RETHINKING MORAL PANIC FOR MULTI-MEDIATED SOCIAL WORLDS

It is now over twenty years since the well-established sociology of de viance along with the emergent sociology of mass media produced the co ncept of 'moral panic'. The various studies of youth culture, drugtake rs and the media reaction to these and other phenomena produced some o f the most important work in post-war British sociology. This article argues that it is now time that every stage in the process of construc ting a moral panic, as well as the social relations which support it, should be revised. It suggests that more attention should be paid to t he consequences of the great expansion of the media and to the many mo re participants involved in public debate (including, for example, com mercial promotions departments and pressure groups). We argue that 'fo lk devils' are less marginalized than they once were; they not only fi nd themselves vociferously and articulately supported in the same mass media that castigates them, but their interests are also defended by their own niche and micro-media. Finally, the article suggests that wh at were more stable points of social control have undergone some degre e of shift, if not transformation.