An age of scandal entrepreneurs and scandalous production: Undercover journalism and its public interest scandals

Recently, UK investigative documentaries have taken the option to use covert hidden camera technology to capture scandalous revelations occurring within British institutions. Often branded with the moniker of ‘undercover’, these programmes offer unique insights into the production and impact of the modern technology-shaped scandal. This paper analyses examples of BBC Panorama and Channel 4 Dispatches programmes (2019/2017) and related professional reflections to argue that these programme teams have evolved into scandal entrepreneurs, using scandal technology to purposefully capture transgressions in public institutions and thereby produce ‘public interest scandals’. Created, in practice, are visualised evidence claims of scandal (i.e. scandal capital) around which they devise specific scandal representations and programme marketing. Produced with the purpose to generate reaction and impact across the media system and beyond, these forms of scandal capital and their related production practices demonstrate, it is suggested, the realities of producing forms of covert investigative journalism within ‘market conscious’ public service broadcasting.