Discussion and Activity

How far were the responses of the rioters themselves given space in the media?
Whenever we heard anything from the rioters' point of view it always focused on the negative things they said or the way they said them to back up the bad stigma attached to these youngsters. However many reports didn't give space for their explanations at all and simple assumed that they were out there to cuase mischief without any reason or morals. Many of the interviews with the rioters were a spur of the moment sort of thing, not planned and rehearsed so it didn't give the youngsters a lot of time to think about how they need to explain themselves, unlike the formal debates with the government etc.

Given the general framing of young people as the key participants in the events, how much space was given to young people's voices, and what sorts of young people were given space to respond in the media debates?
They were given very little opportunity to talk and explain themselves, they were often confronted in the middle of a street where their emotions were probably still running high. They were often hooded, male, masked, and smoking or drinking, giving off the stereotypical look of a thug- the way the media made sure all youths would be represented. Despite this, there is one famous news coverage where a smart young man confronts Borris and suggests reasons why people may be committing these crimes and causing devastation. This was a rare opportunity for the young man and you could argue that he stood up for all people his age and in his situation.

To what extent did social media challenge or confirm representations of youth identity in the mass media during the time of the London Riots?
Social media such as Facebook and Twitter was used to set up the riots throughout England. Luckily these posts are very public and were easy to track so the people who were involved were easy to identify. On the other hand after the riots there were groups on both sites advertising clean up sessions eg. #riotcleanup and Facebook pages dedicated to restoring the towns and cities. Also Henry Jenkins suggests these social media sites allow youngsters their freedom of speech to say what they want and express their feelings and emotions. BBM was a huge problem for the officials as messages send via this device can't be tracked meaning the rioters could set up attacks between them and others without anyone else even having a clue about it. Due to happenings such as the London Riots there have now been dedicated sites set up to promote youngsters in a good light such as 'Goody in a Hoodie' suggesting not all youngsters are thugs and just because someone wears something doesn't automatically give them a bad name.