Moral Panics and the Media

by Chas Critcher

Critcher (communications, Sheffield Hallam U., UK) explores the concept of "moral panic," an eruption of concern about social problems, evaluating the usefulness of moral panic models for understanding how politicians, the public, and pressure groups come to recognize apparently new threats to the social order. Two models of moral panics are identified and explained, then applied to various cases including AIDS, rave-ecstasy, "video nasties," child abuse, and pedophilia. Although written from a British perspective, the volume compares experiences across a range of countries and finds some common anxieties concerning threats to children. Distributed by Taylor & Francis. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2003

Reviews

[Cliodhna Ni Ghadhra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. He's very eager to link moral panic to moral indignation, which has merits, though I ultimately disagree.