2. How does the TV coverage
change as the riots progress?
3. 9th August 2011
Broadcast is starting to focus more on the youths as they have footage explaining how
the youths want to steal watches. A man was interviewed from Clapham saying police
aren‟t doing anything to help stop the looters from stealing but instead are watching
them. The riot is getting worse, causing more fires and violence. Fire fighters weren‟t on
scene to help put out buildings on fire. As well as this police weren‟t there to protect all
the people in danger causing civilians to feel unsafe.
David Cameron said ‘if you’re old enough to commit these crimes, you’re older enough to
face the punishment.’
BBC News showed footage of youths looting shops and said ‘In Clapham, these pictures
show how young some of the looters were, some barely out of childhood. And how they
seem to be enjoying it, relishing the thrill’ this shows how the youth are being targeted
specifically by the media and how they seem to be enjoying causing the trouble,
representing them to be inconsiderate and violent.
One outraged clothes shop owner was outraged and gave her view of the people involved
in the events.
‘it’s absolutely disgusting, they are feral rats!’
‘what are those parents doing?! They should be at home, not here causing mayhem. I'm
absolutely livid!’
4. 10th August 2011
On the first night 200 people were arrested. Making a total of 400
hundred people on the evening of August 9th.
The first day was predominately youths aged 14-17. Yet on 9th of
August there was a dramatic change in the age group of rioters, as
more older age groups were involved in planned looting and rioting.
The correspondent policeman said ‘we’re having to put more officers
out for longer periods.’ there was a total of 6,000 police officers
working to stop the riots.
The Deputy Assistant
Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh
is shown to be of a high authority
and have power. He is there
assure the British public that the
police force are working very
He is wearing a smart white shirt with badges to hard to put an end to the London
represent his power and authority. We see a very
different image here to the youths fighting in the riots.
streets who are wearing dark clothes, and hoodies
5. What identity is being
constructed for the British youths
shown in these reports?
Knife crime
Gun crime
Hoodies
Covering their faces
Dangerous
Violent
Causing a bad atmosphere
Scaring the community
No authority
No respect
Swearing
Looters
Careless
Enjoyment
Thrill
„Feral rats‟
„Disgusting‟
Public demand for better security and protection of workplace and homes etc.
6. Tuesday 9th August
„Not since the Blitz has London seen so many fires burning so
fiercely at the same time‟
Buildings were set on fire, shops have been looted and police
struggled to cope with the enormous scale of the unrest in the
capital
Rioting has spread across London on a third night of violence, with
unrest flaring up in other English cities.
An extra 1,700 police officers were deployed in London, where
shops were looted and buildings were set alight.
Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol also saw violence.
Thousands of extra police are being deployed on the streets of
London this evening as they try to prevent a repeat of last night's
violence.
The prime minister, has warned those who left a trail of destruction
right across the capital and four other cities, that they will face "the
full force of the law".
7. Wednesday 10th August
Youths protecting their place of worship
In the wake of the riots, people in east London have
come together to hold a peace vigil, while elsewhere in
London locals have been protecting their communities.
People in Hackney used the vigil to replace the images
of rioting with a symbol of peace.
Members of the Sikh community in Southall, west
London, and the Turkish community in Dalston, east
London, took up weapons for protection on Tuesday
night.
8. Thursday 11th August
A large police presence has helped London avoid any
major problems overnight able to quickly disperse any
troublemakers.
It was the second night when there have been 16,000
police officers patrolling the capital.
Westminster Magistrates' Court sat through the night to
process suspects who have been arrested for looting and
disorder-related offences.
10. Younger groups – 14 to 17
Older groups in cars organised looting and purposely
injuring London ambulance staff, fire brigade officers
and police officers
13. Monday 08 august 2011
The first few shots of the location report create a
sense of moral panic because they show Police
cars on fire. This suggests that the emergency
services can‟t control the outspread of the riots,
and that the delinquents are winning. It goes onto
say that these cars were lit on fire near a Police
Station, suggesting that the Police are overrun
which would create a moral panic because it
suggests that cultural hegemony has failed and
been overcome by the lower class rioters.
The audio has an extremely long list on what has
been set alight, from full buildings to busses,
further adding to the idea that it is out of control
and the emergency services can‟t control it
creating a moral panic as it would connote that
the riot was unstoppable.
14. Monday 08 august 2011
Images of both day and night are shown by the
report, suggesting that the riot is around the clock,
never stopping creating further panic in society.
Footage is shown of almost an entire street on fire,
with nothing controlling them, no fire engines in
sight and nobody trying to put the fires out. This
would further create a moral panic because it would
suggest that the riot really was out of control and
really couldn‟t be stopped as there is no sign of
anyone trying to stop it. It only shows the riot
getting worse, which could make the audience fear
it happening to their area. The footage however,
does move on to eventually show the fires being
fought and put out, which would lessen the impact
of a moral panic, but there is still no footage of the
individual rioters being stopped or caught, keeping
the idea that it could happen again fresh in the
mind of the audience and society.
15. Tuesday 09 august 2011
Aerial shots in Croydon show entire
streets ablaze, and falling down, cutting
between lots and lots of different fires. It
shows the fire brigade tackling some, but
most remaining and allowed to continue,
which would further reinforce the moral
panic already created because it suggests
that there aren‟t enough fire fighters to
deal with the riot, making the riot appear
more wide spread and more threatening.
16. Tuesday 09 august 2011
The dialogue states that there “are
reinforcements from 9 other Police forces in
the country, rioters could still go about their
business unhinged” suggesting that even
extra Police forces aren‟t enough to stop the
riots as there are so many of them. When
the article moves on to say that the
armoured Police vans work though, it
suggests that the riots can be stopped and
this again decreases the moral panic as it
suggests and shows that the Police are
beginning to overcome and stop the riots.
Another news clips reports states that the
Tuesday riots were made up of older people.
This creates a moral panic because it
suggests cultural hegemony has completely
collapsed as it appears middle class people
begin to riot and loot.
17. Wednesday 10 august 2011
The clips for Wednesday suggest that most of the
rioting has been resolved and stopped, with reports
saying “very little rioting or looting”. This reduces the
impact of moral panic because it suggests that the
riots, or certainly the worst of it, has stopped,
restoring hope for the audience and stopping any panic
that was created. Clips show members of the
community being safer and more hopeful, with the
London riots being calm. However it also shows Police
preparing for the next day which would create a slight
moral panic because it suggests the riots aren‟t fully
over and that there is still more to come.
Another report shows Hackney, a community which
was affected by the riots, coming together to try and
spread a message of calmness instead of violence. This
would again decrease the amount of moral panic as it
shows communities can recover from the violence and
it shows the hegemonic values the community once
had restored.
19. ‘But as night struck, the police line
backed off and the streets became
lawless.’
‘Riot police left the scene after they came
under light bombardment from projectiles’
In Notting Hill, West London, diners
eating in the two Michelin star Ledbury
restaurant were attacked and mugged at
their tables as rioters swept through the
area.
A woman and small child were taken by
ambulance to hospital with burns and breathing
difficulties after a shop below their flat was set
ablaze.
22. Sporadic rioting, looting and arson attacks broke out across the length and
breadth of London yesterday as the orgy of violence which began in Tottenham
at the weekend showed no sign of abating.
Awks phrase to use.
Makes you feel
uncomfortable about
the riots and violence.
