Introduction

Abstract

This introduction seeks to make explicit the historical, technological, and cultural links between American politics, news media, and gossip as a mode of communication. This chapter advances a new framework of gossip, by which the authors intentionally apply the more traditional public and informal understanding of the term to politics and political actors. The latter are both purveyors and subjects of gossip, which creates and enhances their fame while also blurring, and in some cases, eliminating the line between politics and celebrity. Various strands of theory in sociology, media studies, gender studies, and journalism are overviewed. A Gossip Politic provides readers with an in-depth portrait of the ways in which gossip has shaped our understanding of democracy, contributed to our current partisan landscape, and facilitated the presidency of Donald Trump.