Sociology

M e d ia 1 9
 Impac
t of the Media on b
violence, D ehavior,
eviance Am
 Moral plification
Panics (1/2
)
• Conventional analysis of Media’s impact on behavior
focuses mainly on it’s negative impacts (e.g. encouraging
violent behavior, manipulated audience etc) BUT it’s also
imp to explore the positive effects of Media.

 Negative Impacts

• 3 ways to view Negative Media Effects :

1. Across society as a whole which involves economic,

political and cultural negatives.
2. Across social groups e.g. how media contributes to Moral
Panics
3. At the individual level e.g. how media is a causal or
contributing factor to violent behavior
  Societies
① In Economic terms, large media corporations
divide up global markets and operate as
Oligarchies (a political system governed by a few
people) that:

i. Prevent Entrance to media markets

ii. Restrict competition
iii. Limit consumer choice

• Lechner This ^ creates Media Homogenization by

developing a “consumerist culture” in which
standard commodities are promoted by Global
Marketing Campaigns to create similar lifestyles.
② Politically New Media has led to an increased
surveillance and loss of personal privacy.

• Govts and Private companies exploit the capacity for

info gathering using new media and extend population
surveillance.

• Mobile phones and satellite technology can be used to

track individuals and also to monitor their contacts
whereas social networking sites collect, store and sell
personal info abt users to advertisers.

③ Culturally  Global Media encourages a Cultural

Hegemony which colonizes local cultures with the
products and lifestyles of Dominant Cultures
• E.g. The Global domination of the US Film Industry or
the influence of brands like Cola- Cola and Nike

• Kraeplin On an individual level, popular teen

magazines link appearance and consumerism

• Globalized media contributes to the development of a

consumption culture in which buying of goods and
services (e.g. mobile phones etc) is advertised as an end
in itself.

• Traditional Marxists explain these negative impacts in

terms of Manipulation Theories which suggest that the
Media directly influences audience perception and
belief’s.
• Mass society is characterized by social isolation and
alienation which is why Media becomes a source of
Mass Culture through what Adorno and
Horkheimer termed as the “Culture Industry”

• Audiences are receptive to whatever the media

transmits because there are few links to alternative
sources of info

• By creating various elements of popular culture

(e.g. films, magazines etc), Media reflects other forms
of Industrial Production in Capitalist societies
they are consumed uncritically and passively by
the masses
• Ruling Class controls the Culture Industry which enabled
them to also control the means of mental production and
populations

• Schor People are manipulated to participate in a

dumbed down, artificial, consumer culture which fulfills
only a few human satisfactions.

 Deviance Amplification

• Deviance  Behavior that is out of line

• Deviance Amplification Theory of Deviance which
argues that a range of social reactions, particularly those
orchestrated (presented) through the media in terms of
moral panics, have the effect of creating more serious
forms of crime.
• Wilkins Developed the concept of Deviance
Amplification to show how the development of crime
and deviance involves a positive feedback loop:

① Initial or Primary Deviance is identified and

condemned by the media.

② This leads to the Deviant Group becoming socially

isolated and resentful.

③ Through a general media Labeling Process, this^

behavior leads to an increased social reaction
(including the development of a moral panic) by the
Media, politicians and formal control agencies
there is less toleration of the original deviant behavior
④ This then develops into Secondary Deviation,
which involves an increased level of Deviation

⑤ As a consequence, the reaction from the Media,

politicians and police increases, leading to new
laws (the criminalization of Deviants) or increased
police resources to deal with “the problem”.

• In this way, each group, deviant and control, feeds off

the actions of the other to create a “spiral of
deviance” Moral Panics created by the Media are
a crucial component of this
  Moral Panics
• Cohen Moral Panic is a situation in which a
condition, episode, person or group of people
emerge to become defined as a threat to societal
values and interests.

• These threatening values create anxiety among

people in society which puts pressure on the
authorities to control the problem and discipline
the people responsible.

• But the moral concern is usually exaggerated by the

Media
• E.g. Cohen gave an example of media’s reaction to youth
“disturbances” on Easter Monday 1964 these small
scale fights and vandalism were portrayed by the media as
much serious by the use of terms like “Day of Terror” etc 
no one paid attention to what was actually happening 
Events were over reported and exaggerated

• Media tapped into the social consensus media assumed

that the majority of decent and law abiding population
were concerned abt the falling morals in youth & the
influence of youth cultures

• Youth subcultures such as “Mods” were stereotyped as

negative and as threat to the law and order Media
tried to impose a culture of control on them by calling for
their punishment by the police, courts and Govt
• Goode & Ben Yehuda Moral Panics produce a “Folk
Devil”- a stereotype of deviance which suggests that
the perpetuators of the deviant activities are
immoral, selfish or evil and that steps are needed to
control and neutralize their actions so that society
can return to “normality”.

• Media also indulges in social soothsaying- it adopts a

disaster mentality and predicts more problems if the
problem group isn’t kept under surveillance or
punished  this puts a lot of social pressure on the
forces of law to do something abt it

• Moral panics are volatile- they erupt suddenly but

they also disappear quickly
• They have a lasting effect they raise public
consciousness and in extreme cases might lead to
changes in social policies or laws

• Publicity and social reaction to the moral panic

create the potential for further crime and deviance
in the future.

• E.g. “Just say No” Anti Drug Campaign attracted more

young people to use ecstasy because they realized
that the adult world disapproved of its use.

• Moral panics go through stages a “cycle of

newsworthiness” :
① Tabloid media reports on an incident or a group by using
sensationalist and exaggerated language and headlines

② Moral Entrepreneurs such as politicians, religious leaders

etc react to media reports and condemn the group or
activity they insist that authorities take action

③ Media oversimplifies the reasons why the group or

activity has appeared (e.g. young people out of control) and
follow up articles demonize the group as a social
problem or “folk devils” Media gives them particular
characteristics focusing on their dress and behavior
which helps the general public and police to identify
them easily.
④ Authorities stamp down on the group or activity e.g.
police arresting those associated with the activity,
Courts punish those convicted of the activity or the
Govt brings in new laws to control the activity or
group.

⑤ More incidents are reported to the police by the

general public as the activities of these groups or
people become more visible in public consciousness.

⑥ Media reports the arrests which result from the

moral panic, hence fulfilling the self fulfilling
prophecy or the prediction made by the media that
this group or activity would be social problem.
⑦ The group may react to the moral panic (e.g. over
policing) by becoming more deviant in protest, or
the activity may be underground, where it becomes
more difficult to police and control.

 Why do Moral Panics come abt?

 A reaction to rapid social change

• Furedi Moral panics arise when societies fails to

keep up with the rapid social changes in society and
are unable to control powerless groups such as the
young
• 1950’s & 1960’s many changes in the British
society young people gained economic and
cultural power Distinct youth cultures like
“Teddy Boys”, “mods” etc emerged because of all
these changes, the older generation felt that they
were losing control over the younger generation.

• Moral panics are actually the concerns that older

generation have abt the nature of society today
People see themselves at a risk from different
groups Media encourages people to feel that these
groups don’t value the norms and values of society
• Cohen & Young Media’s anxiety abt the behavior of
particular social groups originates in the consensual
nature of the media in the UK today.

• Journalists assume that everyone shares common

values of morality and abt what’s right and wrong.
things outside these boundaries are considered wrong

• Media focuses on problem groups and that’s seen

newsworthy because journalists etc assume that like
minded people will agree with their take on society

• Media believes that it is giving the public what it wants.

 A means of making a profit

• According to some commentators, moral panics are a

product of news values and the desire of journalists and
editors to sell newspapers they are a good e.g. of how
audience are manipulated by the media for commercial
reasons.

• Moral panics help sell Tabloid newspapers.

• However, after some time, stories die down because both

the audience and journalists lose interest in them

• The social problems don’t disappear, they remain dormant

(inactive) until the journalists decide to talk abt them again
 Serving a Ruling Class Ideology

• Stuart Hall (Marxist) Moral panics serve an

ideological function Study on the media coverage of
Black muggers in 1970’s

• Findings? : Young African Caribbean's were all labeled

as criminals and a potential threat to white people
this served the triple ideological purpose of :

1. Turning the White W.C against the Black W.C

2. Diverting attention away from the mismanagement of
the capitalism by the Capitalist Class
3. Justifying repressive laws and policing that could be
used against other “problem” groups
• The notion that moral panics make it easier for the
powerful to introduce control legislation that
might be rejected by the general public under
normal circumstances has attracted more support.

• E.g. moral panic abt the rave cultures resulted in a

law banning illegal parties and criminalizing
trespass

• The installation of CCTV in city centers and

increased TV and Film censorship are the direct
consequence of the moral panic that developed out
of the murder of the toddler James Bulger.
• Media is central to the development of Moral
Panics Different sociological approaches explain
their role differently.

• Intrepretivist Approaches see societal values as

emerging from day to day interactions and
experiences people construct the social world in
terms of a range of ideas that are simply taken for
granted.

• Goode & Ben Yehuda They argue that

Intrepretivists see moral panics as arising from
“anxiety in the grassroots of communities”
•
• Role of media in modern societies is to express public
concerns by representing groups which threaten social
cohesion as “deviant”, the media focuses public concern
and leads control agencies such as the police and courts to
take action.

• According to this perspective, moral panics develop

spontaneously out of a general public concern towards
behavior that threatens the moral order.

• Cohen Moral panics reinforce established moral values

in 2 ways:

① By setting moral boundaries for acceptable behavior

② By creating a sense of social and moral solidarity at a
time of change and uncertainty
• This approach sees media as a channel that amplifies
rather than creates public concern.

• Media audiences are seen as Active and Critical

consumers rather than passive recipients of media
representations.

• If an audience chooses to ignore media concerns, a

Deviancy Amplification spiral doesn’t occur.

• Hilgartner and Bosk Responsibility for moral

panics is also shifted away from the media because a
range of social problems exist in any society at any
given time any of these social problems may cause
public concern & lead to moral panic
• Whether one form of behavior or social group is targeted
for action by the Media depends on those occupying
Middle levels of power, such as police officers, politicians
and civil servants, convincing media outlets that a problem
exists- something they do to enhance their own power.

• Those who are seen to resolve a moral panic gain

prominence.

• Neo Marxist Approaches examine moral panics across 2

dimensions:

① How and why they are created by powerful groups

② How they contribute to the maintenance of Elite
Hegemony
• According to Neo Marxists, Moral panics are political
phenomena's- the defence of a certain type of moral order
defined by a Ruling class to exercise control, by focusing
condemnation on a particular “moral threat”.

• Moral Panics are in some ways manufactured as Media

Sensationalism but this doesn’t mean that they are
necessarily deliberately created.

• Media Sensationalism Def Process where the media

attempts to increase the dramatic content of an issue or story

• At various times, Capitalist societies offer up opportunities for

moral panics and Elites take adv of these to criticize those
who threaten both moral order and by extension Ruling class
Hegemony.
• Hall et al Opportunities for moral panics occur at times
of economic, political and ideological crisis in capitalist
societies.

• Their function is to distract public attention from the real

causes of such crisis by generating panics around groups
and behaviors that create easily identifiable scapegoats or
folk devils

• These people are relatively powerless and can be subjected

to physical control

• This type of crisis is rare, however, a more imp explanation

for moral panics is that they represent periodic attempts to
establish moral order by taking action against those who
challenge it
• E.g. In relation to Deviancy Amplification, this
operates on 2 levels:

① The surface reality of different types of Deviance

② The deeper reality of promoting a particular kind of
moral order

• These two levels are linked and expressed through

the agency of the Media.

• To protect and enhance the moral order, folk

devils must be identified and blamed.
• Scapegoating performs 2 main functions:

① It distracts attention from “real moral issues” e.g.

large scale social inequalities
② By allowing the full force of control agencies to be
directed at moral deviants, the public is both
co-opted and warned; behavior that challenges
the existing moral order will be met with force.

• From this perspective, moral panics trigger

increased surveillance and control of subject
populations through both the Media and other
control agencies such steps are taken with the
consent and co-operation of those being controlled.
• Rather than being a cause of moral panics, Deviancy
Amplification is actually a result of all of it.

• Where the object of moral panics is usually seen as Deviants,

for Neo Marxists, the real object of control is the
population as a whole.

• In this way, the media is responsible for creating moral

panics, with the intention of controlling the behavior of
those who support action against deviants.

• Each panic results in greater levels of control, until a

situation is reached where public surveillance and control is
an imp part of everyday life in a way that is both welcomed
and accepted in order to ensure “public safety” which for Neo
Marxists means the “interests of powerful elites”
• Livingstone and Hargrave Media plays an imp
role in the development of moral panics.

• According to them contemporary concerns over

teenage boys shooting classmates, fears of
increasing xenophobia (hatred of foreigners), rising
levels of obesity or appalling murders with sexual
elements are commonly linked back to the (mis)use
of particular types of media content (e.g. film,
internet etc).

• However, there are other causal links b/w the

Media and these negative effects:
① Television there is some evidence that suggests
that under certain circumstances, TV can
negatively influence attitudes in some areas,
including those which may affect society (through the
creation of prejudice) and those which may affect the
individual (e.g. by making them excessively fearful).

② Video There is evidence that consumption of

violent (non consensual) pornography results in
more negative or aggressive attitudes and
behaviors towards women as well as supporting
the desire to watch more extreme content, although
the evidence for the effect of viewing online
pornography on children is limited
③ Internet

• While this is a wide ranging form of media, there is

some evidence that various forms of harm exist,
from online bullying to the grooming of children
by pedophiles.

• Violent video games have also been linked to the

development of violent behavior in young and
vulnerable adults with particular personality
disorders, although this is disputed
  Postmodernism- A Risk Society
• Beck Late modern society a lot of risk due to the
breakdown of old cultural identities and practices
that ensured stability and continuity.

• New types of scientific and environmental risks

have appeared which are beyond the control of both
individuals and society these are seen as
threatening

• Moral panics are a symptom of the risk

consciousness that characterizes later modernity
  Critique of Moral Panic Theory
• Study of Moral panics has drawn attention to the power
of media in defining what counts as normal and
deviant behavior and the effects of such media
labeling on particular social groups

• Jewkes concept of moral panics is useful as it reveals

that audiences have different types of responses,
ranging from imp social reactions at one extreme to
disinterest at the other

• However, Moral panic theory has faced a lot of

criticisms which focus on how particular
characteristics of moral panics are open to different
interpretations
1. Moral Panic theory fails to consider that there are different
levels of Deviancy and a consequence of one moral panic
can’t be equated to another

2. Jewkes criticized that not all Folk Devils can be said to be

vulnerable or unfairly maligned (defamed) E.g. social
reaction to paedophiles is justified.

3. Moral Panic theory claims that the media constructs the

Deviant Folk Devil through reference to their style or
fashion and by the deviant behavior of the deviant group

• This ^ fails to acknowledge that some characteristics

assigned by media to these groups labeled as Folk Devils e.g.
punks are a result of consumerist culture industry and
aren’t a threat to society
• Jewkes argues that PM are critical of the Moral Panic
Theory because the diversity that in the past was a
hallmark of a folk devil is now tolerated and
celebrated.

• Crticher The concept of Moral Panic is too

abstract and characteristics like sensationalism
etc associated with it are too vague and value laden

• Jewkes Morality isn’t fixed, it’s fluid and moral

panics can have different meanings and natures in
different times this is something that the moral
panic theory failed to acknowledge
• Moral panic theory rarely explain why people are
behaving in certain ways and it assumes that these
activities are constructed or sensationalized by
journalists.

• According to Jewkes, audience isn’t passive like the

Moral panic theory assumes, in reality audience are
actively engaged with the media content Media is
no longer a Monolithic enterprise in which
communication is just one way

• McRobbie & Thornton Interactive New Media has

changed the relationship b/w Media & it’s audience
and has undermined the impact of moral panics
• Due to the availability of a wide range of media,
audience are exposed to different interpretations abt
social problems and are more likely to be skeptical of
their moral panic status.

• However, Interactive New Media might also have the

opposite effect as it may actually accelerate the
appearance of moral panics

• According to a lot of people, moral panics have been

used by the media and have become a term of abuse
referring to everyday activities of journalists

• Some sociologists also believe that moral panics is an

Elaborate Media Scam to spin social problems
• Hunt dismisses moral panics as conspiracy theories and moral
panic theorists are biased in their selection of case studies.

• Left Realists Moral Panics shouldn’t be dismissed as a

product of journalist common practice or Ruling class
ideology

• Lea & young Moral panics have a real basis in reality Media
identifies groups who are a threat to other people so moral
panics are justified in many cases

• Marsh & Melville Moral Panics aren’t myths but are the
result of actual behavior and events

• Cohen Despite all the criticisms, it’s easy and fun to study
moral panics