It has been disgusting reading EVENING STANDARD with their double pages paying tributes to upper class murders of lawyers and bankers...and does anyone understand why the media obsession with that woman who was stabbed in Oxford?



I am patiently waiting a response from Trevor Philips
__________________________________________________ ________________________________

· Coverage of recent killings 'points up divide'
· Allegations rejected by some editors

Owen Gibson and Vikram Dodd
Friday January 27, 2006
The Guardian


The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, yesterday accused the media of institutional racism, hitting out at newspapers for regularly relegating the murders of people from ethnic minorities to "a paragraph on page 97".
In a prolonged attack on the media's news values, he said the press was guilty of devoting more column inches to the death of white, middle-class victims than those from ethnic minorities.

"We do devote the same level of resources to murders in relation to their difficulty," said Sir Ian, speaking at a monthly meeting of the Metropolitan police authority. "What the difference is, is how these are reported. I actually believe the media is guilty of institutional racism in the way they report deaths."

Sir Ian also picked out the Soham murders, when the killing of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman dominated the news agenda in August 2002, as an example of the way the media latch on to some murders and not others. "If you look at the murders in Soham, almost nobody can understand why that dreadful story became the biggest story in Britain," he said.

His comments drew a withering response from some editors, who insisted the news agenda was dictated by factors other than skin colour. Later, Scotland Yard was forced to clarify Sir Ian's comments for fear they could be taken as playing down the gravity of the Soham case.

Sir Ian also contrasted coverage of the recent murders of the white 31-year-old lawyer Tom ap Rhys Price in north-west London and a 54-year-old Asian father of two, Balbir Matharu. While the death of Mr Rhys Price was "terrible", recent murders of those from ethnic minorities generated nowhere near as much interest, he said. "That death of the young lawyer was terrible, but an Asian man was dragged to his death, a woman was chopped up in Lewisham, a chap shot in the head in a Trident murder - they got a paragraph on page 97," he said.

"With one or two exceptions, clearly Damilola Taylor was one, the reporting of murder in minority communities appears not to interest the mainstream media."

The two men referred to by Sir Ian were killed on the same day, January 12. Mr Matharu was mown down and killed under the wheels of a car after challenging two thieves who had broken into his van and stolen a stereo worth £70. Twelve hours later, Mr Rhys Price was stabbed to death after being mugged on on his way home from Kensal Green tube station.

His death dominated the news agenda for days afterwards. Three men were subsequently arrested and two charged with murder.

An analysis of national news coverage of the two stories in the fortnight since the murders shows Mr Rhys Price's murder did receive more coverage, but that the difference was not as great as suggested by Sir Ian.

The murder of Mr Rhys Price generated 5,525 words while Mr Matharu's death, over which no arrests have yet been made, received 4,443 words of coverage. But if only tabloid newspapers are analysed, the difference becomes clearer. The murder of Mr Rhys Price was mentioned in 98 stories while Mr Matharu's death was covered in just 14.

Veronica Wadley, editor of the London Evening Standard, said that Sir Ian's comments appeared to be "extremely selective". "I certainly don't think the Standard is racist or institutionally racist. We are very proud to reflect life in the capital for all who live and work here," she said, pointing out the column inches devoted to the deaths of Stephen Lawrence, Damilola Taylor and the black schoolboy Anthony Walker on Merseyside.

Ms Wadley also pointed to "many less familiar cases", including that of Jay Abatan, a City worker of Nigerian origin killed outside a Brighton nightclub in a suspected racist attack in 1999, and honour killings in the Asian community.

The paper yesterday launched an appeal on behalf of the family of Mr ap Rhys Pryce. She said his skin colour was irrelevant. "The murder was particularly brutal because he was an innocent man on his way home from work" and "the paper would have done exactly the same whatever his origins".

Other newspaper editors pointed to their coverage of the Walker case as evidence that their news agenda was not racially skewed.

Trevor Phillips, chair of the Commission for Racial Equality and a former television journalist, said: "It has always been true that some communities feel their tragedies are treated with less gravity than others." But he said the example of the Daily Mail's support for Stephen Lawrence's family was an instance of a paper "you would least expect" highlighting the issue of racial violence. He added: "A blanket condemnation of the media belongs to yesterday and not today. The media could still do a great deal more to be even handed in its reporting."

Detective Inspector George Rhoden, chair of the Met branch of the Black Police Association, supported the commissioner's remarks. He said media coverage could lead to more intelligence being gathered from the public, thus increasing the chances of a murder being solved quickly. Mr Rhoden also said more resources could be given to cases attracting a lot of coverage because the force was under pressure.

How two cases were handled

Tom ap Rhys Price

Background Born in Hertfordshire and grew up in Weybridge, Surrey, after a short spell in Somalia, where his father worked as a civil engineer. He went to Marlborough college, taking A-levels in Greek, Latin and English literature and graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, with a first class degree in classics. He was engaged and worked for Linklaters.

The death He was on his way home in Willesden, north-west London, after a night out when he was stabbed in an apparent robbery 100 yards from his front door.

5,525 words in national press

Balbir Matharu

Background A married father of two, he originated from Punjab in India and moved from Leicester to east London a few years ago and worked for his family company in east London.

The death He was run over and dragged for 40 yards after he tried to stop robbers breaking into his van, apparently trying to steal his stereo, outside a builders' merchant's in Stratford, east London. He was found lying in the road by his distraught wife and daughter.

4,443 words in national press





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Ian Blair is chatting shit

The cases he pointed out are totally diferent.

In one case, a guy got killed as he wasnt prepared to be robbed

In the 2nd case, the guy was killed, after accepting the robbery and handing over everything of value.

Quite clear if you take away race and are presented with those two scenarios, 10 out f 10 people would say the 2nd scenario would get more coverage

As for Damiola Taylor, that got huge coverage when it first came out. Infact, t triggered another one of those stupid knife amnesty's that dont actually ever work

This coming from the same guy who said that mobile phone muggers in London are overwhelmigly black. If that is true, how do you benefit from broadcasting that fact

Cashmoney

I think it was his predecessor sir paul condon who said that about black youth and muggings.

@Cashmoney

Do you disagree with the accusation of institutional racism against the media?

Well the white editors and media leaders didn't take too kindly to these comments. They were quite furious actually at the mere suggestion some of them may be racist.

Iain Blair has had to apologise for what he said.

@ DRunk

He said it as well. I get the link


@ backatya

I am serious

Any time I hear a person got killed for not handing over his goods, I still feel real sorrow, but at the back of my mind I'm like whispering myself, ' why not just give it up, its not worth your life'

So when you hear about a dude who gave it all up, but then was still stabbed to death, that in my view is significanly worse, and should correspond with more coverage, because then your saying, it doesnt matter if you comply with the attackers, they will still kill you.

Its is on par with a race attack in that just being there at the time is enough



He used the wrong comparisons





I th

@ blackmatta


If it was as simple as that , then murder rates would go through the roof

The 80,000 mugggings that take place would be accompanied by 80,000 murders, so they cant stand as witnesses

To quote backtya

Your not serious are you?

In my personal opinion with regards to blairs comments, he's just saying what most us have been saying for too many years. but i dont think i entirely trust his own motives for sayingit. But then again, I'm a cynic about these things!

@ cash money, with respect, given the state we can clearly see the british media is in, and has been for quite some time,don't you think that there are hiddenmotives behind cirtain high profile cases being given as much coverage as they have been? I think the case with Damilola Taylor is a prime example. Maybe I'm being sceptical but I feel like storys like that are only prioritised by the media when it highlights a problem within our community.

Sadly, the obsession with the Soham case is partly caused by the nations love of melodrama and an inability to differentiate reality from fantasy.

The scum press also like paedophilia and kids going missing. It makes them money and that must mean people want to read as much detail as they can about it. Often because they are disturbed But the whole of the last two weeks reading the chelsea banker murder was like reading property **** - constant reference to his salary & his multi million pound house.

The Evading Standard (EVENING STANDARD..owned by the owners of DAILY MAIL) ) love to lead with headlines like City Lawyer/Banker murdered! what makes it funnier is a simple google search on both names get 18,500 for Tom & 274 for Balbir. Tom gets a section in Google news - Balbil or what ever his name isdoesn't.

But the bottom line is both were brutally murdered yet Tom's is deemed a more media friendly crime..or maybe because he is jew?

=CAPITALIST MONEY MADNESS