Spreading of Moral Panic in the Croatian Media

Popularizacija pojma moralna panika započinje u knjizi Stanleya Cohena Folk devils and moral panics (1973). Objašnjenje se temelji na primjeru britanskih subkultura Modsa i Rockera koje su mediji označili kao devijantne. Datim primjerom, Cohen je uočio kako su mediji posebno važni u ranoj (inventory) fazi društvene reakcije, proizvodeći „procesuirane ili kodirane slike“ devijantnosti od strane devijanata (Cohen 1973, 2002: 44-48). U radu će se ispitati Cohenov model na primjeru izvještavanja o Koronavirusu u hrvatskim medijima u periodu od 1. siječnja do 31. srpnja.The popularization of the notion of moral panic begins in Stanley Cohen’s book Folk devils and moral panics (1973). The explanation is based on the example of the British subcultures of Mods and Rocker, which the media labeled as deviant. With this example, Cohen observed that the media are particularly important in the early (inventory) phase of social reaction, producing “processed or coded images” of deviance by deviants (Cohen 1973, 2002: 44-48). The paper will examine the Cohen model on the example of reporting on Coronavirus in the Croatian media in the period from 1 January to 31 July