The London Riots – BBC by Lucinda, Kayleigh, Philland Alex

How does the TV coverage change as the riots progress?

9th August 2011Broadcast is starting to focus more on the youths as they have footage explaining how the youths want to steal watches. A man was interviewed from Clapham saying police aren‟t doing anything to help stop the looters from stealing but instead are watching them. The riot is getting worse, causing more fires and violence. Fire fighters weren‟t on scene to help put out buildings on fire. As well as this police weren‟t there to protect all the people in danger causing civilians to feel unsafe.

David Cameron said ‘if you’re old enough to commit these crimes, you’re older enough to face the punishment.’

BBC News showed footage of youths looting shops and said ‘In Clapham, these pictures show how young some of the looters were, some barely out of childhood. And how they seem to be enjoying it, relishing the thrill’ this shows how the youth are being targeted specifically by the media and how they seem to be enjoying causing the trouble, representing them to be inconsiderate and violent.

One outraged clothes shop owner was outraged and gave her view of the people involved in the events.

‘it’s absolutely disgusting, they are feral rats!’

‘what are those parents doing?! They should be at home, not here causing mayhem. I'm absolutely livid!’

10th August 2011

On the first night 200 people were arrested. Making a total of 400 hundred people on the evening of August 9th.

The first day was predominately youths aged 14-17. Yet on 9th of August there was a dramatic change in the age group of rioters, as more older age groups were involved in planned looting and rioting.

The correspondent policeman said ‘we’re having to put more officers out for longer periods.’ there was a total of 6,000 police officers working to stop the riots.

The Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh is shown to be of a high authority and have power. He is there assure the British public that the police force are working very hard to put an end to the London riots.

He is wearing a smart white shirt with badges to represent his power and authority. We see a very different image here to the youths fighting in the streets who are wearing dark clothes, and hoodies that hide their identities.

What identity is being constructed for the British youths shown in these reports? Knife crime

Gun crime

Hoodies

Covering their faces

Dangerous

Violent

Causing a bad atmosphere

Scaring the community

No authority

No respect

Swearing

Looters

Careless

Enjoyment

Thrill

„Feral rats‟

„Disgusting‟

Public demand for better security and protection of workplace and homes etc.

Tuesday 9th August

„Not since the Blitz has London seen so many fires burning so fiercely at the same time‟

Buildings were set on fire, shops have been looted and police struggled to cope with the enormous scale of the unrest in the capital

Rioting has spread across London on a third night of violence, with unrest flaring up in other English cities.

An extra 1,700 police officers were deployed in London, where shops were looted and buildings were set alight.

Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol also saw violence.

Thousands of extra police are being deployed on the streets of London this evening as they try to prevent a repeat of last night's violence.

The prime minister, has warned those who left a trail of destruction right across the capital and four other cities, that they will face "the full force of the law".

Wednesday 10th August

Youths protecting their place of worship

In the wake of the riots, people in east London have come together to hold a peace vigil, while elsewhere in London locals have been protecting their communities.

People in Hackney used the vigil to replace the images of rioting with a symbol of peace.

Members of the Sikh community in Southall, west London, and the Turkish community in Dalston, east London, took up weapons for protection on Tuesday night.

Thursday 11th August

A large police presence has helped London avoid any major problems overnight able to quickly disperse any troublemakers.

It was the second night when there have been 16,000 police officers patrolling the capital.

Westminster Magistrates' Court sat through the night to process suspects who have been arrested for looting and disorder-related offences.

Cool guys don’t look at explosions.

Younger groups – 14 to 17

Older groups in cars organised looting and purposely injuring London ambulance staff, fire brigade officers and police officers

Theory of Moral Panic to the Reports

Monday 08 august 2011

The first few shots of the location report create a sense of moral panic because they show Police cars on fire. This suggests that the emergency services can‟t control the outspread of the riots, and that the delinquents are winning. It goes onto say that these cars were lit on fire near a Police Station, suggesting that the Police are overrun which would create a moral panic because it suggests that cultural hegemony has failed and been overcome by the lower class rioters.

The audio has an extremely long list on what has been set alight, from full buildings to busses, further adding to the idea that it is out of control and the emergency services can‟t control it creating a moral panic as it would connote that the riot was unstoppable.

Monday 08 august 2011

Images of both day and night are shown by the report, suggesting that the riot is around the clock, never stopping creating further panic in society.

Footage is shown of almost an entire street on fire, with nothing controlling them, no fire engines in sight and nobody trying to put the fires out. This would further create a moral panic because it would suggest that the riot really was out of control and really couldn‟t be stopped as there is no sign of anyone trying to stop it. It only shows the riot getting worse, which could make the audience fear it happening to their area. The footage however, does move on to eventually show the fires being fought and put out, which would lessen the impact of a moral panic, but there is still no footage of the individual rioters being stopped or caught, keeping the idea that it could happen again fresh in the mind of the audience and society.

Tuesday 09 august 2011

Aerial shots in Croydon show entire streets ablaze, and falling down, cutting between lots and lots of different fires. It shows the fire brigade tackling some, but most remaining and allowed to continue, which would further reinforce the moral panic already created because it suggests that there aren‟t enough fire fighters to deal with the riot, making the riot appear more wide spread and more threatening.

Tuesday 09 august 2011

The dialogue states that there “are reinforcements from 9 other Police forces in the country, rioters could still go about their business unhinged” suggesting that even extra Police forces aren‟t enough to stop the riots as there are so many of them. When the article moves on to say that the armoured Police vans work though, it suggests that the riots can be stopped and this again decreases the moral panic as it suggests and shows that the Police are beginning to overcome and stop the riots.

Another news clips reports states that the Tuesday riots were made up of older people. This creates a moral panic because it suggests cultural hegemony has completely collapsed as it appears middle class people begin to riot and loot.

Wednesday 10 august 2011

The clips for Wednesday suggest that most of the rioting has been resolved and stopped, with reports saying “very little rioting or looting”. This reduces the impact of moral panic because it suggests that the riots, or certainly the worst of it, has stopped, restoring hope for the audience and stopping any panic that was created. Clips show members of the community being safer and more hopeful, with the London riots being calm. However it also shows Police preparing for the next day which would create a slight moral panic because it suggests the riots aren‟t fully over and that there is still more to come.

Another report shows Hackney, a community which was affected by the riots, coming together to try and spread a message of calmness instead of violence. This would again decrease the amount of moral panic as it shows communities can recover from the violence and it shows the hegemonic values the community once had restored.

How is the newspaper coverage being mediated?

‘But as night struck, the police line

backed off and the streets became

lawless.’

‘Riot police left the scene after they came

under light bombardment from projectiles’

A woman and small child were taken by

ambulance to hospital with burns and breathing

difficulties after a shop below their flat was set

ablaze.

In Notting Hill, West London, diners

eating in the two Michelin star Ledbury

restaurant were attacked and mugged at

their tables as rioters swept through the

area.

CroydonThey Show this: And not this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2023949/London-riots-2011-Hackney-Croydon-violence-shows-sign-abating.html

Sporadic rioting, looting and arson attacks broke out across the length and

breadth of London yesterday as the orgy of violence which began in Tottenham

at the weekend showed no sign of abating.

Awks phrase to use.Makes you feel uncomfortable about the riots and violence.

Oh Dayum.