Representing fear; moral panics in the press and online

Whilst the media is often blamed for the ills of society, it is also pretty adept at blaming others for the downfall of humanity! The news media can be amongst the most cruel and subtle formats for scapegoating and alienating groups in society. It often carries such authority that people rarely question the validity of what they read or see in the context of the news.

This project offers the opportunity to become an expert in a field which may have affected your own life, and to be very creative in producing your own Moral Panic

 

 

Research Investigation

At the heart of this is obviously Stanley Cohen's seminal 1972 book; Folk Devils and Moral Panics. This will be standard core reading for anyone who wants to take on this project. A deep understanding of his work will be vital for success.

There are other texts and theories which will be needed to get to the really interesting stuff in this essay. Theories surrounding stereotyping and hegemony will not only allow you to be more succinct at analysing the texts you choose but also give you an opportunity to delve into the question of: Why have these Moral Panics been created in the first place?

The big decision is what Moral Panic(s) will you use as case studies? Many groups, places, people, places and even pasttimes have been demonised in the press - so there are plenty to choose from. But before you decide - you must fully comprehend that you are going to be analysing the texts that represent these groups not the groups themselves.

e.g. Writing an essay all about violent video games or asylum seekers is no good - you must write an essay about how they have been represented.

Some ideas for possible Moral Panics of the past 20-30 years:

• Terrorism
• Drugs
• Asylum Seekers
• Violent Video Games
• Hoodies & Asbos
• Single Parent Families
• China as a Global Threat
• CCTV and the 'Nanny State'
• Homosexuality
• Mental Health
• Political Correctness
• The Internet
• Islam

Knowing all kinds of stuff about these subjects is not good enough - you must have the texts that they have been represented in to analyse.

Whenever you post research label it with your name and: Moral Panics

 

Media Product

You must create your own Moral Panic via the production of  newspaper pages and/or an online news website.

Your research and analysis will have shown you exactly how the media encourages the audience how to fear an element of society that is deemed to be on the 'fringes' - something which is outside of the norm. Your deconstruction will have shown how manipulative and persuasive the media can be in trynig to shape the ideologies of an audience in order to be scared of that element.

You will also have investigated why Moral Panics are created and be able to give context to the representations you have seen.

All this analysis and research will probably give you a 'toolkit' of how to create a Moral Panic - sometimes subtle, sometimes explicit, the papers have the power to be master manipulators.

This project has the potential to be a lot of fun, but there are a couple of decisions to make and pit-falls to avoid...

• Are you going to take something that is already on the fringes of society and create a moral panic out of people's ignorance and limited perceptions?
• Are you going to choose something innocuous and unthreatening about society and demonise it?
• Avoid cliched and lazy ideas - somethings are overdone already; asylum seekers, video games and drugs might have already reached saturation point in the real media
• Don't confuse fear of things like natural disasters with Moral Panics
• Make sure that it's actually possible to get the photos you need - don't choose to discuss a terrorist attack unless you can get a photo of one!

Remember that the look and tone of this product should look and feel exactly like a real newspaper or news website. Be very careful with how you write it and the decisions you make in regards to photos.



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