dealt with and how much of it is really reported to the public. In Ted Chiricos's article,

"The Media, Moral Panic and the Politics of Crime Control," the issues of media, politics

and the concept of "moral panic" are discussed.

In this article, we are introduced to the term, "moral panic." This being the state

of distress and "panic" of the American people at times of high rates of crime, violence

and drugs. This "moral panic" is directly related to the media's attention over such

events. This media attention causes us as citizens to become more aware and definitely

more fearful of the things going on and developing in our society. Whether it be for a

lack of other interesting news or something else, the media tends to exaggerate prevalent

issues and make them seem (to the public) as a dilemma so large, it is incapable of

correction or better yet, improvement.

This "moral panic" experienced by U.S. citizens seems to me very ironic. Not

only because it is only when the problem

benefiting society instead of himself. Who am I kidding?

the same time, these panics displace attention from the coercive consequences of

drug use become a real "problem?" Why is it not a problem when it is found in the inner-

These "moral panics" serve to displace our attention away from the causes of

Some common words found in the essay are:
Crime Control, Maybe Chiricos, , moral panic, violence drugs, Ted Chiricos's, politics crime, american society, displace attention, article media, ghettos chiricos, american people, drugs violence, inner-city ghettos,
Approximate Word count = 752
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)