Abstract
The scandal surrounding Senator Edward M. Kennedy and the events of July 18, 1969, on Chappaquiddick Island reveal a template for understanding scandal in contemporary times. Revisiting his July 25th televised address to the people of Massachusetts illustrates how apologia (speaking in defense of oneself) impacted the narrative of scandal for decades to come. Kennedy’s speech, which took place one week after the car crash when he pleaded guilty to a charge of leaving the crime scene, serves as a signal moment in which the nascent context for contemporary political-sexual scandal in a media-saturated environment was born.
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Cos, G. (2016). Chappaquiddick Revisited: Scandal and the Modern-Mediated Apologia. In: Mandell, H., Chen, G. (eds) Scandal in a Digital Age. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59545-4_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59545-4_4
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-59773-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-59545-4
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