Identities and the Media: Reading the riots

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

The image is stereotypical of someone who is seen to be a member of the youth in society and who is looting during the riots. The language used is done specifically to make young people the victim and the police who are the hero's and called it a riot rather than a protest to show there's no control in the situation. The representation is a negative one that the reason for all of the rioting is because of the working class people who are unemployed or on benefits are trying to gain materialistic things through looting.

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

Working class people have negative coverage in the news and as a result are reported badly because of it.

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

Young teenage boys were represented the worst in the media because of the stereotypes of being aggressive so 40% of magazines had a member of the youth as the front cover.

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

It can be linked to the moral panic as it was said that the youth were out of control which people started to fear as a result which created a panic.

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

Some of the things that were the main accusations for the riots were rap music, video games and television.
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?

It was the reason that the riots were so well planned and people had a bigger impact. People wouldve only started rioting in Tottenham but other places used it as a reason to start rioting in their areas and this spread through social media.

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? 

People who opinion leaders will share their view on what's going on with the riots through social media. This would impact the ideology that people share as they're more likely to go and look up to their role model.

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?

The media are no longer in control of what is being spread and it is now those who are using the social media websites who control what is being spread and what they're talking about.

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

The view was that the right-wing ideology is that it was the youth as a generation who have no respect for their adults.

What were the left-wing responses to the causes of the riots?

Left-wing responses would have said that the cause was a lack of welfare state and money being put into things for younger people to do which is why they found the riots as a thing to just take part in.
What are your OWN views on the main causes of the riots?

I think that the riots started because people felt that the government wasn't giving the community what they felt like they needed and deserved in order to survive so this was a way to take back what was theres.
How can capitalism be blamed for the riots? What media theory (from our new/digital media unit) can this be linked to?

The stereotypes that the youth receive are now being internalised and because of this they're not making the stereotypes something that is actually done by the youth.
Were people involved in the riots given a voice in the media to explain their participation?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 rioters weren't given a chance to talk about their reason it was outlining what the police did during the situation and how they handled it and became the hero's of the country.
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?

I believe that it was something that shouldn't have escalated the way it did but the people who were only robbing for the sake of it should have a prision sentence because they destroyed people's businesses who had no involvement with any of the reasons for the riots starting.