Dictionary of Media and Communication Studies, 8th edition

Deviance

A B C D E F G H I

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L M N O P R S T U V

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tradition of social responsibility rather than

sensation-seeking are honourable; and the

dangers, of press subservience to government,

obvious. See information society; media

imperialism. See also topic guide under

news media.

Deviance Social behaviour that is considered

unacceptable within a social community is

deviant; and the defining of what constitutes

deviance depends upon what norms of conduct

prevail at any given time in a society. Of primary

interest in the analysis of deviance is the ques-

tion – who defi nes deviance, and why? Th ere

are two main views on this: the fi rst maintains

that the defi nition of what is deviant behaviour

stems from a general consensus within society;

the second argues that it is the most powerful

groups within a society who defi ne as deviant

that behaviour which may constitute a threat to

themselves or their dominant position in society.

Deviance may then be in the eye of the

beholder, as Erich Goode and Nachman Ben-

Yehuda remind us in Moral Panics: Th e Social

Construction of Deviance (Wiley-Blackwell,

2009); ‘In other words, the very concept of what

constitutes a threat is controversial, an expres-

sion of a diverse, socially divided, and multi-

cultural society. Deviants are not “folk devils” to

everyone, and what is regarded as wrongdoing or

deviance is itself contested.’ However, as they too

acknowledge, there are some acts of behaviour

(such as rape) that are almost universally defi ned

as deviant.

Particular interest has been focused on the

role of the media in shaping defi nitions of devi-

ance and then responding to those. While from

a moral standpoint the media may disapprove

of deviant behaviour, there is at the same time

a reliance upon it: normative behaviour rarely

makes a good headline. Deviant behaviour, on

the other hand, is a news value and it might be

argued that if deviance did not exist, it would be

necessary for the media to invent it.

Several studies of deviance have been

concerned with the role of the mass media in

both the defi nition and the amplifi cation of devi-

ance. Leslie Watkins fi rst outlined the concept

of deviance amplifi cation in ‘Some sociological

factors in drug addiction control’ in Daniel M.

Wilner and Gene G. Kassebaum, eds, Narcotics

(McGraw-Hill, 1965). He argues that the way in

which a society defi nes and reacts to deviance

may in fact encourage those defi ned as deviant

to act in a more deviant manner. This would

be particularly true for deviants excluded from

or restricted in participation in normal social

of government; benefi ts consumers; diminishes
economic concentration; is widely supported;
and is inevitable. Because deregulation is
clearly in the interest of the non-public sector,
particularly corporations profi ting from the free
market, it is in the sector’s interest to establish
the benefi ts of deregulation as a natural truth –
unquestionably a good thing.
‘Whatever their basis in fact’, writes Mosco,
‘these myths continue to reflect significant
political and economic interests. Moreover, they
help to constitute those interests with a shared
belief system ... promoting the dismantling of
a public infrastructure and massive income
redistribution up the social class ladder.’ Mosco
goes on, ‘In the long run they want to advance
the transformation of information from a public
resource into a marketable commodity and a
form of social management control. Deregula-
tion is more than a policy instrument; it serves
as a cohesive mythology around which those
who would benefi t from these short- and long-
run interests might rally.’
Desensitization Process by which audiences are
considered to be made immune, or less sensitive
to, human suff ering as a result of relentless expo-
sure to such suff ering in the media. A constant
media diet of violence, real or fi ctional, is widely
believed to ‘harden up’ people’s tolerance of
violence. See compassion fatigue.
Detachment, ideology of See impartiality.
Determiner deletion A common stylistic prac-
tice of journalists whereby the characteristics of
a person and the name are linked without use
of ‘the’ or ‘a’, in the interests of verbal economy
while at the same time having the eff ect of label-
ling the named person. An example might be:
‘Ex-jailbird six-times married Joe Bloggs yester-
day told the press ...’ or ‘“Kiss-and-tell” Minister’s
former live-in lover claims ...’ Allan Bell in Th e
Language of News Media (Blackwell, 1991)
describes this practice as a form of titleness that
gives instant news value to the person being
reported. See hyphenized abridgement;
labelling process (and the media).
Determinism See technological determin-
ism.
Developmental news That which developing
nations consider will help rather than harm their
prospects. ‘Western news’ is seen by developing
nations as essentially the pursuit of ‘bad’ news;
and bad news hurts. Th e term implies govern-
ment monopoly of information-flow in the
interests of giving a developing country a ‘good
name’ and runs counter to Western notions of
free comment. Th e aspirations to a reporting