In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, unethical or sexual practices.King, 1984 Politicians and officials who are embroiled in scandals are more likely to retire or get lower vote shares.
Journalism Scandal sells, and broadsides, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines and the electronic media have covered it in depth. The Muckraker movement in American journalism was a component of the Progressive Era in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Journalists have built their careers on exposure of corruption and political scandal, often acting on behalf of the opposition party.Achter, P. J. (2000). "Narrative, intertextuality, and apologia in contemporary political scandals. Southern Journal of Communication, 65(4), 318–333.
The political ideology of media owners plays a role—they prefer to target the opposition but will reluctantly cover their own side.Puglisi, R., & Snyder, J. M. Jr. (2011). "Newspaper Coverage of Political Scandals", Journal of Politics 73(3), 1–20.Thompson, J. B. (1997). "Scandal and social theory" in J. Lull & S. Hinerman (Eds.), Media scandals: Morality and desire in the popular culture marketplace pp. 34–64). (Cambridge, England: Polity Press). Journalists have to frame the story in terms of the audience's values and expectations to maximize the impact.Yioutas, J., & Segvic, I. (2003). "Revisiting the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal: The convergence of agenda setting and framing." Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 80(3), 567–582. Lists by country
Albania – Political scandals of Albania Argentina – List of political scandals in Argentina Australia – List of Australian political controversies Austria – List of political scandals in Austria Belgium – Belgian political scandals Belize – List of political scandals in Belize Canada – List of Canadian political scandals Chile – Chilean political scandals Colombia – Colombian parapolitics scandal European Union – Qatar corruption scandal at the European Parliament Finland – List of political scandals in Finland France – List of political scandals in France Germany – German political scandals Greece – List of political scandals in Greece Iceland – Icelandic political scandals India – Indian political scandals Ireland – Irish political scandals Italy – Italian political scandals Japan – Black Mist Scandal (Japanese politics) Lithuania – Corruption in Lithuania Malaysia – List of scandals in Malaysia New Zealand – List of political scandals in New Zealand Philippines – List of political scandals in the Philippines Poland - List of political scandals in Poland Slovakia – List of Slovak political scandals Slovenia – 1975 Zaliv Scandal South Korea – Political scandals in South Korea Switzerland - Secret files scandal Ukraine – List of political scandals in Ukraine United Kingdom – List of political scandals in the United Kingdom United States – List of federal political scandals in the United States
See also Deviancy amplification spiral Mass media Moral panic Sensationalism Sex scandal References
Further reading Canel, Maria Jose and Karen Sanders. Morality Tales: Political Scandals and Journalism in Britain and Spain in the 1990s (2005) Dagnes, Alison and Mark Sachleben. "Scandal! An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Consequences, Outcomes, and Significance of Political Scandals" (Bloomsbury 2013) Dziuda, Wioletta; Howell, William G. 2020. "Political Scandal: A Theory." American Journal of Political Science. Fisher, Trevor. Scandal: Sexual Politics of Late Victorian Britain (1995) Giroux, Gary. Business Scandals, Corruption, and Reform: An Encyclopedia (2013) Grossman, Mark. Political Corruption in America: An Encyclopedia of Scandals, Power, and Greed (2008) Heidenheimer, Arnold and M. Johnston. Political corruption: Concepts and contexts (2002) King, Anthony. Sex, Money and Power: Political Scandals in Great Britain and the United States (1984) Kohn, George C. The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal (2000) MacMullen, Ramsay. Corruption and the Decline of Rome (1990) Scott, James C. Comparative political corruption (1972) Temple, Kathryn. Scandal Nation: Law and Authorship in Britain, 1750–1832 (2002)
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