ABSTRACT
Scandals can certainly be reputation busters, but certain types of reputations are far more vulnerable to the destructive effects of scandalmongering than others. However, scandalmongering is not only a means by which moral transgressors can be shamed before a potentially vast audience but is also, whether deliberately conceived of as such or not, a form of remoralisation which works to reinforce the validity of the values, norms or moral codes which have been transgressed. However, such journalism is by no means necessarily confined to crime news, and thrives in particular on the circulation of scandal. Certain norms are also more scandal sensitive than others, and the infringement of those that are also backed up by legal prohibitions tends to propel the action beyond the realm of mere scandal and into that of criminality. The term ‘scandal’ refers primarily to actions, events or circumstances which involve the transgression of certain values, norms or moral codes, ‘occupy a sort of middle ground of impropriety’.
