A travesty of the Tabloids

As part of my Professional Journalism module, I have created this opinion piece which is focused around the issue of racial, religious and cultural tensions in British society. It stemmed from a blog post I wrote when I first started writing Twenty-one and Invincible, entitled "Proud to live in a multicultural society", and I have since progressed this original concept into a thousand word article which would be ideally suited for publication in a student based magazine such as "The National Student".

I hope you all enjoy the read, and please feel free to comment and give your own opinions on the matter.

As a 21-year-old student from Birmingham, I have grown up in a multi-cultural society and have always been surrounded by friends and family who understand the nature of the ever-changing British social climate.

So I was saddened to read in The Sun newspaper recently a some-what dubious account of a so-called racist attack by five 12-year-old Muslim boys on a British classmate. The article - headlined “Kids’ kill threat over troop praise” (17^th November 2010) – described an incident involving five young Muslim boys who had threatened to attack their British classmate with knuckledusters and knives over his apparent lack of support for – as The Sun put it – “Islamic extremists”, after he posted a tribute to the British troops who have died whilst fighting in Afghanistan on his Facebook page.

Now don’t get me wrong, this was shocking to read, and I truly felt for the poor lad who had been threatened for simply expressing an opinion. As a journalist in training, I see nothing wrong with publicising this horrific event, nor do I condemn that fact that The Sun has clearly identified the points of interest within this story (namely the issues of racial tensions within British society) and angled the story around these issues. What I do object to, however, is the great deal of scaremongering that goes into producing a story like this.

The Sun seems to thoroughly enjoys the use of the phrase “a Muslim Defence League which celebrates British deaths in Afghanistan”, seemly forgetting that we have our own form of extremist group in the form of the English Defence League. The way the article is structured and the frequent use of the word “Muslim” within this piece is clearly aimed at producing a damning example of all that the EDL are likely to hold dear to their hearts.

However, this kind of scaremongering by the tabloid newspapers in this country can do far more damage than they may actually realise, as shortly after this story broke, hundreds of people flooded onto Facebook to post comments on their outrage over the issue - with some even making various threats of their own.

The Sun newspaper also linked it’s readers to another story (11^th November 2010) about “Muslim violence”, which involved Muslim protesters in London burning a giant poppy during the minute silence on Remembrance Day earlier this year. This article has prompted not one, but three Facebook pages to spring up about the situation – with one posting a status claiming that Muslims have no respect and should be “sent back to their own f****** country”.

You see, there is a common misconception with the masses, who seem to believe that all Muslims are somehow connected to those small few who choose to exercise their religious frustrations and personal anguishes in an extremist, and often violent, fashion.

Adam Lines, 20, an English student at Birmingham University, is a member of the University of Birmingham Students Against Racism and is an active protester against all forms of discrimination. Adam was shocked to read the articles published by The Sun and fears for the upbringing of the children involved in these issues.

“As 12 year olds, I don’t really understand how they can fully understand the issues involved in the religious debate in this country – I certainly know I didn’t when I was their age. My worry is that they have been influenced by their parents into holding such extremist views without the maturity of mind to assess the issue on a more balanced field.”

Although Adam has a great respect for journalistic interpretation, he does question some writers’ ethics when it comes to the scaremongering which often surfaces in certain tabloid publications.

“They seem to pit one cultural group against another, instead of treating members of the British public as individuals. If the events of the story are due to racial or cultural boundaries, then it’s fair to cite that as the reason. But to adorn headlines with such phrases as ‘Muslim youth’ or ‘Asian mob’ seems to me an easy way to encourage the less-informed people on the issue to make quick assumptions without looking at the bigger picture.”

Adam believes the answer to a reduction in the racial tensions in British society lie in education on the subject. He believes there is very little open, educated and informed discussion around the issue and this is what causes racism and cultural discrimination to continue to be such a grave problem in the UK.

“The tabloid media need to take more responsibility: they are aware how influential they are, and yet they continue to publish examples of extremism to the point where their readerships only introduction to the issues is through the views of a minority.”

Nishat Rahman, also 20-years-old and an English student at Birmingham University, is a practicing Muslim who greatly disagrees with members of the Islamic community using violence to voice their opinions, and insists that this is not the way the religion teaches people to behave.

“By associating the violent and offensive act of ‘poppy-burning’ with ‘Muslims’, those who read this will then mentally associate violence with Muslims, or reinforce similar preconceptions they have. As a Muslim who has been brought up to never condone, or partake in such behaviour, I was deeply angered, offended and frustrated by how it was publicised but I am not at all surprised.”

Nishat talks of her personal experiences of racism, admitting that she has known of people she is friends with joining racist Facebook groups like those mentioned above, without seeming to understand what it is they are associating themselves with.

“There have been many occasions, entirely unprovoked, where I have been subjected to verbal abuse simply based on my skin colour and the assumption that I am, firstly, a Muslim, and secondly, that Muslims are ‘dangerous’ or a source of negativity in society.”

Nishat’s remedy to the difficult racial situation constantly being built upon by the tabloid press in Britain is to ask for them to correct themselves. Nishat understands that the press have a right to publish the facts, but insists that they should not need to add to the already strained issue by continually highlighting the race or religious beliefs of one particular group in British society.

“The tabloid press, clearly being a powerful influence on society, should feel they have a responsibility to report events more truthfully and objectively, instead of provoking reactions through presenting their version or opinions of the facts.”