Media Sociology S01103

1. Media SociologyS01103 Lecture 5 - Moral Panics

2. ‘Reading Media Texts’ workshop after the lecture this week • Class Essay workshop after the lecture next week

3. In this lecture we will…. • Define the term ‘moral panic’ • Explore some theoretical accounts • ‘symbolic interactionist’ • ‘dominant ideological’ • ‘risk society’ • Moral panics and youth sub-culture • Moral panics and the contemporary news media

4. Defining moral panic ‘an overreaction of the mass media, police and local community leaders to delinquent offences which are, in fact, relatively trivial both in terms of the nature of the offence and the number of people involved’ Penguin Dictionary of Sociology (Turner, Abercrombie and Hill)

5. Social Construction of moral panics • Folk Devils and Moral Panics (Cohen) • Theoretically informed by symbolic interactionism: ‘the rule makers create the rule breakers’ (Becker) • Mods and Rockers, Clacton and Brighton 1964 • Media and moral entrepreneurs involved in the production of moral panic

6. Cohen’s model and ‘the deviancy-amplification spiral’ ‘DEVIANT’ ACT From Taylor et. al 1995, Sociology in Focus

7. Moral panics and the dominant ideology • Stuart Hall et.al, Policing the Crisis: Mugging, the State and law and Order • State institutions (police, government) as primary definers of events • Media as secondary definers of events • ‘Signification spiral’ Identification of an issue Identification of a subversive minority Convergence or linking by labelling Prophesy ‘Firm steps’ ‘Thresholds’

8. ‘Thresholds’ PERMISSIVENESS Civilised society Sexual deviance; pornography; libertarian sex education ‘Non-violent’ demonstrations LEGALITY Crime: Non-violent theft; burglary etc EXTREME VIOLENCE Violent demonstrations Terrorism; murder Armed bank raids; Treason/spying; Robbery with violence Figure 3.1 From Hall et. al 1978 Policing the Crisis, Ch.8

9. Moral panics and youth culture • Youth culture and ‘sub-culture’ (Hebdige 1979, Thornton 1995) • Mods and rockers, punk, acid house, goth, hip-hop • ‘Respectable fears’, youth and demoralization/fragmentation • Deviance and ‘cool’ • Leah Betts, ecstasy

10. ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’ clip

11. Moral Panics and ‘The Risk Society’ • Ulrich Beck Risk Society • (Late) modern societies characterised by a surfeit of anxieties • Organising, political power of anxiety • Media is the means by which these anxieties circulate

12. Moral panics and the contemporary media • News values in changed industrial context, i.e. market pressure, 24 hour news, influence of web, decline in newspapers, rise in PR, press agencies, ‘churnalism’ (Davies) • ’Moral panics, once the unintended outcome of journalistic practice, seem to have become a goal’ (McRobbie and Thornton) • Who is caught up in moral panics?

13. Conclusions • Moral panics involve texts (products), audiences and institutions • They can be understood as products of specific group relationships (Cohen), of particular political or ideological agenda (Hall), or specific social conditions/contexts (Beck) • Youth culture susceptible to being the generator or victim of moral panics • Changes in the audience (sophistication) and the news industry (competition and rationalisation) might increase quantity but decrease power