In the general acceptance of the term, charisma is used to refer to people with unusual abilities and a high degree of personal magnetism. Many of them are however only perceived as such via the media. The question of how the media create cult figures is thus of immediate and obvious relevance. In this volume the issue is addressed by representatives of media studies, psychology/sports science, theology, empirical cultural studies, rhetoric, literary studies and historical studies. With reference to many examples they define the conditions for the construction of charismatic figures and the techniques used in doing so.