Identities and the Media: Reading the riots

Read the Media Magazine extended feature on the media coverage of the UK riots (MM38 page 5)

Go to our Media Magazine archive, select MM38 and read the WHOLE eight-page feature. Answer the following questions on your blog with as many references to media theory and examples as possible. Refer to specific aspects of the Media Magazine article too:

1. How did the language and selection of images in the coverage create a particular representation of young people?

 The newspapers consistently featured large, dramatic images of what the Daily Mirror called ‘young thugs with fire in their eyes and nothing but destruction on their mind’, or the Daily Express called simply ‘flaming morons’. Newspapers presented young people as not being sufficiently socialised: they were led simply by a kind of ‘childish destructiveness’.

2. Why does David Buckingham mention Owen Jones and his work Chavs: the demonisation of the working class?

Buckingham mentions Owen Jones and his recent book Chavs, because it points to the emergence of a new form of class contempt in modern Britain. The working class, he argues, has become an object of fear and ridicule, not just in this kind of media coverage but also in popular figures such as Little Britain’s Vicky Pollard and Catherine Tate’s ‘Am I bovvered?’ character.

3. What is the typical representation of young people – and teenage boys in particular? What did the 2005 IPSOS/MORI survey find?

The typical representation of young people, especially teenage boys, is as shown on many of the stories about teenage boys where they are described as yobs, thugs, sick, feral, hoodies, louts, heartless, evil, frightening and scum. A 2005 IPSOS/MORI survey found that 40% of newspaper articles featuring young people focused on violence, crime or anti-social behaviour; and that 71% could be described as having a negative tone.

4. How can Stanley Cohen’s work on Moral Panic be linked to the coverage of the riots?

Cohen argues that the media play a role in ‘deviance amplification’: in reporting the phenomenon, and in expressing the fear and outrage of ‘respectable society’, they make it more attractive to those who might not otherwise have thought about becoming involved. In this case, the media coverage can be seen to reflect a much more general fear of young people (and especially of working-class young people) that is very common among many adults: the media speak to anxieties that many people already have.

5. What elements of the media and popular culture were blamed for the riots?

In the tabloid press, much of the initial blame for the violence was put on popular culture: it was rap music, violent computer games or reality TV that was somehow provoking young people to go out and start rioting. The Daily Mirror, for example, blamed the pernicious culture of hatred around rap music, which glorifies violence and loathing of authority (especially the police but including parents), exalts trashy materialism and raves about drugs.

6. How was social media blamed for the riots? What was interesting about the discussion of social media when compared to the Arab Spring in 2011?

 Despite being depicted by tabloids as mindless thugs and morons, the rioters were also seen as somehow skilful enough to co-ordinate their actions by using Facebook, Blackberry and Twitter. The Sun, for example, reported that ‘THUGS used social network Twitter to orchestrate the Tottenham violence and incite others to join in as they sent messages urging: ‘Roll up and loot’. According to The Telegraph: technology fuelled Britain’s first 21st century riot. The Tottenham riots were orchestrated by teenage gang members, who used the latest mobile phone technology to incite and film the looting and violence. Gang members used Blackberry smartphones designed as a communications tool for high-flying executives to organise the mayhem. A very similar argument was used in media debates about the ‘Arab spring’ earlier this year: there was much discussion about the use of social networking in the revolutions that took place in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Syria – although in those instances, this was generally interpreted by the Western media as a positive thing.

7. The riots generated a huge amount of comment and opinion - both in mainstream and social media. How can the two-step flow theory be linked to the coverage of the riots?

 In today’s media, this kind of instant commentary has proliferated, and ordinary people can become involved far more easily than was the case before. While channels for public debate have long been available through radio phone-ins and the letters columns of newspapers, new media have created many more opportunities for people to have their say. In this case, the web forums (not least of newspapers and broadcasters) were overflowing with opinions, while an army of bloggers and tweeters effectively created a running commentary on events as they unfolded.

8. Alternatively, how might media scholars like Henry Jenkins view the 'tsunami' of blogs, forums and social media comments? Do you agree that this shows the democratisation of the media?

Some media scholars like Henry Jenkins tend to celebrate these kinds of ‘participatory’ media; while some even see this as evidence of a wholesale democratisation of the communications system. They argue that the age of ‘Big Media’ – of powerful, centralised corporations controlling media – is now finished: hierarchical, top-down communications have been replaced by a more egalitarian approach. I agree that this shows the democratisation of the media as the audience has the opportunity to make comments and opinions without being controlled by the elite people.

9. What were the right-wing responses to the causes of the riots?

The right-wing response: amoral youth
Probably the most astonishing example of this argument came in an article by Max Hastings of the Daily Mail, headed ‘Years of liberal dogma have spawned a generation of amoral, uneducated, unparented, welfare dependent, brutalised youngsters’. For some right-wing commentators, it is parents who are principally to blame for this situation; while others, such as Katharine Birbalsingh, blame schools for failing to instil discipline and respect for authority – especially, according to her, in black children.

10. What were the left-wing responses to the causes of the riots?
 
Left-wing responses: inequality and poverty
Such commentators point out that the UK has one of highest levels of inequality in the Western world. They argue that it was unsurprising that most of the disturbances erupted in areas with high levels of poverty and deprivation – and, they point out, it was tragic that these communities also bore the brunt of the damage. More specifically, they point to the cuts in youth services, rising youth unemployment (which is now over 20% in the 18-25 age group) and the removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance. While these are valid arguments, they also appear to look only to youth as the cause.

11. What are your OWN views on the main causes of the riots?

Personally, I think that the main causes of the riots is the way the government as a whole treat young people who are not in the upper class. They are viewed and called thugs which can make them to develop hate and lack of respect for authority. However, sometimes young people can start unnecessary problems as the riots went from a serious cause to looting and rebellion causing the elite people to view them as rebellious therefore creating a vicious circle.

12. How can capitalism be blamed for the riots? What media theory (from our new/digital media unit) can this be linked to?

Others, like Dan Hind on Al Jazeera, argued that the government’s decision to bail out the banks was indicative of ‘a social and political order that rewards vandalism and the looting of public property, so long as the perpetrators are sufficiently rich and powerful’.

13. Were people involved in the riots given a voice in the media to explain their participation?

Not much. On all sides of the media debate, there was a rush to instant judgment – or at least instant opinion. Advocates of participatory media would see this as indicative of healthy public dialogue. When the producers of BBC2’s Newsnight invited the eminent Tudor historian Professor David Starkey to discuss the riots, they might have been hoping for a considered historical perspective. Starkey’s remarks were challenged by the other guests, and subsequently by a large number of other academics (as well as some skilful mash-up artists on YouTube).

14. In the Guardian website's investigation into the causes of the riots, they did interview rioters themselves. Read this Guardian article from their Reading the Riots academic research project - what causes are outlined by those involved in the disturbances?

Rioters revealed that a complex mix of grievances brought them on to the streets but analysts appointed by the LSE identified distrust and antipathy toward police as a key driving force. Many rioters conceded that their involvement in looting was simply down to opportunism, saying that a perceived suspension of normal rules presented them with an opportunity to acquire goods and luxury items they could not ordinarily afford. They often described the riots as a chance to obtain "free stuff" or sought to justify the theft. Rioters identified a range of political grievances, but at the heart of their complaints was a pervasive sense of injustice. For some this was economic: the lack of money, jobs or opportunity. For others it was more broadly social: how they felt they were treated compared with others. Many mentioned the increase in student tuition fees and the scrapping of the education maintenance allowance. Although rioters expressed a mix of opinions about the disorder, many of those involved said they felt like they were participating in explicitly anti-police riots. They cited "policing" as the most significant cause of the riots, and anger over the police shooting of Mark Duggan, which triggered initial disturbances in Tottenham, was repeatedly mentioned – even outside London. The most common complaints related to people's everyday experience of policing, with many expressing deep frustration at the way people in their communities were subjected to stop and search.

15. What is your own opinion on the riots? Do you have sympathy with those involved or do you believe strong prison sentences are the right approach to prevent such events happening in future?

The riots escalated due to some teenagers taking advantage of the situation. However, some rioters do claim that they aren't happy with the way government treat them especially as most of them are lower class people. I, however, have no sympathy for those involved in the riots and I don't believe that prison sentences are the right approach to prevent such events happening in the future. There is a better way than rioting in order to get the governments attention. The riot caused many injuries to innocent people which was wrong. But, I do understand where these young people are coming from.