The Sun Article

This article from The Sun shows almost an entire front page dedicated to reporting the London riots. The Sun itself is a tabloid newspaper, which has a main audience of working to middle class people, although other classes have been known to read it and also appeals to both genders. Although the readers may not necessarily hold a biased opinion, the headlines and subheadings on the page are somewhat sensationalist and could be liable to start a 'moral panic'.

The main headline on the front page reads 'Anarchy'. The word anarchy can be defined as chaos and disorder caused by a lack of regard for authority. The police found it difficult to control the rioters, as we can see from other reports and so 'anarchy' is an appropriate term to describe what was happening in London at the time - the people involved showed little to no regard for the authority around them; looting, stealing and destroying the things around them. The small heading at the top of the article reads '3rd Day of Mindless Violence' which ties in with the main heading of the article as it suggest that the 'anarchic' actions taken by the rioters was 'mindless'.

The subheadings on this article read 'Riots spread across London', 'Birmingham hit by looting' and '215 arrests, PM jets back'. These headings tell us that the riots are spreading not only 'across London' but also to other cities such as Birmingham. This would make the public nervous and fearful as they are unsure of where the rioters will strike next. The fact that the article states that '215 arrests' have been made adds to this as it gives a rough idea of just how serious the situation is, as a large number of people have been arrested. There is also a mention of David Cameron which is an element that makes the article appear more biased; the fact that the primeminister has returned home from his holidays is supposed to show that he cares about his people and will give up his holidays to return home and help them - a common tactic within the media to regain hegemonic control.

The photograph on the page shows a stereotypical 'yob', wearing a full tracksuit and obscuring his face with a hood and a scarf. The image is iconic because it shows one of the rioters - a youth - acting deviously and walking casually past a burning car. This gives a negative impression on youths to the public as it suggests that they are all out to destroy and are indifferent to the damage that they are causing.