Moral Panics and the British Media

Ian marsh and Gaynor Melville

"In a media saturated world, moral panics have less impact and nothing shocks us anymore"

"The term moral panic has been widely adopted both by the mass media and in everyday usage to refer to the exaggerated social reaction caused by the activities of particular groups and individuals"

"The review concludes that there are key elements to moral panics and that these panics are the result of real events and actual behaviour and cannot be dismissed as myths"

"A moral panic refers to an exaggerated reaction, from the media, the police or wider public, to activities of particular groups"

"so a moral panic is an exaggerated response to a type of behaviour that is seen as a social problem - the term indicates an over reaction on the part of the media and/or other social institutions"

"Societies appear to be subject, every now and then, to periods of moral panic. a condition, episode, person or group of people emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests its nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass media."

"Sometimes the panic passes over and is forgotten, except in folklore and collective memory. at other times it has more serious and long lasting repercussions and might produce such changes as those in legal and social policy or even in the way society conceives itself"

"The media have long operated as agents of moral indignation in their own right: even if they are not self consciously engaged in crusading or muck-raking, their very reporting of certain 'facts' can be sufficient to generate concern, anxiety, indignation or panic"

"The public image of these folk devils was invariably tied up to a number of highly visual scenarios associated with their appearance, youths chasing across the beach, brandishing deck chairs above their heads, sleeping on the beaches and so on."

"Moral panics occur when the media turn a reasonably ordinary events and present it as extraordinary"

"The media, In particular, set in motion a deviance amplification spiral, through which the subjects of the panic are viewed as a source of moral decline and social disintegration"

"Moral Panics clarify the moral boundaries of the society in which they occur"

"Moral Panics occur during periods of rapid social change and anxiety"

"Young people are the usual target of moral panics, their behaviour is regarded as a barometer to test the health or sickness of society"
Moral Panics

Kenneth Thompson

"it is widely acknowledged that this is the age of the moral panic. Newspaper headlines continually warn of some new danger resulting from moral laxity and television programmes echo the theme with sensational documentaries"

"In the 1950's there was a panic about the effects on young peoples morals of spending time in coffee bars"

"There are two reasons for arguing that there has been a significant change. the first is the increasing rapidity in the succession of moral panics; one barely finishes before another takes its place. Amongst anything can spark of panic, so the initial event can range from something as serious as children killing children (James Bulger) to an incident of school bullying. at one point there is fear about being wiped out by the AIDS epidemic, then there is outrage about the discovery of porn"

"Britain is not alone in having moral panics, they seem to be increasingly frequent in modern societies as we approach the millennium"

"It is true that the British are alarmed and frightened by social fragmentation and growing violence"

"It is also true that the moral compasses by which to steer are increasingly uncertain, that dos not mean the answer is a crusade led by party politicians or conservative newspapers"

"The fear of sexual immortality and the threat it posed to the family as the main bastion of social order (as religion became more confined to the private sphere, especially the family) was allied to a fear of youth subcultures"

"The moral panic about sex existed in tandem and with an equally fear of the 'Hooligan' or the 'Yob' lurking every street corner"

Dangerous games play, pleasure and panics

"The history of the mass media is littered with examples of censorship, banning, moral outrage and controversy"

"The idea that the media is responsible for violence and antisocial behaviour can be seen as scapegoating"

"Of the many examples often cited are the claims that the music of Marilyn Manson and the game doom were to blame for the columbine high school shootings and that the film child's play was influential in the murder of James Bulger"