We are now into the third day of night time riots and looting – and mainstream news seems to have got back to business as usual – after two days of ‘media shock’ in which BBC News 24 seemed to be doing a reasonable job of reporting – anyone was up for being interviewed – community leaders, politicians sympathetic to the poverty in Tottenham and even a few youths on the streets, they now seem to be back to their usual narrow agenda of reporting – entertaining the audience with dramatic images of youths smashing windows and burning buildings (the most dramatic images on a near constant repeat-loop); reporting from behind police lines (I’m still waiting for the ‘on the way to riot with the riot police’ footage – it’s coming!); lengthy interviews with the deputy mayor; and now tearful moments with victims of the vandals.
What really appalls me about all of this is the use of language – deliberately chosen for it’s emotive appeal rather than it’s analytical clarity – In one five minute report on breakfast I heard the phrases Marauding rioters, mindless violence, pure criminality and as one of my fellow tweeps says – I really wish they’d stop calling this anarchy!
As usual the Nadir of reporting comes in the form of The Daily Mail and The Sun – who have waded in (what was that I said about analytical clarity – well comics don’t deserve it!) with their usual immoral and misleading moral panic tones – focusing on the role of twitter and the blackberry instant messaging services in orchestrating the riots/ looting.
What’s missing from all of this – sensible sociological analysis! Given the fact that these riots were predicted some time ago – which was possible because of the wealth of historical information on riots and public disorder available – if the media just tapped up a few criminologists and political scientists – we could have sensible, informed information about the underlying causes of riots in general, but what do we get instead – emotive reporting that just stirs up existing biases –
When the Tory boys return later today I imagine they will draw on this emotive reporting to condemn the rioters and call for some kind of community action against them (working with the police, helping with the clean up) – rather than drawing our attention to the causes of these riots – because in no way is it in Cameron’s interests to actually leak out informed analysis of the underlying causes of the riots – because he’s the third generation of the political class that created the structural conditions that lead to these riots in the first place.
Next blog’ll be on ’causes’ NB I don’t use that word lightly!
