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<<The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, yesterday accused the media of institutional racism, hitting out at newspapers for regularly relegating the murders of people from ethnic minorities to "a paragraph on page 97".
In a prolonged attack on the media's news values, he said the press was guilty of devoting more column inches to the death of white, middle-class victims than those from ethnic minorities.>>
(full story in The Guardian http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/sto...696070,00.htm
My purely subjective view is that he's right. The more "photogenic" the victim, the more likely they are to get the column inches. Brave move to go up against the press like that, though.
In a prolonged attack on the media's news values, he said the press was guilty of devoting more column inches to the death of white, middle-class victims than those from ethnic minorities.>>
(full story in The Guardian http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/sto...696070,00.htm
My purely subjective view is that he's right. The more "photogenic" the victim, the more likely they are to get the column inches. Brave move to go up against the press like that, though.
Don't agree with his use of the term 'institutionalised racism', I think the media will just report what will sell the most papers/get the most ratings, nothing more sinister than that.
On everything else, however unpalatable, I think he's spot on and the Daily Mail et al should FOAD
On everything else, however unpalatable, I think he's spot on and the Daily Mail et al should FOAD
bor said:
In a prolonged attack on the media's news values, he said the press was guilty of devoting more column inches to the death of white, middle-class victims than those from ethnic minorities.
Banging on about the middle-class again, he was on the tv the other day going on about how he is cracking down on middle-class drug takers aswell. Does he see himself as a left-wing politician or something?
john75 said:I honestly thought that the "institutional racism" that he was talking about would be referring to the fact that when whites are victims of what appear to be racist murders they are rarely reported as being racially motivated.
It Euan not Ian and the Soham not Solham
He was spot on in what he said through the Media is far more interested in White victims than other races.
Might be something to do with the majority of people in the UK being White.
IS200RJR said:
It Euan not Ian and the Soham not Solham
He was spot on in what he said through the Media is far more interested in White victims than other races.
Might be something to do with the majority of people in the UK being White.
Or the majority of victims being white?
Or the majority of readers of newspapers being white and middle class. hence the 'news' value of a murder of a child much like their own will sell more papers. the recreational grievers like to see little kiddies who look like their own.....
Institutional racism? No. Institutional commercialism? Definitely.
lord summerisle said:
But then i remember, i think it was on another forum, around the time of damalola (sp?) Taylor's murder, there was a white middle class lad stabbed on the top of a bus by a gang of black youths in a mugging... that went virtually unreported.
swings and roundabouts.
The govenment at the time condemed racism (and righly so) and assumed that it was a rascist attact BEFORE any of the facts came out.
It is also the same as cute 10yr old girl goes missing compared to 10yr old boy. Not very newsy is it.
He is getting to polictial anyway in my mind and should get back to general policing IMO.
Mark Benson said:
It Euan not Ian and the Soham not Solham
He was spot on in what he said through the Media is far more interested in White victims than other races.
Might be something to do with the majority of people in the UK being White.
Or the majority of victims being white?
Or the majority of readers of newspapers being white and middle class. hence the 'news' value of a murder of a child much like their own will sell more papers. the recreational grievers like to see little kiddies who look like their own.....
Institutional racism? No. Institutional commercialism? Definitely.
This is true as far as im concerned if its relevent to my every day life its news id much rather hear about every murder in the uk than to keep dragging up thathers past or starvation in africa!
scared but happy said:
But then i remember, i think it was on another forum, around the time of damalola (sp?) Taylor's murder, there was a white middle class lad stabbed on the top of a bus by a gang of black youths in a mugging... that went virtually unreported.
swings and roundabouts.
The govenment at the time condemed racism (and righly so) and assumed that it was a rascist attact BEFORE any of the facts came out.
It is also the same as cute 10yr old girl goes missing compared to 10yr old boy. Not very newsy is it.
He is getting to polictial anyway in my mind and should get back to general policing IMO.
It was a 'rascist' murder.
but then so was Richard Everett's murder, but that wasn't reported nationaly either.
Jaglover said:
He has a point but overstates his case. One of the examples he gave was the lesser press attention for a black man murdered by a rival gang than that solictor a few weeks back. Which story is the more newsworthy?
You contradict yourself a little. Papers print the stories that in their opinion, are the most newsworthy.
He implies, by stating that the papers are 'racist' that they have some kind of hatred or prejudice of non-whiles.
They don't, they are commercial entities, relying on volume sales to turn a profit.
They write what they know people want to read. At least in the reporting of crime, there is no ulterior motive, they simply reflect the thoughts, wishes and yes the prejudices of their readership.
The fact of the matter is that had the two soham victims come from a sink estate (white or black) they would not have recieved as much media coverage. Iain Blair does talk some rubbish and in this case i suspect he is talking half-rubbish. The colour of the victims skin in these cases doesn't matter, what does matter is:
1) How unusual is the crime realtive to the area in which it is commited?
2) How closely does the victim resemble the majority of readers of the more popular newspapers?
Read the Daily Mail for a week, you'll see what i mean....
1) How unusual is the crime realtive to the area in which it is commited?
2) How closely does the victim resemble the majority of readers of the more popular newspapers?
Read the Daily Mail for a week, you'll see what i mean....
Mark Benson said:
You contradict yourself a little. Papers print the stories that in their opinion, are the most newsworthy.
.
I don't see why
One gangster gunning another one down is hardly news is it, just a fact of life. Whereas a decent law abiding citizen being murdered for no reason is news. Race had nothing to do with the way the two cases were reported.
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