{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.023045267489711935, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0, 'mean_word_length': 5.793296089385475, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
The life cycle of iconic sound bites: politicians’ transgressive utterances in media discourses

Politicians in contemporary societies constantly appear in and talk to the media. While media appearances constitute opportunities to communicate ideas and images, politicians can damage their own reputation through making statements that transgress political and/or cultural norms. Politicians’ transgressive utterances not only attract negative media coverage – they may also be recycled in media discourses. Drawing upon the theoretical concepts of “talk scandal” and “news icon,” this article develops a three-stage life-cycle for analyzing the media construction, contestation, and recycling of politicians’ transgressive utterances. The media first construct the utterance concerned as transgressive by serving as the platform for the articulation and expression of opprobrious discourses. In the second stage, intensive public discussion of the significance of the transgressive utterance ensues. In the third stage, the transgressive utterance can become an “iconic sound bite” decontextualized from the original event. This article illustrates and elaborates upon the arguments with a case study in Hong Kong.