ponzi scheme' (NYT, 11 July 2002: A1). Nichols (1997) and Nichols and Nolan (2004) noted similar simplifi cations in their research on fi nancial scandals. Representative Jim Leach (R-IA) characterized the S&L scandal as a big bank heist (cited in Nicholas and Nolan, 2004), and, in the Bank of Boston scandal, Senator Warren Rudman (R-NH) referenced the infamous outlaw, John Dillinger (cited in Nichols, 1997).…”

Section: From Degradation To Representationmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…A story quoted a bank CEO who said that the scandals were 'confi ned to a few big corporations' (NYT, 16 June 2002: 3:1). Nichols and Nolan (2004) describe similar oversimplifi cations in their analysis of the S&L scandal. Although many S&L thrifts were involved, one thrift, Lincoln Savings, and its head, Charles Keating, became the default reference in Congress for the entire scandal.…”

Section: Analysis From a Few Bad Apples To Status Degradationmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The deregulatory climate that facilitated these scandals parallels the 'deregulatory failures' explanation in the S&L scandal (Nichols and Nolan, 2004). In that scandal, even deregulation was referenced in the simple language of street crimes.…”

Section: From Degradation To Representationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tragic narratives transform scandals into spectacles of mass entertainment (Boje et al, 2004: 755). Nichols (1997) and Nichols and Nolan (2004) offer a similar concept: the landmark narrative. Landmark narratives (Nichols and Nolan, 2004: 143) are stories that represent and epitomize problems (e.g., the S&L scandals or other fi nancial scandals).…”

Section: A Critical Dramaturgymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both landmark and tragic narratives are about sensemaking. Congressional hearings and the media representations of them create the public record that becomes a part of our collective understanding of the scandals (Nichols, 1997;Nichols and Nolan, 2004). Tragic narratives transform scandal stories into culturally sensible and standardized interpretations (Boje and Rosile, 2003).…”

Section: A Critical Dramaturgymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Enron’s perp walk: Status degradation ceremonies as narrative

Cavender¹,

Gray

Miller

2010

Crime, Media, Culture

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The collapse of Enron and revelations about the widespread financial wrongdoing of other corporations prompted congressional hearings in 2002. The hearings culminated in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, legislation that regulates the accounting industry and imposes prison sentences on executives who lie on their corporations' financial statements. There was extensive media coverage of Enron and the other high-profile corporations and of the congressional hearings into their wrongdoing. In this paper, we analyze the media representations of these matters. We focus on media coverage of the political language that was offered during the hearings, on the media's own characterizations of these events, and on how the coverage represented corporate wrongdoing and its control. Our analysis is in three parts. First, we track the 'bad apples' language that shifted blame from the corporations onto individuals. Second, we consider the angry denunciations from Congress that resemble status degradation ceremonies. Third, we analyze the hearings as representations of the scandal story using a critical dramaturgy. We argue that the hearings became a spectacle that deflected critique from the economy and shored up the legitimacy of the government and the economy. The usage of critical dramaturgy helps us to make sense of criminological research about the public's sensibilities of corporate crime.

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Section: From Degradation To Representationmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Analysis From a Few Bad Apples To Status Degradationmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: From Degradation To Representationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Critical Dramaturgymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Critical Dramaturgymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations