LONDON RIOTS CASE STUDIES

YOUR TASK:

In your groups you are going to create a case study on a particular newspapers coverage of the London Riots.

You will look at headlines from your assigned newspapers covering different stages of the riots.

To complete this task you should also find articles from these papers to further enhance your points.

You should also answer the following questions on your front covers and articles:

QUESTIONS:

How does the newspaper coverage change as the riots progress? Give specific, detailed examples

How is the newspaper coverage being mediated? Look at the language and imagery used. Who’s perspective is the article/paper written from?

What identity is being constructed for the British youths shown in this coverage?

Give specific, detailed examples

How can you apply Moral Panic’s theory to this coverage? Give specific, detailed examples

MEDIATION

A process of filtering a message

Everything we see or hear in the media is mediated to some extent

Mediated Message

Mediation

Original Message

LONDON RIOTS TIMELINE AND BACKGROUND

MARK DUGGEN

29-year-old black man Shot on 4th August 2011 by police attempting to arrest him in

Tottenham, North East London, England He was suspected of planning a revenge attack following the fatal

stabbing of his cousin and had a gun with him He died from a gunshot wound to the chest There was a considerable reaction from some people to the

apparent circumstances of his death A public demonstration and an attack on police vehicles, were

contributory factors to a riot in Tottenham This escalated into widespread riots, looting and arson in London

THURSDAY 4TH AUGUST

Mark Duggan, 29, is shot dead by police at Ferry Lane, Tottenham. His death occurs during an operation where specialist firearm officers

and officers from Operation Trident, the unit which deals with gun crime in the African and Caribbean communities, are attempting to carry out an arrest.

Duggan is a passenger in a minicab and is shot after an apparent exchange of fire.

A police officer's radio is later found to have a bullet lodged in it The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) announces it

will investigate the incident and later says it believes two shots were fired by police

It also confirms that an illegal firearm was recovered from the scene.

SATURDAY 6TH AUGUST

A series of disturbances by people in Tottenham in Haringey followed the protest march on 6 August

The rioting occurred shortly after approximately 120 people marched from the Broadwater Farm estate to Tottenham Police Station

SUNDAY 7TH AUGUST

Approximately 100 hooded youths gather outside Enfield Police Station

There are reports on Twitter of a police presence at Oxford Circus in London's West End

Police later say a mob of around 50 people damaged property in the area

MONDAY 8TH AUGUST

London: Rioting is taking place in Ealing, West London Windows of a Tesco supermarket have been broken, a car is on fire and

rubbish is strewn in public areas. There is also a fire in Haven Green park, opposite Ealing Broadway Tube. Nottingham: About 40 vehicles were damaged in a night of violence Described by one senior officer as "motivated" by the London riots Most of the incidents happened in the St Ann's area Police foiled an attempt to break into the Victoria Centre in the city centre The trouble lasted about three hours.

TUESDAY 9TH AUGUST

London Fire Brigade says it faced its busiest night in recent history The brigade's 999 control centre answered 2,169 calls between 18:00

on Monday and 07:19 on Tuesday. This is around 15 times the normal rate of calls the brigade would

expect on an average day. The Football Association confirms that England's friendly against

Holland at Wembley tomorrow has been called off because of the rioting in London.

David Cameron makes his first statement outside Number 10 after cutting short his holiday to return to London

He announces a massive increase in police numbers and the recall of Parliament.

WEDNESDAY 10TH AUGUST

A 21-year-old man is arrested on suspicion of starting a fire at the House of Reeves furniture store in Croydon - destroyed during Monday night's rioting in London.

David Cameron makes a statement from Downing Street, paying tribute to police and the emergency services

He warns that more people will be arrested and charged “We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets” Cameron announces contingency plans for water cannon, to be used at 24 hours'

notice. Ministry of Justice statement says there are enough prison places for all those

sentenced to custody The Met Police release a second set of images of people they would like to speak

to about the recent disorder Greater Manchester Police release a batch of CCTV images of suspects wanted

in connection with the rioting and looting.

THURSDAY 11TH AUGUST

David Cameron makes a statement to MPs in which he admits there are questions to be answered over the shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham last week

He calls the rioting "criminality, pure and simple“ and says the courts will continue sitting for as long as necessary to deal with the extra cases

He says police will be given powers to force people to remove masks and scarves covering their faces where there are reasonable grounds to believe they are planning criminal activity

Cameron also announces a £10m recovery scheme to make areas safe and clean again.

Labour leader Ed Miliband calls for an inquiry to look at the deeper causes of the "wanton vandalism and looting“

He says the riots have been a “stark reminder” of the need for police on the streets and he calls on the government to rethink cuts in police spending.

FRIDAY 12TH AUGUST

The Metropolitan Police say 1,103 people have now been arrested in connection with the riots and 654 people have been charged.

Greater Manchester Police said they had so far made 147 arrests and more than 70 people had already gone through the courts

Merseyside Police said they had made 77 arrests and charged 45 people

West Midlands Police said 445 people had been arrested and Nottinghamshire Police said they had arrested 109 people and charged 69

The night passes off peacefully - with officers still on the streets in large numbers.