Social media during London riots

How far were the responses of the rioters themselves given space in the media?

The majority of the coverage documented within the media did not allow rioters to communicate their opinions or reasons for rioting. When interviews were carried out with rioters they always seem to contain a comedic value, possibly attempting to portray rioters as harmless and stupid. There is only one broadcast from my research which gives the rioters a fair platform to voice their opinions; "Police don't think we're rioting for a reason. They believe we're rioting because Mark Duggan died and we have no other reason. Like, we're rioting cos they're not giving us nothing to do, they're taking away EMA (educational maintenance allowance), taking away free travel and taking away certain allowances that teenagers have and they're not replacing it with anything good."

This is a very small space within the entirety of the mass media this is due to the fact, the majority of mass media take a 'top down' view - They decide what news is broadcast and give it directly to us with no negotiation. In this case, they decide to portray youths in a negative light by associating them with rioters and not giving them a chance to defend themselves. This portrayal comes primarily from the languages used, referring to the rioters as "Feral youths", "Yob" and "hoody".

Given the general framing of young people as the key participants in the events, how much space was given to young peoples' voices - and what sorts of young people were given space to respond in the media debates?
Youths were not given a fair platform to voice their opinions within the mass media. My research shows very little positive coverage of youth representation, this is mainly due to youths not having a platform on which to defend their image.
The majority of the youths that were chosen to voice their opinions were a part of the riots and often form incoherent arguments for rioting. They were often portrayed wearing masks which immediately associates them with the rioting, showing that they do not want their identity to be revealed.
In some cases however, youths are portrayed in a positive way such as the broadcast

To what extent did social media challenge or confirm representations of youth identity in the mass media during the time of London riots?

During the London riots, social media was used by youths in ways, which both challenges and confirms the mass media’s representation.
The negative side of social media was the way in which rioters were able to coordinate their destruction. They were able to talk amongst themselves, setting their next target for looting or vandalism. The nature of social media also allowed them to promote these events to the rest of their friends and encourage them to join in. BBM (Blackberry messenger) played a key part in the organisation; rioters tend to favour it because it is private and free. Statistics show that 37% of teens own a blackberry and therefore a large group of people could easily be reached.
Looking at this in terms of David Buckingham’s theory:
“A focus on social identity requires us to pay close attention to the diverse ways in which media and technologies are used in everyday life, and their consequences for both individuals and for social groups”
We can see that both the mass media and social media are portraying a very similar stereotype. However, there is another side of social media, which helps to negate this stereotype. A positive use of social media comes in the form of facebook and twitter feeds from youths, organising a clean up. Groups like @riotcleanup and ‘Not in my name’.
Henry Jenkins says “Participatory culture is one in which members believe their contributions matter and feel some degree of social connections which one another”
This theory can be evidenced through the schemes such as the riot clean up as it shows that some youths do feel a sense of community involvement.
Social media was also used in a positive way by providing a place for youths to air their opinions, as they were not always accurately represented in the mass media. This helps to aid David Gauntlett’s theory that “Identities are not ‘given’ but are constructed and negotiated.” – Youths are helping to ‘negotiate’ this identity by attempting to combat the demonization of youths that is often present in the mass media.