Local Coverage of the MVP Pipeline: A Moral Panic Theory Approach

On October 23, 2015, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC filed a formal application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approval for a natural gas pipeline system spanning over 300 miles from West Virginia to Virginia, including multiple counties in Appalachia. From the start, the project was controversial. Numerous groups have formed in an effort to stop construction.Moral panics are widespread fears, based often on exaggerated claims, that a group’s values or way of life are being threatened. If successful, a panic typically results in the passage of new laws or policies that target the source of the panic, leading to increased social control. Moral panic theory argues the modern mass media is the most effective spark for the creation of a moral panic.[1]This paper will examine local coverage from the Roanoke Times of the pipeline from October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2018. Specifically, the paper will use frame analysis to search for concepts from moral panic theory, to ask: are local newspapers framing the debate as a moral panic? Framing of the issue in the media is the first step in determining if local activists are successfully creating a moral panic which could lead to the permanent shutdown of the pipeline. Results and implications are discussed using social movement theory and moral panic theory frameworks.[1] Goode, Erich and Nachman Ben-Yehuda. 2010. Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance: John Wiley & Sons.