Coverage on the London riots

First of all Targeting the youth and creating a moral panic

The daily mail starts by creating a moral panic for the public by making the youth seem scary and fearful with images such as this and the dramatic image and headline. <-

the youths are given the identity of violent and seen as criminals with animalistic and feral perceptions

Articles also express this, this therefor creates a moral panic, putting the public at a state of shock and fear. This is done by exaggerating the truth and covering the riots scapegoating the youths leaving adults and other citizens in fear.

Try to put the blame on someone and find reasoning for the riots

As the dailymail are a middle class newspaper they tend to focus on blaming working class culture, single parents and lack of moral ground, therefor mediated to a middle class opinion.

They then go on to cr

Cover 2 – FIGHTBACK• How is the newspaper coverage being

mediated?• Image of fire – emphasise • Language – ‘fightback’ trying to restore

cultural hegemony • What identity is being constructed for the

British youths shown in this converge? • Negative and extreme identity: shows the

youths are violent and that the police have to be geared up for protection.

Cover 3 – POLICE AND THE RIOT BLUNDERS• How does the newspaper coverage change as the

riots progress?• Police are going to now ‘fightback’ • Society are doing something • How is the newspaper coverage being mediated?• Emphasise the fires • Language – ‘carnage’ aggressive word suggests

youths are out of control• What identity is being constructed for the British

youths shown in this converge? • The fire implies that the youths started the riots

adding to the danger.• How can you apply Moral Panic’s theory to this

coverage?• The fire makes society fearful • As seen in the image, the police is seen to be

standing and not doing anything. The public will start to question police force in how they are going to protect the public and this will create this moral panic.

At the end of the riots the daily mail aim to make the youths show remorse and look for a reasoning for their behaviour.

Blame single parent families for gang culture

The daily mail try to extend the moral panic by putting reasoning behind it

Again it is mediated to suit the middle class/middle aged readers of the daily mail

“Parents who neglect basic duties such as preparing meals and enforcing bedtimes are breeding a feckless ‘underclass’ who cause mayhem on the nation’s streets”

A fear of the working class “underclass” and the stereotypical view is created focused on negative assumptions probably though of by the middle class

This creates a moral panic making the public of all social class

The Daily mails coverage structure

• Scapegoat the youths create a moral panic• Elaborate the moral panic by exploring how the police have no power • Show how law enforcement is in charge creating a false sense of

safety• Putting reasoning behind the riots and scapegoating a group.