ii THE POWER OF REPUTATION IN MEDIATED PUBLIC SCANDAL: AN ANALYSIS OF COVERAGE OF THE KOBE BRYANT SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE

As recent studies of contemporary news media have shown, there is an increasing trend among media outlets to provide in-depth coverage of scandal involving sports celebrities. These scandals have become increasingly more serious, involving drugs, violence, sex and financial difficulty. These scandals often position athletic ability on the field or court into direct conflict with off-the-field personas, and create severe reputation dilemmas for the athletes involved. Using the case study of Kobe Bryant and his sexual assault trial, this paper will answer these questions: How does a sports celebrity’s pre-scandal reputation influence news media coverage when embroiled in a public scandal? How does that influence reflect on the media and the celebrity involved? A content analysis and contextual survey reveal that reputation, whether good or bad, plays a role in the kind of coverage a celebrity will receive when he/she becomes the source of or a player in a scandal, and that media fall victim to the power they created in celebrity itself. iii My sincere thanks: To Diana Owen and Stephen Farnsworth, for their most-appreciated guidance, advice and expertise To my mother, Patricia Connolly, for constantly motivating me to do my bes