The media coverage of the UK riots in 2011 provides a strong case study in the representation of young people. There is an excellent extended analysis of the media coverage of the riots by media professor David Buckingham in Media Magazine.
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:
-Rather than using the term 'civil disturbances' to describe what took place, the word 'riots' was used. The word riot suggests something wild and unrestrained. The rioters were consistently and repeatedly identified as young people. These were the ‘feral youth’ who apparently rampage uncontrolled in our cities. This was reinforced by the selection of images – and perhaps especially by the iconic image of one black, hooded young man which appeared on at least five front pages following the first day of the disturbances. 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’.This caused the audience to see the youth in a negative light and reinforce the dominant representations of teenagers being trouble-makers.
Why does David Buckingham mention Owen Jones and his work Chavs: the demonisation of the working class?
-Owen Jones points to the emergence of a new form of class contempt in modern Britain. He argues that the working class 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.
What is the typical representation of young people – and teenage boys in particular? What did the 2005 IPSOS/MORI survey find?
-Young people are typically represented negatively. Teenage boys in particular, seem to be represented as destructive and violent. These kinds of images of young people are unfortunately typical of much news media coverage. The 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.
How can Stanley Cohen’s work on Moral Panic be linked to the coverage of the riots?
-Cohen argues that the media talked up the disturbances into a bigger ‘moral panic’. In a moral panic, he writes: A condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests; its nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass media; the moral barricades are manned by editors, bishops, politicians and other right-thinking people; socially accredited experts pronounce their diagnoses and solutions; ways of coping are evolved or (more often) resorted to; the condition then disappears, submerges or deteriorates and becomes more visible. The riots created moral panics within society as people were in fear of the events and the damage that would come of it.
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.
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. 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.
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?
- The two-step flow theory can be linked to the coverage of the riots as the use of social media allowed different people to voice their opinions. Different people – politicians, community leaders, media commentators, ‘experts’ – offer different accounts of what is happening; although they often receive most attention if they can come up with simple explanations, and propose simple solutions. Yet how they do this often reflects their own social or political interests: the issue becomes an opportunity for them to make broader points, and to promote their own views. These powerful people were seen as 'opinion leaders' as they were able to project their views through the media and influence the audiences.
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?
-In the case of this summer’s disturbances, there was a veritable tsunami of such commentary in the press, on the television and online. 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.
What were the right-wing responses to the causes of the riots?
-Max Hastings of the Daily Mail, headed ‘Years of liberal dogma have spawned a generation of amoral, uneducated, unparented, welfare dependent, brutalised youngsters’. Too much permissiveness, he argues, has bred a generation of young people with no respect for their elders and betters, and no ‘moral compass’. 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. For some, this failure even extends to the police – as for one Daily Telegraph letter writer, who argued that the riots were ‘a result of the police caring more for community relations than for the rule of law’. Framing the issue in this way, as a failure of discipline, thus inevitably leads to a call for disciplinary responses.
What were the left-wing responses to the causes of the riots?
If this way of framing the issue is favoured by the political right, those on the left tend to prefer economic explanations. From this point of view, the riots were primarily about poverty and inequality. 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.
What are your OWN views on the main causes of the riots?
-There were many reasons that could have caused the riots, some more than others, but they all contributed to how the riots spiraled put of control after a while. In my view the main causes of the riots were:
- The police shooting of Mark Duggan.
- The relationship between police and the black community.
- University fees rising to £9000.
- Social network.
- Highly materialistic culture.
How can capitalism be blamed for the riots? What media theory (from our new/digital media unit) can this be linked to?
-Much more generally, there are those who see capitalism itself as the problem. The controlling nature of capitalism and oppression of the working class caused chaos in society. The theory of hegemony (Gramsci) can be linked to this as capitalism uses ideas and values persuade the subordinate classes that its rule is legitimate and so this could have caused the riots due to the frustration the working class youth felt with the capitalist system causing them to lash out in the riots.
Were people involved in the riots given a voice in the media to explain their participation?
Riots may well have deep-seated social causes; but there is often an emotional element – even a kind of adrenaline rush. There may be a copycat effect (which is similar to Cohen’s idea of ‘deviance amplification’): people may respond to rumours or media coverage of riots in other areas by seeking to ‘make their mark’ in the media. There may also be an element of opportunism, as people take the chance to indulge in behaviour that would normally be taboo.
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?
-the Guardian and London School of Economics (LSE) interviewed 270 people who rioted in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, Manchester and Salford. The project collected more than 1.3m words of first-person accounts from rioters, giving an unprecedented insight into what drove people to participate in England's most serious bout of civil unrest in a generation. 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.
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?
- In my opinion, the riots caused much devastation and fear within society and results were disastrous. However, I do sympathize with those involved as most of the young people involved were going through a hard times and there were many valid reasons were them to lash out. The methods to lash out were unacceptable as many other people faced losses. In terms of punishment however, i believe the youth should be targeted less harshly and their views should be taken into account in order to prevent such events taking place again in the future.
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