This paper uses a general framework for ethnographic research, to integrate detailed discourse analysis with broader ethnographic goals. Particular attention is paid to the study of modern state institutions, by providing two examples of analyses of political media interviews, one with the U.S. President Ronald Reagan and one with the Austrian President Kurt Waldheim. The focus is on the analysis of patterns of distorted communication (Habermas), which allows to relate different scenes to each other, and ultimately to broader issues of politics and history.