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Child Sexual Abuse, Moral Panic, and the Mass Media: a Case Study in the Social Construction of Deviance

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Child Sexual Abuse, Moral Panic, and the Mass Media: a Case Study in the Social Construction of Deviance City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 1995 Child Sexual Abuse, Moral Panic, and the Mass Media: A Case Study in the Social Construction of Deviance Steven M. Gorelick The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3667 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has beer reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. A Beil & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE, MORAL PANIC, AND THE MASS MEDIA: A CASE STUDY IN THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF DEVIANCE by STEVEN M. GORELICK A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, the City University of New York 1995 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Numbex: 9530873 Copyright 1995 by Gorelick, Steven M. All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9530873 Copyright 1995, by OMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1995 © STEVEN M. GORELICK All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Sociology in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. yi3/g«b [Signature] date f Chairman of Examining Committee [Signature] date Executive Officer1 [Signature] Mark Fishman [Signature] Charles Winick [Signature] William Komblum Supervisory Committee The City University of New York iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I was twelve years old, one of the most respected physicians in our Los Angeles suburb was arrested for the murder of his wife. After a long, highly publicized trial, both the doctor and his mistress were convicted and sentenced to die in the California gas chamber. The death sentence was eventually commuted, but the two received life sentences. I will never forget the feelings of shock in our community. Some of our neighbors reacted by denying that the doctor could have done such a thing. Others, angered by the cruelty of the murder, reacted with rage. No one who lived through these events could ever forget what it was like for a relatively sedate suburb to be buffeted by such a violent crime. My reaction was to create a scrapbook. Each day, after our local afternoon newspaper was delivered, I would immediately scan the pages for the latest clippings, carefully cut them out, and paste them neatly on a fresh page. Eventually, my grandfather suggested that collecting crime news was not a very healthy activity for a twelve year-old, and I accepted a $10 bribe to throw it away. I should have known better. This scrapbook was the origin of my interest in the press coverage of crime and violence. My grandfather did not live to see me complete this work, but I have a feeling he would be proud of me. With profound appreciation and gratitude, and in no particular order, let me try to thank all the others who helped along the way: I have never met some of the extraordinary scholars who guided and iv permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. influenced this study. But I have argued with them, been inspired by them, and I offer sincere thanks to Stanley Cohen, Kai Erikson, Joseph Gusfield, Stuart Hall, John Kitsuse, Barbara J. Nelson, Malcolm Spector, and Jonathan Turner. Joel Best’s extraordinary body of work has been invaluable. My work has also been enriched by an unusually talented group of fellow graduate students. Thanks to Carolyn Cabell, Pam Donovan, Donna King, Lloyd Klein, Lou Narcez, Dan Poor, Chris Rosa, Glenn Speer, and Sooze Walters. A number of faculty members provided special guidance and encouragement. If graduate study became an adventure, it was only because of inspired scholars like Stanley Aronowitz, Seraflna Bathrick, Mike Brown, Lindsay Churchill, Cynthia Epstein, Stuart Ewen, Kathleen Gerson, Drew Humphries, Patty Kendall, Emil Ostereicher, and Gaye Tuchman. And Edward Sagarin. Ed was a controversial figure, and could never be accused of political correctness. He loved a good argument, and a conversation with him on some fine point of criminological theory was not for the faint of heart. But his brilliant classes were among the high points of my graduate education. And more importantly, he set an extraordinary example of just how much living could be packed into a lifetime. The committee members who guided this work deserve special mention. Charles Winick, pioneering scholar in deviance and mass media, shared his encyclopedic knowledge of sociology and psychology. Bill Komblum, ethnographer extraordinaire, reminded me not to miss the rich texture of social v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. life in which media is produced. And Mark Fishmin — my sponsor, advisor, and friend. In 1980, in Herbert Gans’s class at Columbia on the sociology of news and journalism, one of our required readings was Mark’s seminal study on newswork. As much as anything, that book was responsible for stimulating my interest in the sociology of newsgathering. Dissertation sponsors do not have to be warm and caring human beings. But mine has been, and this has made graduate work a personally fulfilling, as well as intellectually stimulating, experience. Within the last several years, I have received special support from the staff of the Freedom Forum Center for Media Studies at Columbia University. Two talented editors of the Center’s Journal, Craig La May and Ted Pease, as well as Executive Director Everette Dennis, encouraged me to believe that I had something important to say about press coverage of crime and violence. Special thanks also to the American Society of Criminology and the Eastern Sociological Society, who provided financial support along the way. I am also grateful to the friends and colleagues of Joseph Bensman, whose support of the Joseph Bensman Award at the CUNY Graduate School allowed me to do the travel that was required for the completion of this study. It is typical of pseudonymous studies that those who have provided the most help cannot be thanked by name. The reporters and editors interviewed for this study are easily some of the smartest, most thoughtful people I have ever known. They could not have been more open and more generous with their time. And all of the others with whom I spoke - from attorneys to the vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. parties on each side — were extraordinarily helpful. My colleagues at the CUNY Graduate School have supported me all along with their friendship and encouragement. Special thanks to Lucy Beninati, Joan Harden and Marian Smith, three of the smartest and nice?* colleagues I could ever hope to have, and to many other faculty and staff members at the CUNY Graduate School. Harold Proshansky, in particular, never stopped encouraging me to finish. Marilyn Gordon, John Mollenkopf, and Matthew Schoengood provided virtually unlimited moral support. And my friend Robert Gilleece, who died suddenly while this work was being completed, both spurred me on and provided some of the best belly laughs of my life. I can’t say enough about the contribution of Frances Degen Horowitz. At a point when this project was either going to be abandoned or completed, she provided invaluable time and guidance. She has also served as an inspiring example of how to simultaneously live a fulfilling life on all fronts — professional, personal, spiritual. I would not have finished without her help. My parents Richard and Betty Gorelick have provided years of love and encouragement. My in-laws, Fran and Seymour Green, provided both love and emergency child care in the last week this project was being completed.
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