Moral panics and the media–subcultural symbiosis: A case study of the Spanish Free Party movement

The changes introduced by the renewal of the contemporary media landscape are also reflected in the ideological configuration of subcultures, as in the case of the Free Party movement. However, in the field of subcultural studies, the relationship between media and subcultures has not been problematized in depth, since it has been common to adopt an anti-media conception of subcultures. Therefore, this article proposes an analytical framework to study the complex interrelations between media outlets and subcultures, adopting elements from subcultural theory, sociology of moral panics and communication. This is done through a discourse analysis of the interaction between macro and micro media, including the internet variable as something transversal in our analysis. In our case study, the results obtained will allow coining the concept of media–subcultural symbiosis, as the interaction that occurs between the media and the Spanish Free Party movement, seeing this linkage as a fundamental part in the authentication of these subcultural practices.