Essay Plan

To what extent, and why are Muslims represented as terrorists in the UK news media?

1.       Introduction to essay, brief description of how Muslims are represented in UK news media, and briefly explain reasons why. 

Give examples of some headlines from different newspapers

2.       How the stereotypes began, briefly explaining 9/11 and how it led to the negative portrayal of Muslims in general 

Explaining 9/11, how the stereotypes began, how the representation of Muslims changed before and after 9/11

3.       Briefly explaining the headlines in UK news media, how Muslims are portrayed, how it has affected Muslims in the UK. 

Examples of the headlines in news media, how they are being portrayed and the affect it is having on Muslims

The three most common ‘news hooks’ for stories about British Muslims accounted for more than two thirds of stories. These were:

Terrorism or the war on terror, accounting for 36% of stories overall. This involved stories about terrorism trials, stories about the ‘war on terror’ and about hostage taking, although most of the stories in this category were about terrorism more generally, rather than a specific terrorist event (so, for example, statements or reports about terrorism by politicians or police chiefs).

This was the starting point of an increased focus on British Muslims, and although coverage in 2002 fell back a little, coverage in 2002 appears to be nearly five times higher than in 2000.

Table 1: Stories about British Muslims over time

Year Frequency of Stories

2000 352

2001 2185

2002 1673

2003 1917

2004 2399

2005 3812

2006 4196

2007 3213

2008 34667

From 2002, we see a steady increase in coverage year on year until 2006 (see Figure 1).

What is notable about this increase is that it appears to have its own momentum, so that by

2004 coverage surpassed 2001 levels.

Figure 1: Stories about British Muslims over time

This figure is based on an extrapolation of the five months of coverage available to us, assuming that coverage from June to December 2008 will be commensurate with the coverage from January to May. As we might expect, we see another significant increase in 2005 (the year of the July 7^th attacks), although coverage continued to increase further in 2006, reaching a level 12 times higher than in 2000. Although coverage appears to level off a little in 2007 and 2008, it remained higher than in any year before 2005

4.       Gender roles

The different ways men and women are portrayed in UK media. Headscarf and burqa issues bought up in news

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/.../muslim-women-convert_n_3285337.html‎

http://www.themodernreligion.com/women/w_media.htm

 Many young British Muslims are coming to the conclusion that Western discourse, of which they believe the Media to be a large player, is set against them, only satisfied when documenting them in a distorted light. The term 'Islamophobia' has emerged within these circles, and can be used to summarise the collective feeling of rejection and alienation that is being experienced by Muslims within Britain. At the hands of the Western media British Muslims face marginalisation, having their believes and practices ridiculed and degraded on a regular basis.

In London a peaceful march in protest took place, in which many of my close friends participated - however, a small handful of youths became unruly, resulting in clashes with the police. Again the media chose to give the event a negative image, with news programmes giving coverage only to the small minority who became violent. 

5.       Audience theory and digital media

Effects on the audience –

Muslim audiences, on the other hand, believe that the media in Western countries does not portray Muslims with the same sense of completeness, as it would, for example, people of other faiths. There is a perception that media coverage of Muslims focuses disproportionately on bad news and on conflicts, with less time given to contributions made in other areas such as the arts, sciences, culture, cuisine, and so on.

http://fairuk.org/docs/British_Muslims_Media_Guide.pdf

Twitter and YouTube

People tweeting and putting YouTube videos up, talking about the way Muslims are portrayed isn't fair

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2432880/More-quarter-young-adults-Britain-trust-Muslims.html

6.       Historical texts- how it all started 9/11, post 9/11, how things have changed, compare news headlines then and now

Explaining the change in representation- evidence of news headline before 9/11 and after

7.       Conclusion - Key points linking back to the title