Between 1977 and 1981 Steve Allen impressed viewers and critics with his PBS series Meeting of the Minds, which he wrote and hosted. The show offered roundtable talks between historical figures, such as Benjamin Franklin and Cleopatra, played by actors.

1st Lt. William L. Calley gave a series of interviews with Esquire in 1970. The following year he was convicted of murder for having ordered the 1968 massacre of civilians in My Lai, Vietnam.

Chapters of Truman Capote's projected novel "Answered Prayers" appeared in Esquire in 1975 and 1976. Capote drew on friends' confidences and took revenge on enemies, thinking no one would know the real identities of his characters. He nonetheless became unpopular in literary and social circles as a result of the Esquire excerpts.

President Jimmy Carter was interviewed by Playboy in 1976, leading many of his fellow evangelicals to criticize him for consenting to talk with...