The document provides a timeline of events and media coverage of the 2011 London riots. It details how the riots began as peaceful protests over the shooting of Mark Duggan but escalated into widespread looting and arson across London over several days in early August. The media initially did not blame young people but later focused on them as the main perpetrators, though some argued they rioted due to lack of opportunities. The document also examines how the media emphasized the negative aspects of the riots over positive community cleanup efforts.

1. LONDON RIOTS – TIMELINE OF EVENTS

2. 4TH AUGUST -
• Mark Duggan is shot by police in Tottenham in an attempt to arrest him.
• The pubic heard about this and began public demonstrations and
protests against his shooting. The protests started off peaceful.
However is soon escalated to attacks on police vehicles, and eventually
mass riots and looting across London
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YNrq2wVcBQ

3. 6TH AUGUST -
• A series of disturbances by people in Tottenham followed the peaceful
march
• The rioting occurred shortly after with around 120 people now involved
in the protest. Some who had no link to the initial cause.
7th August –
• Around 100 hooded youths gather outside Enfield Police Station
Initially the media didn’t ‘blame’ the young people and didn’t paint them as the main
cause for the riots. However when the media interviewed local people effected by the
riots it seemed they felt that it was young people causing the problem

4. 8TH AUGUST -
• Rioting is now taking place in Ealing, where shop windows where being
put trough and cars where set on fire.
• A fire was also started opposite Ealing Broadway Tube Station. About
40 vehicles were damaged in a night .
10TH AUGUST -
• Prime Miniser David Cameron makes a statement paying tribute to the
emergency services. He warns more people will be arrested and
charged.
• Greater Manchester Police release a batch of CCTV images of suspects
wanted in connection with the rioting and looting.
12TH AUGUST -
• Police stations across the UK announce the amount of arrests made
throughout the riots

5. MEDIA COVERAGE
• Initially the media covered the riots by saying it was disturbance,
however soon after started calling them mass riots.
• Many news programs interviewed some of the young people involved
in the riots and they showed that a lot of the people involved struggled
to articulate sentences and describe why they were causing so much
distress.
• A lot of the media wanted to put the blame on young people making
them the ‘Folk Devils’ however there were many people who began to
stick up for them and show that it wasn’t all ‘hoodies.’
• Even though some of the ‘blame’ was put onto young people many felt
it was because they had no choice. With funding for young people being
cut by the government they were running out options. They felt they
were excluded from their own community
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNeYnWL3D9A&feature=related
• However there were some people felt that there was no excuse and the
riots were ‘ Criminality pure and Simple’

6. MEDIA HEADLINES
The Sun
The Times
Sky News

7. MEDIA HEADLINES
The Telegraph
Metro News

8. MEDIA COVERAGE
• A lot of the media focused on the negatives during the riots, they
carried on making the public out to be ‘folk devils.’ Painting young
people especially as the ones in the wrong and blamed a lot of the riots
on gang culture and ‘hoodies’
• There was a lot less coverage given to the thousands of people who
went out of their way to volunteer in the clean up.
• This shows that the media is very bias in in its portrayals of young
people. There are a lot of instances where young people do positive
things but they just don’t get the same press.
• The riots are a prime example of this the ‘riot clean up’ programme did
not get a lot of coverage, it was down to social networking such as
Facebook and Twitter to publicize the campaign. Many celebrities got
behind the campaign however predominantly the focus was on the riots
themselves.