The Christmas wrap up: All quiet on the southern front?
While we were all getting presents, getting fat, getting drunk over the silly season, here's what was happening in terms of crime and policing reportage. Actually, I may as well just call it race riot reportage seeing as that was the only issue reported under my crime and policing category.
Despite international Headlines such as Race riots mar Australian Christmas the reporting of the race riots over the christmas period focused on renewed calm in affected areas, urging people to return to the beaches. Examples include: Serenity Prevails at Cronulla from the SMH, and the Australian's article Beach riots? No worries, it's Christmas. These articels, not only encouraged people to return to the beaches, but also encouraged peace... for a change. They also had a Christmassy feel, commenting how the riots had been the subject of a number of Christmas church services. Thrilling.
The end of December also saw the first charges for inciting violence through text messages, an event covered by all sydney papaers, and even picked up by the Taipei Times.
China remained on the ball with the China Post, the only international publication I could find, who reported the impacts the riots would have on Australian tourism. This was also mentioned by Some Sydney papers.
The most memorable riot related article over the christmas break, however came from the SMH.The article published in the SMH on Boxing day and also covered by the mainstream news stations, reported that a survey has produced a map of Sydney's most racist suburbs, with Mosman and Woollhara topping the list. I'm sure all would agree that this article was one of the SMH's most preposterous attempts, only falling short of its earlier warmongering articles and images. This story just wanted people to ask "maybe we should go fight the rich people, aparently they're even more racist than the toothless tatt covered shire folk." Interestingly enough, however, the splendid article concluded that despite some of our richest suburbs being labelled racist, Australia was found to be not nearly as racist as England or America... at least we have something to be proud of...
Thats the long and the short of the Christmas coverage of crime and policing. The main point of the coverage, the 'return to the beaches' propaganda confirms the media's shift from a security approach to a peace approach as suggested by Johan Gatlung, an idea which I intend to explore in my final essay.
Despite international Headlines such as Race riots mar Australian Christmas the reporting of the race riots over the christmas period focused on renewed calm in affected areas, urging people to return to the beaches. Examples include: Serenity Prevails at Cronulla from the SMH, and the Australian's article Beach riots? No worries, it's Christmas. These articels, not only encouraged people to return to the beaches, but also encouraged peace... for a change. They also had a Christmassy feel, commenting how the riots had been the subject of a number of Christmas church services. Thrilling.
The end of December also saw the first charges for inciting violence through text messages, an event covered by all sydney papaers, and even picked up by the Taipei Times.
China remained on the ball with the China Post, the only international publication I could find, who reported the impacts the riots would have on Australian tourism. This was also mentioned by Some Sydney papers.
The most memorable riot related article over the christmas break, however came from the SMH.The article published in the SMH on Boxing day and also covered by the mainstream news stations, reported that a survey has produced a map of Sydney's most racist suburbs, with Mosman and Woollhara topping the list. I'm sure all would agree that this article was one of the SMH's most preposterous attempts, only falling short of its earlier warmongering articles and images. This story just wanted people to ask "maybe we should go fight the rich people, aparently they're even more racist than the toothless tatt covered shire folk." Interestingly enough, however, the splendid article concluded that despite some of our richest suburbs being labelled racist, Australia was found to be not nearly as racist as England or America... at least we have something to be proud of...
Thats the long and the short of the Christmas coverage of crime and policing. The main point of the coverage, the 'return to the beaches' propaganda confirms the media's shift from a security approach to a peace approach as suggested by Johan Gatlung, an idea which I intend to explore in my final essay.
posted by mad at 6:07 PM
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