Friday 9th October - Part 2

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Keep out of city centre, rugby fans are warned
Section: North West Today
Written by: ?
Page: 2

Outline: This brief appears towards the top of page 2 and refers to the planned anti-Islam rally in Manchester City Centre by the extremist group the English Defence League (EDL) on Saturday 10th October.

The article reports that rugby fans travelling to Old Trafford have been warned to stay away from the city centre to avoid what's described as a "protest" by the EDL which it describes as a "...right wing group..."

The article goes on to describe how the EDL plans to hold a "...demonstration..." against "...Islamic Extremism..." and that there will be a counter protest by "...the Unite Against Fascism Group..."

The article ends with a reference to Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd and his message to people to stay away and also with a message in bold on the last line which reads ">> See Potsbag page 10".

There is one big glaring error in this news brief, the planned rally by the EDL is incorrectly described as a protest against Islamic Extremism. Now usually journalists are the inquisitive type and one would normally expect them to do their job properly and investigate exactly what type of group the EDL is? Of course the EDL's self professed aim is to 'protest against Islamic Extremism" but the truth is more sinister as their real aim is to protest against Islam and the presence of Muslims in the UK.

This is not the first rally planned by the EDL, they have staged similar marches in Birmingham which have been violent and high profile. For journalists this fact should not be difficult to find out.

At no point in the brief does it describe that the EDL have staged a similar rally and that it descended into violence, it doesn't describe that the group is largely made of up football hooligans out to cause trouble, it doesn't describe that at previous rallies their members have brandished hate messages on placards like "No More Mosques" and chanted slogans like "Muslims Out!".

These messages show that this group isn't interested in protesting against extremism but rather it is a fascist group targeting a group of people based solely on their faith. That, Ladies and Gentlemen is what is commonly known as an Extremist group. However all these facts are 'hidden' from the reader in this news brief so as to deprive them of the facts.

It also seeks to malign the image of the Unite Against Fascism (UAF) Group which has decided to stand up for Muslims. The news brief has successfully painted the picture of the EDL as protesting against "Islamic Extremism" and Unite Against Fascism are presented as planning to stage a "counter-protest" i.e. a protest against the EDL's stance in other words the readers will think why is this group trying to stop a group protesting against extremism? Does the paper want people to think that UAF supports extremism?

This is yet another example of clever 'Unspeak' i.e. smuggling in a hidden argument to influence readers.

It's not hard to forget the high profile that the media decided to give to the small number of members belonging to the Al Ghuraaba group when they protested by brandishing violent placards in response to the Danish Cartoons. We were reminded over & over again about the messages and made to think that maybe Muslims at large supported this tiny fringe group.

Unfortunately this time round the EDL is getting nowhere near as much exposure to highlight their extremist intent.

This news brief actualy supports their attempts to deceive the wider public into thinking that they're stance is just and noble when this couldn't be further from the truth.

For this reason this news brief is given a "Negative" rating.

Article Verdict: Negative


Article 2
Headline: Racist League
Section: Postbag
Written by: John Leech, MP, Manchester Withington
Page: 10

Outline: This isn't really an article but a letter sent into the M.E.N by the MP for Manchester Withington the Rt Hon John Leech.

In complete contrast to the news brief above John Leech's letter is an attempt to tell readers about the true intent of the EDL which he accurately describes in the opening words of his letter as "A RACIST group..." and how they are planning to hold an "...anti-Muslim rally aimed at inciting hatred and stirring up fear on our streets"

He speaks favourable about a petition organised by the Unite Against Fascism Group and encourages all readers to sign it by even providing the web address which is www.manchesteruaf.org

Unlike the M.E.N news brief above Mr Leech does refer to the previous rallies held by the EDL and how these have displayed the groups' "...Xenophobia and racially motivated thuggery..."

He also explains his very reasoned argument for banning the protest which he explains is "...not about gagging a legitimate group - it's about standing up for what is right and not letting our tolerance and free speech be hijacked by fascists who...would do away with this freedom in an instant.

Having read the letter by Mr Leech my first question was 'why did the M.E.N not use extracts from the letter in its earlier news brief, expecially considering that it did refer to another Manchester based MP and conveyed his message?' How did Mr Lloyd make the cut but not Mr Leech?

Mr Leech's letter could well have been used as a press release by the paper and used to bring a bit of balance to the M.E.N's atrocious news brief which all but stops short of publicly endorsing the EDL through its shameful mis-reporting.

A reference at the bottom of the News Brief telling people to go to the Postbag isn't enough, Mr Leech's comments should have been used in the main body of the M.E.N article. Perhaps the decision was taken not to use his comments because they contrasted very starkly with the M.E.N's take on the EDL protest i.e. the M.E.N blindly believed what the EDL said it would be protesting about rather than doing their job properly and actually investigating what the EDL were all about.

It could be argued that the M.E.N published Mr Leech's letter and there is a reference at the end of the news brief thus the readers would have got to see his comments. However by publshing his letter in the Postbag quite clearly shows that these are Mr Leech's opinions and thus personal to him, this could influence how receptive people are to Mr Leech's message.

Whilst Mr Leech's letter is positive my rating will be based on the M.E.N's conduct instead which deserves a "Negative" rating.

Article Verdict: Negative