Bethany Davis
11321872
Criminology
Images of crime and social Control
CRI 1150M
Word Count: 505
Assessment 1

“Enemies Everywhere: Terrorism, Moral Panic, and US Civil Society” by Roth and Muzzatti (2004) sets out to examine the moral panic that they claim was created by both the media and government since the attack on 11th September 2001, by using the 3 stages set out by Stanley Cohen (2002), they examined media coverage, social ramifications and legislative response. (Roth and Muzzatti, 2004) Their argument in this article is strong, as it does not identify one or the other as sole actors, but both, thus combating criticisms from writers that argue it is the media or the government that is the most significant actor.
To support their argument Roth and Muzzatti (2004) use Cohen's stages (2002) to show how a moral panic was created, they also applied Goode and Ben – Yehuda (2009) five characteristics, by using the two works the argument that a moral panic occurred is exceedingly strong and reinforced as Roth and Muzzatti (2004) applied each stage and criteria successfully to the repercussions of 9/11.
However some of the criteria were not applied as successfully as others, for example Goode and Ben – Yehuda (2009) first criteria, heightened concern, was assessed was by “quantifying newspaper reports...and enhanced media coverage.” And found to indicate an increase in public concern. (Roth and Muzzatti, 2004) The issue of doing this is by using media coverage as an indicator of public concern implies media is a reflection of public opinion. Which comes under criticism from the encoding/decoding model, the messages or ideas the media encodes are not passively received and accepted by the reader as Roth and Muzzatti (2004) assume, what the reader will decode from the media is dependent on their own individual perceptions and interpretations. (During, 1999, 507-517)
The evidence used to argue the response from the authorities was disproportional is arguably strong as direct quotes were used from the “White House achieved addresses” (Roth and Muzzatti, 2004) which are reliable sources. Roth and Muzzatti (2004) also justifiably deemed various actions of the State disproportionate, some violated international laws for example the executive order authorising military tribunals for suspected terrorists. (Roth and Muzzatti, 2004)
Again the evidence used to support the argument that there have been negative