London broadcast news

1.     Who do the reporters interview during the broadcast?

The reporter is interviewing three different people on Newsnight; one is David Starkey who is a historian who believes that the rioting is because of some black cultures. The other two people are authors who completely disagree with David.

2.     What images are used in the news broadcast? What do they suggest about the representation of young people in the riots?

There is a lack of images on the screen it is all just the debate, however there are some in the background that stay the same throughout the entire debate. These images are pictures of the riots looking through broken glass, this may suggest that we are in a state of ‘broken Britain’ which is a term used by both ‘The sun’ newspaper and the conservative party that describes a perceived widespread state of social decay. Owen Jones (The author of ‘Chavs’) expressed that young black people were rioting because of how the police treats them and how the society is now. He goes on to say that black people are 30x more likely to get searched by the police simply because of their skin colour. This is saying that it is young people rioting (focusing on the black community) but they are doing it because they are sick of being harassed.

3.     Is the broadcast biased in any way?

Yes, they are mainly focusing on the black youths that are rioting. David who implies that it is the black youths that are causing all the problems and then later goes on rap and certain black cultures are the cause of the looting brings this on. It is all biased because whether David’s opinions are right or wrong, both the other guests and even the host is ganging up on him.

4.     Are youths given a fair voice within the broadcast? 
     There are no youths in this broadcast, however Owen is sticking up for youths claiming that it has been society that has pushed them to the riots. Although there are not actual youths there so even though Owen is sticking up for them he may not be portraying what the youths want the people to see and hear.