The main text I have decided to focus on and carry out a close historical textual analysis of are tabloid newspapers. The reason for this is because it allows me to investigate the racist differences between a tabloid and broadsheet paper, and also how tabloid newspapers stereotype against black teenagers from the past compared to today's modern day.
The main example i have chosen to analyse is a 1993 Article on the murder charges of the Stephen Lawrence case.
'Race murder' charges dropped!
Alan Travis, Home Affairs Editor The Guardian,Friday 30 July 1993 14.58.
Fears of renewed racial violence in south-east London were raised yesterday after charges against two teenagers accused of murdering a black schoolboy, Stephen Lawrence , were dropped.
The Crown Prosecution Service said there was 'insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction' in a case which has sparked anti-racist demonstrations across London.
The two boys, aged 16 and 17, both from Lewisham, had been accused of stabbing to death Stephen Lawrence , aged 18, at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, in April in what police described as an 'outrageous and senseless' racially motivated attack. They were due to be committed for trial next week.
Stephen Lawrence 's family , who were visited by the African National Congress leader, Nelson Mandela, when he was last in London, said they were devastated by the decision. 'We were constantly told by the police to trust them and that they were doing all they could. It obviously wasn't good enough. As Nelson Mandela told us, 'Black lives are cheap',' said Cheryl Sloley, Stephen's aunt.
His parents were to travel back from Jamaica, where they took their son's body for burial, for next week's hearing. At his funeral in Woolwich last month, Stephen's father, Neville, called for the closure of the British National Party headquarters in nearby Welling.
Stephen, who was an A level student and hoped to become an architect, was with a friend waiting to catch a bus home when they were set upon by a group of four to six white youths.
Scotland Yard, whose detectives have interviewed 2,500 people, refused to comment on the CPS decision but said the murder inquiry would continue. Two teenagers arrested on May 7 remain on police bail.
The family's solicitor, Imran Khan, said he feared the decision could spark local racial unrest. 'It is quite unbelievable that the police have been unable to secure the evidence required to commit these youths for trial after three months.'
Peter Bottomley, Conservative MP for Eltham, said he was surprised by the decision but appealed to the local community not to take the law into its own hands, warning that only injustice would follow. He urged the Attorney-General to ask the CPS for a full explanation of their decision. 'We have to trust the CPS.'
But the Anti-Racist Alliance last night claimed the decision proved that 'there is something rotten at the heart of the Crown Prosecution Service when it deals with racist murders' and demanded that racial violence be made a specific criminal offence.
The article puts into perspective the position of black people within society, as it proved that young black teenagers may feel they have no justice over police officers, therefore causing moral panics in society that the UK police force is racist. Therefore putting the question "How society has changed over the years and how these changes are reflected in different media texts", can be quite easily proven. The main change within this particular text would be the idea of justice not being given to black youth when involved with crime or the police. Media texts such as films like Kidulthood and Adulthood empathise the view that black teenagers don't get justice when involved in crime. For example in Kidulthood, when a young black teenager dies, the murder only suffers 4 years in jail rather than life. Also media texts such as Contemporary UK News that is broadcasted on TV, may differ as certain story lines are broadcasted in order to show people what they need to know, " its constructed versions of events usually serve dominant interests" Branston, Gill (2003) : The Media Students Book. New York: Routledge. This quote therefore shows what kind of impact this will have on a n audience as they are only shown relevant information rather than fair and realistic views that commence society today.
When comparing this article to my contemporary article, it shows that most articles today written abut black teenagers focus more on the idea that not enough positive imagery or representation of black teenagers are portrayed enough in the UK News. This therefore shows a change in society as some articles may show that not all black teenagers are related to crime, and also some articles show that justice is taken when dealing with other crime related cases.
On the idea of whether or not this text is similar or different to a more contemporary text, it shows that there has been a change in the way articles are written, however stereotypes and representations are still portrayed in a slight same way as black teenagers a re still associated with gun and knife crime or being members of gangs.
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