London riots broadcast news
For each news bulletin discuss how youths are represented using the following prompts:
- Who do the reporters interview during the broadcast?
- What images are used in the news broadcast? What do they suggest about the representation of young people in the riots?
- Is the broadcast biased in any way?
- Are youths given a fair voice within the broadcast?
Video
A video from the London bombings found on youtube includes a reporter interviewing some local 'hooded' males. Already before watching the video we see the hooded individuals in a group which already has connotations of: gangs, violence and trouble, primarily because they are in a group, however if we seen a group of middle aged people together we wouldn't have the same views as we do with young people. I also think the media tries to portray it as just males from the reporters quote 'lads' which shows the medias as being sexist. Another stereotype we see is that they are all wearing hoods which again show connotations of 'wasted youth' however this perception is extremely inaccurate as the clothes people choose to wear should not automatically be follow by negative imagery.
Watching the video, we see images of burnt shops and the remains of what used to be before the riots. Then immediately after the camera switches to the hooded young males which could be symbolic of the media blaming the youth for the rioting. To support this, we hear the reporter quote 'these lads, dripping in designer status symbols' - the relevance of this statement seems futile and irrelevant because people attitudes do not depend on the clothes people wear, the media are trying to force feed us that young people are to blame and we can see this because of their clothing. Also the added comment of 'designer' in my opinion suggests that they have stolen the items they are wearing, which again force feeds us as an audience that they are to blame when in fact its a result of the police that has caused a lot of the riots.
Although the males interviewed seem rather unfazed by the riots maybe because violence and binary opposites are always present, they are still able to understand and justify why what went on has happened and in all fairness they do sound right. One of the males quoted 'i think it was the best protest that has happened' and this is because the government and media have looked into it more and now feel threatened by what is on todays streets. A woman that was interviewed said that the people who have taken part in the riots dont feel like they fit into a community, which i completely agree with. The media constantly show the world a negative destructive persona of young people resulting in them not feeling communal anywhere and rioting is the only way to make people listen. The media will always be one of the strongest most powerful hegemonies in history therefore whatever they says is right when in fact, they show a false veneer and glamourise the truth so we categorize todays youth as being destructive and the cause of how society is.
The fact the media distances youths today i think encourages them to get their message across in ways politically incorrect. The media steers young people in the wrong direction because of their false perceptions and publicising how they are always in the wrong and that they are a threat to society. The interview has been set up, so the questions asked in my opinion are quite closed, a reporter asked 'do you think anything that happened on saturday night was justifiable?' of coure the young males are going to say yes and thats what the media want, unexpectedly the males are falling into what i would call a media trap because they have been asked a question which is going to show them in a negative light as the media know that the answer they will get back is going to support the riots.
From other videos we see evidence that it's not only the youth that riot, it's varied in terms of age however the media only show it as being the young people involved. I think that if the audience seen images of all ages taking part in the riots, it would show people that young people are not to be blamed for what has gone on. To conclude this, the media has purposely put blame on younger children because it's more believable however people of all ages and cultures are to blame.
