##Addressing “Sensationalism” and Moral Panics
Sensationalism is news media has been both a subject of and a bolstering contributor to moral panics ins the United States since the beginning of descriptive crime news reporting of the *New York Sun*in 1833 (Lots, 1991). The “sensation” and exaggeration of crime and criminality to the masses created a cascade of moral and ideological counter movements, which increased “fear of crime” (?), that overlaps frequently with moral panic(?). Crime news has routinely drawn the attention of “moral crusaders”, activists who encourage the panic (Sternheimer, 2014, p. 8), and moral entrepreneurs, persons who gain social status by supporting righteous causes, (Ibid., p. 9). Both groups contribute highly emotional argument in an attempt to garner support for their causes and implement policy and social change against a defined “evil” (::?::). …show more content…
Originally the high rate of crime reporting was justified by newspapers aligning themselves with the deterrence doctrine (Lotz, 1991), along with a juxtapose stance of “mirroring the world” (Ibid., p. 9-10).:: But as crime rates continue to drop at a steady pace in the United States, it is clear that the crime reporting has morphed fully into an economic mechanism, as news is regarded more on entertainment value rather than solely for it’s democratic purpose. This is due in part to what has been dubbed “tabloid justice” (Fox et al, 2007, p. 7), that has changed the thematic element of news reporting from the mid-1990s onwards. Tabloid and sensational writings, pulp fiction, magazines, etc, have been held with disdain and seen contributing to social ills of both conservatives and moralist opinions and early crime news research, which defamed it as “yellow journalism” (Fox et al, 2007; Wilcox,
Sensationalism is news media has been both a subject of and a bolstering contributor to moral panics ins the United States since the beginning of descriptive crime news reporting of the *New York Sun*in 1833 (Lots, 1991). The “sensation” and exaggeration of crime and criminality to the masses created a cascade of moral and ideological counter movements, which increased “fear of crime” (?), that overlaps frequently with moral panic(?). Crime news has routinely drawn the attention of “moral crusaders”, activists who encourage the panic (Sternheimer, 2014, p. 8), and moral entrepreneurs, persons who gain social status by supporting righteous causes, (Ibid., p. 9). Both groups contribute highly emotional argument in an attempt to garner support for their causes and implement policy and social change against a defined “evil” (::?::). …show more content…
Originally the high rate of crime reporting was justified by newspapers aligning themselves with the deterrence doctrine (Lotz, 1991), along with a juxtapose stance of “mirroring the world” (Ibid., p. 9-10).:: But as crime rates continue to drop at a steady pace in the United States, it is clear that the crime reporting has morphed fully into an economic mechanism, as news is regarded more on entertainment value rather than solely for it’s democratic purpose. This is due in part to what has been dubbed “tabloid justice” (Fox et al, 2007, p. 7), that has changed the thematic element of news reporting from the mid-1990s onwards. Tabloid and sensational writings, pulp fiction, magazines, etc, have been held with disdain and seen contributing to social ills of both conservatives and moralist opinions and early crime news research, which defamed it as “yellow journalism” (Fox et al, 2007; Wilcox,