Character Encoding Not Being Transmitted by getJSON jQuery?

Question

I'm seeking to send this string via getJSON to my app:

Academia-Gate — the Nanny State & The Professors: My Brief Email Exchange With The Co-Chair of the “Cry Wolf” Project

I have this code immediately prior to the getJSON call:

jQuery.ajaxSetup({ scriptCharset: "utf-8" , contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8"});

Using Firebug, I can see that the text variable containing the above string, does contain it correctly, at the time it is used in my getJSON call.

However, using breakpoints, I can see that when this text is received by my php app during the call made by getJSON, it looks like this:

Academia-Gate — the Nanny State & The Professors: My Brief Email Exchange With The Co-Chair of the “Cry Wolf” Project

How can I correct this?

Thanks in advance to all for any info.

Best,

-Vik