A4: Read All About it
Recent events such as the summer 2011 riots may be covered, any newspaper/media channel should contain reports, here are some examples:
Other examples of riots in British history that may be used are the Swing Riots, Peterloo, Chartist uprisings, Easter Rising, football riots, Brixton riots, Toxteth riots, Broadwater Farm, prison riots such as Strangeways, Bloody Sunday or poll tax riots or any other UK riot, but care should be taken to choose a riot rather than a larger rebellion. Examine the reports/accounts for bias and highlight those parts of the account that you think are the authors' opinion rather than the actual facts of the event. It may help to do some additional research about your chosen riot before looking at accounts. Accounts can be from newspaper articles, but any primary written account may also be used.
These two examples come from the newspaper reports on Peterloo in 1819. The Manchester Mercury was a pro establishment newspaper. It might be a good exercise to compare this report with one from the Manchester Observer, a more radical newspaper, who favoured those meeting. What differences between the reports can you notice? How does each newspaper refer to Henry Hunt? How does each newspaper refer to the events that unfolded? Who is to blame? You can zoom in to larger print copies of these articles by following the links.
Chartist examples
Reports of Chartist meeting from London Illustrated News