Lesson Notes: Folk Devils and Moral Panics - Stan Cohen 1972

- Stan Cohen noticed the difference between events witnessed first hand and the stories that were published in the media.
- A moral panic is a story or event which is reported and emphasised to cause fear amongst the public. Scaring them and giving them something to blame.

Charlie Brooker - Newswipe S2, Ep1

• "The news has an inherent bias towards worst case scenarios".
• "Any youth phenomenon almost automatically becomes a moral panic". 
• "The media plays a central role in the development of unreasonable fear". - Dan Gardner
• "It wasn't just in the news ... it was in the culture". - Dan Gardner
• Our fears get recreated in films/books.
• Fears become part of our culture.
• Not covered if it doesn't fit the Western wants.
• "Media followed established narratives". 
• "It's not secret to anyone that the news is just a battering ram for scare-mongering". 
• If news channels didn't feel like there was a market for it they wouldn't do it.

Recent news story regarded as 'moral panic':
In the last few years there have been many revelations about the 70s, in particular Jimmy Savile and related cases of sexual exploitation.
Example articles: The Mirror, Daily Mail, Telegraph, The Independent , BBC.

Why do you think it's a moral panic? Use evidence.

I feel that the Jimmy Savile case is demonstrative of a moral panic because one allegation sparked many more allegations and further accusations towards other famous men. The Independent article stated that "as Savile grew in fame his offending became increasingly prolific"; this is clear evidence towards the scare-mongering tactics that the media were using. The words "increasingly prolific" suggest to the reader that it was out of control and could have happened to anyone. In most of the news articles the people involved were more often than not referred to as "the victim". This indicates to the reader that normal people were involved, meaning people are more on edge about future cases that could involve them or someone they know. What's more the letter that The Mirror published (above) whereby Savile asks to work with teens would further increase moral panic about TV shows today. There are many current shows on TV which involve teenagers - this could have an adverse affect on the audience as parents or teenagers refuse to be involved with the show in case such a situation arises again. The Mirror adds fuel to the fire by describing the letter as "chillingly calculated" - representing Savile as cunning and dangerous, therefore spreading further fear. 

To what degree is the article bias (for example, is there any self representation or counter argument)? 
As Savile died in 2011, there aren't many news articles that involve self representation and those who do portray his defensive statements as denial and lies. The Express article has the headline "'I've never done anything wrong' Jimmy Savile protests his innocence in his last interview". One would assume that the article is going to counter all of the negative reports surrounding his case, however the heading is then followed by the text "PAEDOPHILE presenter Jimmy Savile ..."which is obviously fueling the moral panic further. The BBC article is on the whole more factual about the situation which could be because Savile was part of the BBC and they want to save their reputation slightly. Therefore, it could be said that although there aren't any articles in his defense, there are articles which convey the cases in a more factual way - as opposed to emphasising the case and causing moral panic. 

Is there any legitimate concern?
Some would say there is legitimate concern over the sexual exploitation of young children. However, the cases that have been bought up in the media are mostly to do with famous people who have committed the crime a few decades ago - not cases of infamous people who should also be convicted for their crimes. I feel the severity of the cases has been made more profound due to the overly reported situations which cause the public to feel unsafe and possibly violated. Having said that, some cases of sexual exploitation wouldn't have been reported by the "victims" had the first person not come forwards to report it - so the media have helped the police to bring justice to them.