When personal desire goes beyond moral boundaries in the lives of public figures, a media scandal may not be far behind. But media today can make anyone with the right story a subject for scandal. The media routinely invades privacy in search of a scandal, turning secrets into narratives that ignite widespread attention. The media scandal has become a cornerstone of contemporary journalism, and a controversial trend in media performance overall.

This is the first volume to evaluate scandal as a mass-mediated, globalized phenomenon. Top scholars examine how institutions and personalities ranging from politics, religion and big business to TV talkshows, sports, and popular music, become converted into scandalous commodities that drive tabloids, trash TV and "respectable" media too. By exploring how scandals fuel mass media and popular culture, this timely book will stimulate much discussion about this fascinating subject.

This will be essential reading for students and scholars in media studies, cultural studies, journalism/mass communication, communication studies and sociology.

James Lull is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Communication Studies at San Jose State University. He holds the first Honorary Doctorate in Communication at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He is also the recipient of two Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowships and a Leverhulme Trust Fellowship. His many books include Culture in the Communication Age and Media, Communication, Culture - 2000 . Visit the author online at JamesLull.com.