Moral Panic Essay

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Moral Panic The American public is exposed to violent crimes and drug abuse every day in the media. Panic tends to occur when the violence associated with drugs slowly infiltrates neighborhoods, and exposes law-abiding citizens to criminal activities. This panic causes a demand for action to eliminate the violence and crimes being broadcasted in the media daily. Fear drives a call for action against drugs and violent crimes.
Concept of Moral Panic The concept of moral panic emerges when the mass media sensationalizes violence as it relates to drug use and sales. It is defined as a “condition, episode, person or group emerges to become defined as a threat to social values and interests.” (Altheide, 2009, p.79) Media coverage on select topics such as drugs and the violence associated with it shows a pronounced problem. The problems and issues trigger a panic by the public to act and reduce the threat to social conditions to prevent violence and drugs from …show more content…

Crack was a mixture of chemicals and powdered cocaine. It was cooked to form a hard rock like piece of cocaine. Drug dealers found that cooking cocaine in this manner lowered the cost, and made it affordable to a wider group. Crack cocaine quickly grew in popularity. The cheap cost and quick high made it attractive to many drug users. The increase in the use of the drug and violent crimes associated with abusing it impacted the rise of violent crimes. News coverage of the increase in crime associated with drugs led to hysteria throughout the country. Panic ensued over a public misunderstanding of violent crime and drug use. The media’s constant coverage added to the problem. “The attention to televised crime news leads to increased fear and concern, rather than that the already more fearful and concerned become more attentive” (Chiricos, Padgett, & Gertz, 2000,

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