Media representations
of ethnicity
 Britain is a multicultural society.
 7.9% of the UK population are from
ethnic minority groups.
 Ethnic minority groups are at the
forefront in their use of the new media.
 So, what should we expect in terms of
ethnic minority representations within the
media?
Key ways in which ethnic
minorities are represented within
the media
 Underrepresented
 These are the findings of
 Represented in a
Van Dijk, who has
examined media
representations of ethnic
minorities.
 He made these findings
via content analysis of
thousands of news items
over several decades.
 So, what can we say
about Van Dijk’s findings
in relation to
representativeness?
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stereotypical way
Represented negatively
As criminals
As a threat
As culturally abnormal
As unimportant
As dependent
As invisible
Ethnic minorities are
criminals!!
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2.
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4.
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Black crime & violence is the underlying theme in media
news coverage.
Van Dijk has found the following to be common ways in
which Black people are portrayed via the tabloid
newspapers:
Criminal
Organised gangs
Push drugs
Violently defend urban territories
Akinti has made similar findings in the television. He
believes tv reflects an inaccurate view of Black life, with
over-emphasis on gun crime.
Agbetu has found the following common portrayals of
Black people:
Involved in criminality (perpetrators)
Involved in sport
Involved in entertainment
Moral panics….
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The findings of the previous thinkers (Van Dijk, Akinti, Agbetu) indicate
that Black people are newsworthy because they are bad news!
Rarely are Black people portrayed as normal functioning individuals
within everyday society.
Watson notes that moral panics often result from such stereotyping of
Black people within the media, particularly the panic that they are
potentially criminal.
Think headlines!!
Such headlines back up Hall’s study of a 1970s moral panic around the
‘Black mugger’.
More recently, moral panics have remained around the idea of Black
crime – particularly gang crime
In 2003, David Blunkett (Home Secretary) said he was ‘appalled’ by
lyrics in rap & hip-hop music.
Kim Howells (Culture Secretary) claimed a particular Black band was
glorifying gun culture.
In 2005, ASA criticised 50 Cent’s film poster for glamorising gun crime.
In 2006, David Cameron (leader of Conservative party) criticised BBC
Radio 1 for playing gangsta rap as such music ‘encourages people to
carry guns & knives.
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"The Good Die Young"
Yo, you know what I want? I want the beat to drop right..now
niggas be thinkin' I'm crazy right?
you are crazy..
I ain't crazy...
you are crazy....
at least I don't think I'm crazy
I think my shit is hot, I think I'm hot
you hot but you crazy..
why they wanna?..man..I don't know...
[Verse 1:]
It's the money that - makes shit get ugly
It's the money that - makes these hoes love me
It's the money that - makes niggas wanna slug me
man..I thought the money would make it all lovely
Yo, I actually write what I do or see
the felonies from day to day make me say what I say
when I die my art will be worth more than Picasso's, don't cry for me,
smile for me
and if you see them niggas that wet me, wile' for me
remember the good times, the chips we stacked
the clips we packed
and all the bricks we cooked from coke to crack
let my tombstone read "I Tried" and from the start everything I wrote
was from my heart
so it'll always be number one on my chart
I get sensitive with my shit, don't fuck with my art
sometimes it sounds like I'm playin' but I'm sayin'
this shit is real, it ain't a game.
 Analyse how the previous claims by
people in positions of authority contribute
to a moral panic about Black people.
Ethnic minorities are a threat!!
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Through his content analysis Van Dijk has
said a common stereotype is that ethnic
minorities are posing a threat to the majority.
 This is seen through news content, again
contributing to moral panics.
 Main ethnic minorities that are portrayed as
posing a threat are:
1. Immigrants
2. Refugees & asylum seekers
3. Muslims
Immigrants
 This group is seen as a threat in terms of their numbers.
 Common media coverage focuses on how their presence
is affecting housing, jobs etc.
 In 1995, a government trade minister resigned because
he was unhappy with the lack of European border
controls – leading to illegal immigration into the country.
 Philo & Beattie explain this resignation set off media
hysteria about immigration & the consequences of it.
Immigration portrayed in an alarmist way & reported as
threatening the British way of life. Sensationalists
language, such as ‘flood’ & ‘tidal wave’ also used.
 Philo & Beattie basically believe that such media
coverage created a moral panic about immigration,
particularly as no positive stories about the contribution of
ethnic minorities were presented.
Refugees & asylum seekers
are a threat!!
 Similar treatment by the media to immigrants.
 Often portrayed as coming to Britain to abuse
the welfare state & claim benefits.
 The media rarely covered responsible stories
that many of this people had to flee their
countries in order to avoid persecution, torture
or extreme poverty.
 News was quite xenophobic in tone, which
reinforced exclusion – rather than embracing
diversity.
Muslims are a threat!!
 The media coverage of the 9/11 attacks in the US & the
7/7 attacks in Britain have greatly contributed to the idea
that we should be afraid of Muslims; although it is fair to
say that even before these events Islam was often
demonised by the media as being a threat to Western
way of life.
 The above events were undoubtedly terrible, but the
headlines of many of the tabloid newspapers (Sponging
Bomber) have not helped & have only served to further
create the idea that we should be afraid of Muslims & the
religion of Islam that they follow.
 Poole carried out content analysis of broadsheet British
newspapers (The Guardian) between 1993-1996 & found
that representations of British Muslims suggested they
were a threat to British security & dominant values.
Headlines which claim Muslims
are a threat to British way of life….
What are the consequences of
such racist headlines in the
tabloids?
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Richardson has made the following findings
from his study of the broadsheet press in
relation to representations of British Muslims:
Wholly absent from the news
When they do appear, tends to be a negative
context
Rarely called upon as providers of informed
commentary on news events
Their everyday issues & concerns are not
being addressed
Thinkers like Nahdi believe that Islam is
presented by the media in a distorted way.
Are there any positive
representations of Muslims?
 More balanced & positive stories about Muslims
& Islam do now exist.
 Both BBC & Channel 4 have websites that
explain Islam in a balanced fashion.
 The Guardian, Observer & Independent have
sympathetically focused on Muslim Britain.
 Even The Sun ran a 2 page editorial in 2005
declaring ‘Islam is not an evil religion!’
Content of BBC website
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Islam began in Arabia and was revealed to humanity by the Prophet Muhammad.
Those who follow Islam are called Muslims.
Muslims believe that there is only one God. The Arabic word for God is Allah.
Image © Marc C. Johnson/iStockphoto
Features
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sections spoken aloud in Arabic.
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Muslim prayer times calculator
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However…….
 Overall findings indicate the majority of
media representations about Muslims &
Islam are negative & unsympathetic.
 The British mass media has contributed
to Islamophobia in Britain.
Ethnic minorities are
abnormal!!
 False cultural stereotypes are regularly transmitted
regarding other cultural groups & their norms & values.
 Certain cultural practices, such as arranged marriages
among certain Asian groups, was not reported accurately.
For example, there is a distinction between arranged vs
forced marriages – yet this was reflected. Common
media stereotypes is that Asian people are forced into
loveless marriages.
 Ameli notes that media discussion around the wearing of
the hijab & veil is also problematic & implies it is an
inferior type of dress that creates divisiveness between
Muslims & British people.
 Minister calls for veil-wearing
teaching assistant to be sacked
 By Andrew Grice, Political Editor
 What is the implications of such
headlines?
Ethnic minorities are
unimportant!!
 Van Dijk says that some aspects of the media imply that the
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lives of white people are more important than the lives of nonwhites.
For example, disasters in other countries are only given a few
lines; priority is given to the white holiday maker who may have
been caught up in it.
Black victims of crime are not given the same attention as
victims who are white.
Sir Ian Blair (Met Police Commissioner) claimed institutional
racism is present in the British media. Evidence for this is in the
way they reported murders that happened on the same day.
Priority given to murder of white solicitor (87%) in comparison to
murder of Asian taxidriver (13%). Note, the Independent &
Mirror didn’t cover the latter murder at all!!
What message is this sending out?
Are ethnic minorities always
considered unimportant?
 The murder of Black teenager, Stephen
Lawrence in 1993, by white racists was
covered very well by many aspects of
the media.
 Many newspapers not only covered this
racist murder, but also highlighted the
racists actions of the police in their
investigation of the murder.
The interesting thing about this
headline is that it is the Daily Mail,
which would be quite racist in may
of its articles
Ethnic minorities are dependent.
They rely on the west to rescue
them!!
 African countries are particularly portrayed by the media
(tv & newspapers) as having problems they have caused
themselves (having too many babies!) & that Western
countries are needed to help them out.
 A common theme is the ‘coup-war-famine-starvation’
syndrome.
 Live Aid & Comic Relief are regularly portrayed by the
media as the only way these countries can escape their
disasters.
 Pambazuka, for example, has pointed out that media
reporting about Africa is too dominated by Western
campaigns such as Live 8 & Make Poverty History. Bob
Geldof’s agenda is more highlighted than the real
situation in Africa.
 Overall, there is too much emphasis on
bad news like war, famine disaster. Little
devoted to why countries were
underdeveloped & poor.
 British news reporting is ethnocentric. In
other words, it is shaped by view that
British White culture is superior in its
norms & values in comparison to other
cultures which are considered inferior.
Ethnic minorities invisible
within the media
 Generally we can say there has been an
improvement in the way race id dealt
with within tv programmes & there
appears to have been an increase in the
number of Black & Asian newscasters, tv
presenters, journalists etc.
 However still not fully represented.
Read page 198 & summarise the
following complaints in relation to
the invisibility of ethnic minorities
Limited
roles
Cultural
irrelevance
Media
personnel
Invisibility
Ghettoisation
Realism
Advertising
industry
Tokenism
 Some media institutions have been
developed by ethnic minorities working
within the media to try & address ethnic
minority issues.
 Bollywood channels
 The Indian Times
 www.brasian.co.uk
 The Kumars at Number 42
Concluding point by Castells…
 When evaluating media representations
of how they portray ethnic minorities, we
must take into consideration the different
social positions (class, gender, religion)
that actually divide a particular ethnic
group. In other words, there is diversity
within them that the media should
acknowledge.
Essay question
 Critically examine media representations
of ethnic minority groups.