The Daily Mail's coverage of the London riots aimed to create a moral panic by scapegoating youths. Images and language portrayed youths as violent criminals. Coverage exaggerated the threat and blamed youths, working class culture, and single parents. As riots progressed, coverage emphasized fires and police "fightback" to restore order. In the aftermath, the Daily Mail sought reasons for the riots and blamed single parent families for breeding a "feckless underclass" to extend the moral panic among readers.

1. Coverage on the London riots

2. First of all Targeting the youth and
creating a moral panic
The daily mail starts by
creating a moral panic for
the public by making the
youth seem scary and
fearful with images such as
this and the dramatic image Articles also express
and headline. <- Try to put the blame this, this therefor
on someone and find creates a moral panic,
the youths are given the reasoning for the riots putting the public at a
identity of violent and state of shock and fear.
seen as criminals with This is done by
animalistic and feral exaggerating the truth
perceptions and covering the riots
As the dailymail are a
scapegoating the
middle class newspaper
they tend to focus on youths leaving adults
blaming working class and other citizens in
culture, single parents fear.
and lack of moral ground, They then go on to cr
therefor mediated to a
middle class opinion.

3. Cover 2 – FIGHTBACK
• How is the newspaper coverage being
mediated?
• Image of fire – emphasise
• Language – ‘fightback’ trying to restore
cultural hegemony
• What identity is being constructed for the
British youths shown in this converge?
• Negative and extreme identity: shows the
youths are violent and that the police have to
be geared up for protection.

4. Cover 3 – POLICE AND THE RIOT
•
BLUNDERS
How does the newspaper coverage change as the
riots progress?
• Police are going to now ‘fightback’
• Society are doing something
• How is the newspaper coverage being mediated?
• Emphasise the fires
• Language – ‘carnage’ aggressive word suggests
youths are out of control
• What identity is being constructed for the British
youths shown in this converge?
• The fire implies that the youths started the riots
adding to the danger.
• How can you apply Moral Panic’s theory to this
coverage?
• The fire makes society fearful
• As seen in the image, the police is seen to be
standing and not doing anything. The public will
start to question police force in how they are going
to protect the public and this will create this moral
panic.

5. At the end of the riots the daily mail aim
to make the youths show remorse and
look for a reasoning for their behaviour.
Blame single parent families for gang culture
Again it is mediated to suit
the middle class/middle
The daily mail try to aged readers of the daily
extend the moral panic by mail
putting reasoning behind
“Parents who neglect basic duties such as
it
preparing meals and enforcing bedtimes are
breeding a feckless ‘underclass’ who cause
mayhem on the nation’s streets”
A fear of the working class
This creates a moral “underclass” and the stereotypical
panic making the public view is created focused on negative
of all social class assumptions probably though of by
the middle class

6. The Daily mails coverage structure
• Scapegoat the youths create a moral panic
• Elaborate the moral panic by exploring how the police have no
power
• Show how law enforcement is in charge creating a false sense
of safety
• Putting reasoning behind the riots and scapegoating a group.