London Riots Broadsheet Newspaper Analysis: 9th August

This is the front cover of the British broadsheet newspaper 'The Daily Telegraph'. It is from Tuesday the 9th of August 2011. The image in the centre of the page is one that was use by many newspapers, tabloid and broadsheet, across Britain and it was used to show the destruction and desperation caused by the riots. It is clearly depicted in the image that a woman has had to jump from the second floor of her house as it burns.

There are many ways that this article uses language and text to glorify the riots. They use large fonts and words such as 'Rule of the Mob'. This implies that the rioters nay have gained control and there isn't much that the government or the country can do. Also the first bullet point at the upper left hand side of the screen says 'Police lose control of the state'. This also implies that the government has lost all control which would be used to create a moral panic.

London Riots Tabloid Newspaper Coverage: 9th August

This is the front page of the British tabloid newspaper 'The Sun' from the 9th of August 2011. This was the day 3 of the London Riots.

The image that is shown on the article is one that was used by many papers to show the violence and destruction of the riots. It also shows the stereotypical image of the type of people that were creating the disturbances. This further reinforced the public's already negative view of modern youths and the way they dress and act and created panic and anxiety within older generations across the country.

The most eye catching part of the cover is the large, bold text that says 'ANARCHY' towards the top of the page. This type of language was used by many British newspapers to sensationalize the riots and create panic within society. Also there is use of words such as 'Mindless Violence' which can also be found towards the top of the page, however this is in red. The use of words such as 'Mindless' imply that the rioting is just occurring for no apparent reason and that there is explanation for the younger generations anti-social behavior.

There is a small section towards the left of the page which states that 'Birmingham hit by looting'. This was used to further reinforce moral panic and cause more people around the country to become aware and afraid of the occurrences in London.

London Riots (Day 2: 7th August)

This video is footage of the BBC news from August 7th 2011, the second day of the london Riots.

Who do the reporters interview?
. There is a section during the video in which there is a black man being interviewed. He is smart in appearance and well spoken which shows that there is a possibility of him being a leading member of his community. During the short section in which he is shown he is telling everybody of his and his constituents digust over the riots and the people that are doing the rioting.  This seems to be a contrast to what was commonly shown in the media of th time which tried to stress the fact that a lot of the rioting and looting was instigated by black youths and street culture.

What image were shown during the report?
. During the report there were images of the destruction of the previous day, (The burnt out bus),  and there are images shown of mounted police officers patroling the streets. I think that this was probably done to show the public that the police and the government were in control of the situation and that the public shouldn't worry.

Is the broadcast biased?
. It isn't possible to say whether the report is biased due to the lack of interviews with people that matter during the report,(people such as youths or those affected by the riots). Then again this could be used in a way of saying that the report is biased as the mass media is only getting the opinion of those such as government officials and council members who are opposed to the riots and not those affcted by it.

Are youths given a fair voice?
. I don't think that youths are given a fair voice at this point due to the lack of interviews with them. There are many interviews with people who oppose their ideals and reasons for the rioting however not much is being done at this point to show their opinion. 

London Riots (Day 1: 6th August)

This video is news coverage of the first day of the London riots. Throughout the video there is footage being played in which there is a bus on fire with many people gathering around it.

. Who do the reporters interview?
 During the video there are no real interviews in the streets as this is when the disturbances first began. I think that them media didn't expect the following events to last as long as they did.

. What images were used in the riots? What does this show as a representation of the riots?
Throughout the video there are the same shots playing on repeat of a bus which has been torched with a large congregation of people who are gathering around it.



This video is the BBC News coverage of the first night of London riots. (This video is the first and only time that the BBC refer to the riots as 'London Disturbance'. Any time afterwards the BBC referred to it as the 'Tottenham Riots'.)

. Is the broadcast biased?
 The broadcast is not initially biased as there is insufficient information. At this point it was only known that there had been disturbances and not who was causing them. This is due to the lack of reporters at the scene of the disturbance and the ones who were there couldn't give video evidence of the occurrences.
There were occasions however in which the news reporter would use words such as 'mob' instead of group which would the protesters more of a bad image.

. Are youths given a fair voice? 
For this interview it is hard to say whether or not the youths are given a fair voice due to the lack of interviews at the scene of the disturbance.