NCJ Number
159470
Date Published
1994
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This is the author's comments on media response to a British television program entitled "War on Drugs."
Abstract
The program and its media aftermath raise three important issues: (1) the way in which Granada Television constructed and orchestrated the media before the program aired, and arguably promoted a moral panic and public outrage; (2) a criticism of the program itself and the way it appeared to legitimize a punitive and moralistic approach to drug abuse; and (3) the hypocrisy and opportunism of government ministers, politicians and others who express their public outrage at strategies of harm reduction while at the same time giving their private support. These issues are the reason why so many social workers, youth workers, teachers, and counselors feel vulnerable and threatened by the McCarthy-like atmosphere generated by such a response. The author names individuals who, he claims, commented on a program which they had not seen, who wrote press copy before the program was shown. In addition, he accuses Granada Television of highly selective and partial, if not downright dishonest, reporting.