Tuesday 19th May

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Nil Return

Metro

Nil Return

Monday 18th May

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Men only Arab Pop Idol
Section: World Today
Written by: ?
Page: 12

Outline: This news brief is about a Middle Eastern music channel which is described as an "Islamic pop video channel". The channel in question is called '4shbab'.

There is mention of the founder of the channel and it states that he "...wants to spread the message that Muslims can be modern, although there will be no women singers as 'our societies are not ready to accept it'." The first part relating to the need for Muslims to be modern isn't actually presented as a quote therefore it may be the case that this is the journalist's narrative.

The total word count of this article is less than 60, in such a short brief a few important messages are conveyed to the reader;

• "...Muslims can be modern...", is the article impying that they aren't?
• "...there will be no women singers...", this reinforces one of the most common stereotypes about Muslims and the Arab World that women are unequal

In summary the reader takes away the following messages from the news brief -Arabs, Muslims, no women. no surprises for guessing that this is given a 'negative' rating

Artice Verdict: Negative

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Rebels capture key town after defection
Section: World Digest
Written by: ?
Page: 20

Outline: This news brief reports on the civil conflict in Somalia where rebels have taken a key town. The opening line of the article starts with "Islamic rebels yesterday continued their surge..."

The article fails to mention that these "Islamic rebels" are also Somali and that the people that they are fighting against are also Muslim. Instead the article makes it seem as though the "Islamic rebels" are a foreign or an alien force which is threatening the Government of Somalia. This in turn makes Islam look like the threat, which earns this article a negative rating.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Thursday 30th April

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: I've been stitched up, says fired apprentice
Section: News
Written by: Chris Osuh
Page: 4

Outline: This article is about Noorul Choudhury, the latest contestant to be 'fired' from the popular tv show The Apprentice.

It reports that Mr Choudhury is accusing the BBC of "character assasination" because of what he believes to selective editing which cast him as a background figure in the series who didn't contribute much.

The article mentions his age but does not make reference to his religious or ethnic background.

It talks about the School where Mr Choudhury now teaches at and the relationship that he has with the students which is reported as positive.

In summary this is a factual article thus is awarded a 'neutral'.

Artice Verdict: Neutral

Article 2
Headline: Terror camp pair are jailed for seven years
Section: Britain Today
Written by: ?
Page: 4

Outline: This article is about 2 men who were cleared of helping the July 7th bombers but were found guilty of planning to attend a terrorist training camp and have been jailed for 7 years.

The article leads with the sentencing of the men whose names are provided in the article as Waheed Ali, 25 and Mohammed Shakil, 32. A third man is also mentioned who was also cleared of helping the July 7th bombers, he is named as Sadeer Saleem, 28 and unlike the 2 aforementioned individuals has not been jailed for the other offence listed.

The article mentions the circumstances of their arrest and the fact that 2 years will be deducted from the sentence considering they have spent that amount of time in custody. It mentions that both men have admitted to attending "terrorist training camps in the past, before it had been made an offence".

Towards the end of the article it mentions that the families of the July 7th victims feel disappointed by the verdict because it means that "no one is ever likely to be brought to justice for the attacks on London's transport network. This implies that the verdict of clearing them for the July 7th was maybe incorrect.

Whilst it does not mention their relgious or ethnic background the names are obvious to most readers as being Muslim therefore this article will reflect poorly on Islam and Muslims hence a 'negative' rating is given.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Article 3
Headline: Delta sees the light with move into Egypt
Section: Business
Written by: Ben Rooth
Page: 4

Outline: This article is about an Oldham firm that specialises in Obstruction Lighting called, Delta Obstruction Lighting.

This report is about a contract the firm has won in Egypt, it mentions the details of the contract and provides some history about the firm commenting that turnover increased by 100% between 2007 and 2008.

The article then introduces the Managing Director of the firm, Tariq Mukhtar. Quotes by Mr Mukhtar are featured regarding the latest contract as well as future growth projections for the firm.

The article goes onto describe how the firm won the contract in Egypt which was as a result of a referral from one of the Delta's previous customers. This led to a visit by KEPCO, the Egyptian customer, who was impressed with the firm.

The article then mentions that the contract which involves installing lighting on 2 150m tall cooling towers at Cairo West Power Plant will be significant as this power plant will power a large part of Cairo city upon completion. This helps to give significance to Delta's latest project.

The article finishes with a light hearted quote from Mr Mukhtar who mentions that "...one day, they might even ask us to light the pyramids".

The article doesn't mention Mr Mukhtar's religious or ethnic background but is very positive about the firm and features a photo of Mr Mukhtar, taken from a tall building where he is shown attaching a light himself with the caption "let there be light".

Such articles are good to see in the press however it would be nice if, on this instance, Mr Mukhtar's religious background was mentioned to show positive contributions by Muslims. All too often people are described as Muslim in articles and in nearly all cases such are article are negative.

Artice Verdict: Positive

Metro

Article 1
Headline: 7 years for terror training camp pair
Section: News
Written by: Jo Steele
Page: 14

Outline: This report is about the same story as article 2 in today's M.E.N and was also covered in Wednesday's edition of the Metro by Ross McGuinness where it was featured on page 9 of the Metro with photos of the 3 men.

This time 2 photos are presented of Waheed Ali and Mohammed Shakil. Most of the article presents the same information as featured in Wednesday's edition except for more detail about the men's sentencing featuring quoted from presiding judge Justice Peter Gross.

Towards the end of the article there's also statements from family members of the victims of the July 7th attacks. A statement is given by Hazel Webb whose daughter was killed in Edgware Road. Reacting to the sentencing Ms Webb is quoted as stating that "All I can say is I am extremely disappointed they didn't get the maximum sentence".

Like yesterday's article this article is also going to reflect in a negative manner on Muslims and Islam hence is given a 'negative' rating even though it doesn't give the men's religious or ethnic background. This is due to the fact that photos of both men are given and their names are likely to be identified as Muslim by the readers especially Mohammed Shakil.

Artice Verdict: Negative