Moral Panics LT6* Flashcards
Moral panic
refers to media’s reaction to a particular social group or particular actives that are a threaten societal values
who polarised moral panics?
Stan Cohen
what did Cohen demonstrate?
how the media blew out of proportion what we’re essentially small scuffles and vandalism using headlines like ‘Day of terror’
Why do certain types of reporting result in moral panics?
Cohen and Young (1981): Moral panic originate from nature of UK news and journalists see ‘problem groups’ as newsworthy
Who did Cohen look into?
Mods and Rockers
Hall (1978)
concluded from his research into black muggers in the 1970s that the moral panic in this case served an ideological function to divide and rule w/c by turning white and black people against each other.
What did Halls moral panic do?
diverted attention away from the mismanagement of capitalism
why do journalists report moral panics?
assume that their audiences share their moral concerns
criticism of Devil folk
Jewkes (2015): moral panic theory is too vague.
Not all folk devil are vulnerable.
Who looked into the relevance of moral panics in new media?
McRobbie and Thornton
McRobbie and Thornton
suggested that the media generated moral panics are becoming less common. Because new media technology and constant 24/7 roll out has changed the reporting and reaction of the events that would have caused a moral panic
pluralist view of media
consumers are able to not only select the news they want to see, they also have a wide array of choice in presenting
How has social media changed the news?
are able to comment upon the news and the way that it is portrayed
interactive journalism
creates clarity and openness as there can be a public dialogue between the public and media
citizen journalism
news reported and distributed by citizens, rather than professional journalists.
what has citizen journalism lead to?
professional journalists and people in the public becoming increasingly blurred with growth of citizen journalists
citizen journalism criticism
does not remove agendas.
public have particular agenda in responding to and shaping the news
Chandler (1994)
TV news is presented is reliable and valid because:
- Newsreaders neutral
- Reduced body language
- High tech studio symbolises the scientific lengths
What do pluralists argue?
journalists are professionals who are disinterested, impartial and objective purse the truth when creating news
what do neo-pluralists argue?
suggest that in the modern world of journalism these goals are increasingly difficult to attain
Davis (Neo-pluralist)
argues modern day British journalism is characterised by what he calls churnalism
Churnalism
journalists produce news based on pre-packaged press-releases from government spin doctors, public relations consultants or news agencies without doing independent research or even checking their facts.
What did Davis find about churnalism?
found that 80% of stories in the Times, the Guardian, Independent, Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail were wholly or partially constructed from second-hand material provided by news agencies or public relations firms
Marxist views of news
very critical of the idea that truth - telling is the primary function of journalist and news gathering is mainly based on a set of object news values
Herman and Chomsky (1988)
argue that news gathering is largely shaped by market forces and that built into the capitalist system
what does the social construction of the news do?
the news activity deflects interests away from the ruling class and towards the working class
hierarchy of credibility: Hall
news is supportive of capitalist interests because those in powerful positions have better access to media institutions than the less powerful
New of conflict: Philo (2001)
news presents conflict in biased ways resulting in simplistic and fixed view of conflict and persudes people to agree with certain political decisions
The elite power: Bagdikian (2004)
Argues people who own the media form part of a powerful group of elites including politicians, businesses leaders and financial leaders who have similar views.
leading to news that does not challenge inequality or corruption and helps to cover up poor political decisions
Example of Elite powers influencing news?
most newspapers have a section dedicated to business news but contains little about poverty.
How is elite powers influencing the news criticised?
Pluralists argue that it is impossible for owners to interfere with content o news because it is to economically complex
How do feminists criticise marxists theory
neglect the way that women are represented in the news
