Fourth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

Although, neither the theory nor the phenomenon of moral panic originated in Hungary, its innovative contemporary usage can certainly turn it into a Hungaricum. Originally, moral panics meant to be structural phenomena, in which each actor follows their own interest and, as a result, a moral panic phenomenon unfolds. In the most recent Hungarian implementation, however, moral panic is centrally organized through the appropriated media machinery that communicates elements of moral panic in a structured and organized manner. The subsequent effect is the mobilization of fear and anxiety by the communication of moral panic frames on migration. Thus, political unification and mobilization can be achieved in order to uphold electoral support. This centralized communication strategy can be identified in the use of words in the articles of online news portals in Hungary. This study examines the framing strategies of ten online news portals in Hungary by analysing the use of words and their co-occurrence within articles, in relation to migration. The examined period of the analysis is from January, 2015, when the migration campaign started, until April, 2018, when the national election was carried out. The data is built up from the most commonly used words within articles of the examined online news portals. The analysis shows that the use of words and their co-occurrence reflect the framing strategy of online news portals and their orientation to a centralized media machinery communicating moral panic narratives. Moral panic, instead of a structural phenomenon, function as a centralized political tool in Hungary.