Wednesday 29th April

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Unfortunately no copy of today's city edition was available hence no report can be presented for the M.E.N

Metro

Article 1
Headline: 7/7 'helpers' cleared - Families of victims call for enquiry to find out 'whole truth' about attacks
Section: News
Written by: Ross McGuinness
Page: 9

Outline: This article is about the acquittal of the 3 men who were charged in connection with the July 7th bombings.

The 3 men are named as Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem and Mohammed Shakil. The men's ages are also given. The article is written by Ross McGuinness whose previous articles have attracted a negative rating for inaccurate and misleading statements.

This article sticks mainly to factual data about the case. Importantly there is no mention of the men's relgious or ethnic background although it is mentioned in that 2 of the men were "convicted of planning to attend a terror training camp in Pakistan".

Mugshots of the 3 men are provided in the article and whilst there is no mention of their religious background, it wouldn't be difficult for most readers to deduce they are Muslim considering the names of the men and their photos which shows them with beards and and man with a skull cap worn by some Muslim men.

The one thing that lets the article down is the mention right at the outset that the families of the victims of the July 7th attacks are calling for a public enquiry following the men's aqcuittal. This implies to the reader that the decision to clear the men was a mistake i.e. they're still guilty.

Given the content of the article and the fact that it associates these men to the July 7th attacks coupled with their names and appearance will leave readers with a negative view of Islam and Muslims hence a 'negative' rating is given on this occasion.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Tuesday 28th April

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Unfortunately no copy of today's city edition was available hence no report can be presented for the M.E.N

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Faith schools told to give sex classes
Section: News
Written by: Joel Taylor
Page: 11

Outline: This article is about proposals that will see sex education being taught to children as young as five. The article explains that faith based schools will be able to tailor the content of such lessons according to their beliefs.

It mentions the various topics that will be taught as part of the proposals including HIV and AIDS and different kinds of relationship. Whilst Joel Taylor uses the word "faith schools" in the body and headline of the text he doesn't mention any faith by name.

Taylor includes a quote by Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society who condemns what is described in the article as a "loophole" which according to Sanderson's quote will allow "religious zealots a free hand to defame homosexuals". A further quote from him states that "Many children will be given a distorted view of sex and sexuality posing as religious doctrine".

The article finishes with reference to Ed Balls, Children's Secretary who is described as being "attracted to the proposition of compulsory sex education".

One noteworthy exclusion in this article by Taylor is any sort of representation from a faith group. Whilst the Secular viewpoint in favour of compulsory sex edcuation is presented to the readers as well as a Government Minister's backing, there is no attempt to provide the other side of the story thus denying the readers the opportunity to read a balanced article. For that reason this article is given a 'negative' rating

Artice Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: Veggies must use their loaf when buying bread
Section: News
Written by: Jo Steele
Page: 13

Outline: This article is about claims made by the Real Bread Campaign Group that most bread sold in shops is not suitable for Vegetarians. Steele presents a statistic put forward by the group which claims that up to 90% of loaves contain enzymes from the pancreas of pigs to help speed up baking.

A quote is provided by the director of the campaign where he says that "this is a significant issue for vegetarians, vegans and Muslims, whom I believe would be outraged if they knew this was in their bread".

Steele goes onto describe steps the group are taking to raise awareness and to get the Bread manufacturers to take action. There's also a quote provided by the Federation of Bakers where they claim that there is no issue as they strictly adhere to EU legislation.

This is a fairly factual piece with little or no additional narrative by Steele although it would have been worth pointing out that other religious groups such as Sikhs, some Hindus and Jews would also be affected by this if it was true, it wouldn't just be exclusive to Muslims as a religious group. By doing so Steele would have provided a fuller picture. However this is a small point and not one on which to get overly hung up on hence this article is given a 'neutral' rating.

Artice Verdict: Neutral

Article 3
Headline: Time to get Mezze
Section: Good Taste
Written by: Chloe Scott
Page: 16-17

Outline: This section across 2 pages isn't necessarilly about Muslims or Islam. It's a section looking at Lebanese Mezze and how it's perfect for picnics now that the good weather is around the corner.

Lebanon is a country that's rich in heritage & culture and famed for its cuisine throughout the World. This section features input from Anissa Helou who is described as "Half Lebanese, half Syrian...stalwart of the food scene" and Jack Koyoumjian who is described as "the Lebanese born Armenian Director of London's Massis Lebanese Grill and Bar". Both provide tips on Mezze and several recipes are provided. There is a photo to accompany the section showing a young couple enjjoying a picnic in the park on a sunny day.

The question of religion and Lebanon is a touchy one but it is safe to say that there are sizeable Muslim and Christian populations in Lebanon both of whom have a shared heritage when it comes to food. Thus a positive portrayal of Lebanese cuisine in this manner reflects positively on Lebanon and its people which is why I've given this article a 'positive' rating.

Artice Verdict: Positive

Article 4
Headline: Pakistan 'snubs' Brown over banished students
Section: News
Written by: Jo Steele
Page: 19

Outline: This article is about the Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari cancelling a press conference with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in an apparent snub over the decision to deport the 11 Pakistani men who release without charge after being wrongfully detained on terrorism charges.

The main focus of the article for me is when Steele addresses the men in question. Steele mentions that the men were arrested earlier in the month on anti-terrorism charges but then goes onto say that "But last week they were freed without charge after Police were unable to gather enough evidence".

This quote continues with the Metro's apparent pro-Police bias which was evident in the news anaylsis of articles from Monday 27th April. It's almost as if Steele is trying to imply that the Police ran out of time but had they been given more time then evidence would have been found to convict the 12 innocent men, which included one Briton, of terrorism charges.

Steele of course completely misses the fact that the whole botched raid was carried out because Gordon Brown himself said that the evidence pointed to a "very big plot", that was allegedly being planned. To make such a definitive statement would surely mean that there was compelling evidence to carry out such a dramatic raid. However despite all this talk it amounted to nothing and instead the raid seriously dented peoples' confidence in the Intelligence, Police Force and the Government.

For continuing to tow the Pro-Police bias which the Metro is pushing with this article is given a 'negative' rating

Artice Verdict: Negative

Monday 27th April

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Unfortunately no copy of today's city edition was available hence no report can be presented for the M.E.N

Metro

Article 1
Headline: 20 days to save kidnap Briton
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: Front Page Brief

Outline: This brief acts as an introduction to a more detailed article on page 9. It mentions that a British Hostage is at risk from "militants" in Mali unless Britain releases Abu Qatada. The Militants are described as an "al-Qaeda group".

There is no mention of religion in this article but given the widespread coverage of Al Qaeda in the media along with it being associated with Islam then this will no doubt cast a negative light on Islam and Muslims hence this brief is given a 'negative' rating.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: 'free hate cleric or hostage dies'
Section: News
Written by: Ross McGuinness
Page: Front Page Brief

Outline: This article follows on from the brief on the front page. It is written by Ross McGuinness who wrote a poor article on 8th April where he failed to mention the number of Iraqi civilians killed but quantified the number of US soliders killes and tried to make the 2 comparable, that last article was marked as 'negative'.

Unfortunately McGuinness doesn't start this article well. The opening line of this article starts with "Islamic militants have threatened to kill a British hostage..."

It carries on with the report about a British man being held hostage by a group demanding the release of Abu Qatada. The 2nd paragraph describes the group as an "...African group..."

McGuinness then prints the following statement allegedly made by the group online "We demand that Britain release Sheikh Abu Qatada, who is unjustly (held), for the release of its British citizen. We give it 20 days as of the issuance of this statement. When this period expires the Mujahideen will kill the hostage"

There is a description of Abu Qatada who is described as "Radical preacher", it's explaines how he was arrested, released and re-arrested and his current legal status i.e. awaiting deportation to Jordan.

McGuinness then mentions that 4 hostages were released earlier in the month by Al-Qaeda in what he describes as "The Islamic Maghreb". The Maghreb is the term used to refer to North Africa, particularly when talking about Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The choice of words is interesting as McGuinness could have easily said 'the maghreb' or to make it painfully clear to all readers he could have kept it simple and just said "North Africa". There was no need to use the term 'Islamic' when referring to this region and associating it with kidnapping, which creates a link in the readers' minds between the 2.

Interestingly McGuinness finishes the article with a statement by Omar Bakri and describes him as "exiled cleric". This is factually incorrect, to be an exile one must be absent from their home country, McGuinness is using the term in reference to Bakri because he was excluded from the UK in 2005. Bakri was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK under political asylum, but this wasn't his home country.

Bakri is described as neither condoning or condemning the actions of the kidnappers but the article finishes with the following closing statement from him "I always call for the release of any Muslims who never committed a crime in Britain".

Overall this article is poorly written and the choice of words used in some sections of the article is inappropriate and unnecessary. This isn't a great follow up to McGuinness article on Iraq from 8th April and once again a 'negative' rating is called for.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Article 3
Headline: Jesus v Muhammad game 'fuels hatred'
Section: News
Written by: Miles Erwin
Page: 12

Outline: This article is about an online game called Faith Fighter that's been created where holy figures fight each other to death including Jesus and Muhammad (Peace be upon them both).

The article starts by saying that "religious groups" have criticised the game and are calling for it to be banned.

The 3rd paragraph of this article is particularly interesting as Erwin writes that "Muslims are particularly outraged as Islamic tradition prohibits drawings of Allah". Whilst factually correct the over emphasis on the point that Muslims will be "particularly" outraged is perhaps designed to make readers think that the opposition from Muslims will be stronger and more forecful than other groups i.e. more extreme perhaps?

The article also mentions that Hindus and Buddhists are upset at the game as it also features Ganesha and Buddha. Statements condemming the game are presented by Douglas Miller, pastor of the Link Church in Birmingham, Brian Appleyard, former chairman of the Buddhist Society. Erwin also mentions that "spokesman" for the Federation of Muslim Organisations has made a comment but fails to provide a name for this "spokesman" like he has for the Christian and Buddhist groups.

Towards the end of the article Erwin provides a quote from the makers of the game "molleindustria" which allegedly shows the 'purpose' behind the creation of the game as being "to push gamers to reflect on how sacred representations are often used to fuel or justify conflicts between people'.

This is of course complete rubbish as the premise of game is to offend not to cause reflection. By printing this statement Erwin may claim to be giving the makers the opportunity to give their side of the story, however by conveniently placing it as the closing statement of the article he may also be trying to leave readers with a positive view of the makers of the game by making them think that they weren't really trying to cause offence.

Not surprisingly this is a 'negative' article as Erwin singles out Muslims by saying that they will be "particularly outraged", he also fails to provide the name of the spokesman for the Federation of Muslim Organisations whereas he does so for other groups.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Article 4
Headline: It's one conspiracy too far
Section: Metro Mail
Written by: ?
Page: 30

Outline: This section of the Metro features letters sent in by readers, the topic featured today are the botched anti-terror operation carried out by the Police against 12 innocent men,

Two comments are posted & both are by male readers. The first is in response to a previous reader's comment where a woman accused the Police and Govt using the anti-terror raids as a means of 'scaremongering'. The commenter responding to this attacks the woman's arguments and backs up the Police by saying that there must be evidence hence why the 11 Pakistani nationals are being deported. He also attacks the woman by saying that she would be the first to blame the Police for incompetence if there actually had been a terrorist attack. He finishes his comment by asking for conspiracy theories to stop, which is the inspiration for the headline of this section.

The second comment is significantly shorter, just 7 lines in response the first which is almost 30 lines long. The other difference between the 2 is that the second comment is crticising rather than praising the anti-terror raid. I feel it's necessary to reprint the full comment here considering its short length;

"Now that the 12 terror suspects have been released without charge, will there be an investigation into why police were told to storm a university and terrorise innocent students, or will the whole thing be brushed under the carpet?"

Both comments are left by people who don't have Muslim names. There is a photo which accompanies this section which shows 2 policeman with one of the students on the ground, he caption accompanying it reads "Arrests: Police rounded up 12 terror suspects across the north-west of England". The use of the words "terror suspects" in reference to the men is wrong considering that all have been released without charge, would a suspected thief who was found to be innocent still be tagged as a suspected thief for the rest of their life? One would hope not!

This Metro Mail section clearly gives more prominence to the pro-Police angle with the lengthy pro-Police raid reader comment, the photo with the caption and the headline which implies that any anti-Police rhetoric is a "conspiracy". No attempt is made to hide the bias and there is no balance in the comments presented. There should have been 2 comments of similar length with opposing views in order to maintain objectivity.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Friday 24th April

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Six held as police swoop nets £2.5m heroin haul
Section: North-West Today
Written by: ?
Page: 2

Outline: This brief is about a police drugs bust in Oldham which uncovered £2.5m of heroin.

It describes where the raids happened and gives addresses as well as describing the age range of those arrested. It mentions the charges brought against the men and lists their names as the following; Mohammed Abbas, Abdul Rashid, Kason Miah, Anthony Fagan, Ibrahim Choudhury, Muhammed Esak Ali.

It doesn't describe the ethnic or religious background of any of the men therefore is given a 'neutral' rating.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Article 2
Headline: Deporting students will harm race relations, say MPs
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 6

Outline: This is a an article buried in a corner of page 6 and relates to the botched anti-terror raids carried out by the Police in which 12 innocent men were detained on suspicion of terrorism but released without charge.

The article raises reservations by 2 MPs over the deportation of 11 of the men. It quotes the MPs views on the matter by stating that they feel such a move will be "disturbing and gravely unjust".

The MPs are named as Mohammed Sarwar and Khalid Mahmood and the article goes onto state that both MPs feel that the actions will cause "irreparable damage to race relations". The article links this back to the piece written by David Ottewell in Thuersday's edition which featured comments by ex Lord Mayor Councillor Afzal Khan, which were along the same lines. This article reprints one comment bt Mr Khan which talks about the Police "getting it wrong too often".

The article goes onto describe the constituencies represented by Mr Sarwar and Mr Mahmood and that their involvement is a result of being "...urged to...by members of the Pakistani community..."

The closing paragraph is a statement by the MPs which states "We find it unjust...that these innocent men...are now to face immediate deportation. Incidents such as this do irreparable damage to the vital race relations work that is being done."

This is a positive article as it highlights the plight of the 11 innocent men who are now facing deportation however it is presented in a subtle manner rather than gaining more prominent placement in the paper that such a story deserves. So whilst the message maybe positive, the attempt to try and bury it in page in a long and narrow column adjacent to the centre of the page I'm giving this a 'negative' rating.

Article Verdict: Negative

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Troops attacked as Taliban deal slated
Section: World Digest
Written by: ?
Page: 20

Outline: This news brief reports on the deal between the Government of Pakistan and the Taliban to implement Sharia law in the Swat valley to end an insurgency there. The news brief reports that Government troops came under fire in what the article describes as "taliban held territory". It goes onto state "that the area had been placed under Islamic Law to appease Militants". Firstly this is factually incorrect as the area being referred to is Buner which is not in Swat so there was no implementation of Sharia law there. Secondly the quote provided above equates the happiness of "militants" to "Islamic law" creating a very clear connection in the minds of readers between militancy and Islam.

No surprises therefore that this is given a 'negative' rating.

Article Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: Condi 'approved waterboarding'
Section: World Digest
Written by: ?
Page: 20

Outline: This news brief reports on revelations that the former US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice "personally" approved the use of waterboarding against suspects. The article describes waterboarding as "simulated drowning".

It also mentions that the revelation places doubts on comments made by Rice earlier where she claimed to have asked the Attorney General to conduct a legal review on the use of waterboarding. The article also uses the word "torture" in the text helping to paint the true picture of this torture tactic to the readers.

For bringing to light information which shows the excesses of the previous US administration with regards to torture this news brief is given a 'positive' rating.

Article Verdict: Positive

Article 3
Headline: Youngster amongst 76 bomb dead
Section: News
Written by: Miles Erwin
Page: 21

Outline: This article is about 2 suicide bombings in Iraq which left 76 people dead. The details of the various blasts are presented in a factual manner stating where the blast happened, how many people were killed as well as a description of the places targeted i.e. "Shia Muslim religious sites".

Erwin comments that attacks have decreased but mentions a further 2 attacks from the previous week one of which is described as taking place at a Mosque.

Erwin finishes the piece by stating comments by analysts which fear that attacks may increase as the US prepares to withdraw from Iraq.

Overall this is a factual objective report which highlights that victims of these terrorist attacks included Muslims in places of worship, thus I'm giving this a 'neutral' rating.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Thursday 23rd April

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Anti-terror raids: 'The lessons must be learned - and quickly'
Section: News
Written by: David Ottewell
Page: Front page and continued on page 2

Outline: This article reports on the release without charge of the 12 suspects arrested by Police across the North West on suspicion of terrorism.

Previous reviews carried of M.E.N articles related to these raids can be found in the reports for 9th April and 16th April.

The articles on 9th April were written by Yakub Qureshi and John Scheerhout and were rated as 'neutral'. No author was listed for the article on 16th April, but that was also rated as 'neutral'.

This particular article is written by David Ottewell who is listed as Chief Reporter for Politics and Transport .

The headline is drawn from comments made by Councillor Afzal Khan who is former Lord Mayor.

The 1st paragraph of the article mentions that all suspects were relased without charge. In the 2nd paragraph a quote from Mr Khan is presented where he states that the Muslim community could lose confidence in the Police and that lessons must be learnt quickly because the Police are 'getting it wrong' too often.

The article mentions that a review of the whole Police operation is to be carried out however Ottewell also goes onto state that "Senior security sources...remained 'absolutely' confident the men...had posed a real and immediate threat to Britain".

This comment starts in paragraph 5 on the front page and rolls over onto page 2. Not surprisingly Ottewell fails to provide the names of these "Senior security sources..." therefore making it just that much harder to verify the validity of these claims or if indeed these sources are even linked to security.

If they were, as Ottewell claims, "Senior security sources" then surely the conviction of their views and suspicions must have held enough weight to bring about charges or even further interrogation time agianst the suspects. The fact that neither happened and the suspects were released without charge just makes it more likely that these so called sources are just a method often used by Journalists to give readers the impression that they have access to the 'inside track' allowing them to bring exclusive stories to light. It may be the case that this is one way for journalists to smuggle in their own opinions on a particular matter whilst cloaking them in the ambiguity that comes with terms like "our sources".

This pretty much sets the scene for the remainder of the article which is continued on page 2 and features comments by Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police where he is quoted as saying that he did not feel embarassed or humiliated and would do the same again in reference to the raids that led to the arrests.

Ottewell is clearly trying to portray to the readers that the relase of these suspects is a mistake as the article is highlighting statements by the Police where they are backing the raid. In another paragraph Ottewell quotes "police sources..." sayin that the intelligence against the suspects was "compelling" though not matched by evidence from the searches of the suspects' properties and posessions.

That seems like a bit of contradiction don't you think? Logic would dictate that surely if the intelligence is "compelling" that it is based on hard fact, if nothing turned out off the back of this "compelling" evidence then surely the conclusion to draw from this is that the evidence wasn't actually "compelling", it was false much like Iraq and famed WMDs.

Whilst it is not Ottewell who is making the claim above, he is writing about and airing the Police spin on the raid which is obviously going to present the Police as the good guys in the face of this massive blunder.

It's not all pro-Police though as Ottewell provides a 90 word quote by ex Lord Mayor Mr Khan where he mentions the Muslim communities support for the Police but issues a warning that support may be near breaking point as the relationship between the Police and Muslim community is losing confidence. Another 30 word quote by another Councillor, Martin Pagel, is provided where he echoes Mr Khan's sentiments.

Ottewell then goes onto provide more detailed quotes by Police Constable Fahy which totals 147 words, which is a slightly higher word count than the quotes by Mr Khan and Mr Pagel combined.

The article finishes by mentioning that one of the arrested men is a British citizen and states that "he is understood to be a member of Tabligee Jamat...", he goes onto describe that this is "an Islamic group which goes door to door in local communities visiting Muslims to reinforce their faith by getting them to pray and attend the mosque".

He then tells readers that this person is a "Pashtun speaker" which is an incorrect statement to make as Pashtun is an ethnic group and the language they speak is Pashto, I guess this point can be passed off as a minor error. Ottewell mentions this person's occupation, that he's active in Tableegi Jamat, how long he's been in Britain and that he attended the Mosque regularly.

The previous articles on this topic published by the M.E.N were given a 'neutral' rating, however the same cannot be said for Ottewell's piece. Whilst he has presented quotes by the councillors which are slightly crtitical of the Police action he has given significant 'aritime' to views expressed by the Police and Ottewell's "Senior security sources", which unsurprisingly are focused of absolving the Police of any blame over this botched operation and instead try to convinve people that the threat is real.

By doing so the readers are likely to sympathise more with the Police lstance rather than the suspects who are innocent. Ottewell's detailed description of the unnamed British Citizen especially his involvement in a religious group and regular attendance at the Mosque is also likely to present the readers with a negative view of Muslims.

In summary Ottewell has produced a pro-Police article which fails to give prominence to the failure of the operation and fails to raise questions about the quality of intelligence being used to carry out such raids. If anything his article makes readers think that maybe the release of these suspects was the wrong thing to do. I think it'd be fair to give Ottewell a 'negative' rating for this article.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: 'Many now worry this could happen to them'
Section: News
Written by: Yakub Qureshi
Page: 2

Outline: This article is featured on page 2 above article 1 by David Ottewell. This article presents the one view that Ottewell completely overlooked in his piece, reaction from the local people of Cheetham Hill to the botched Police raid.

Qureshi brings to light views of locals and how this blunder is denting their confidence in the Police much like Councillor Afzal Khan is quoted as saying in article 1. Qureshi presents some historical perspective to the Cheetham Hill are describing it as the city's "first port of call".

Qureshi provides comments by people who knew the suspects that were arrested thus providing a character reference of sorts for the released men. It also features statements by a local man Hamza Gilazi and mentions how his house was searched for 5 days by the Police despite Mr Gilazi not being questioned or arrested. This is a good point to highlight as it brings to light other victims of the Police operation who were in no way linked but had to endure stress. One key point raised is that Police have taken some items from Mr Gilazi's home and not returned them.

Qureshi then goes onto mention that 2 people from the area have been charged on terrorism offences but balances this out by highlighting another botched raid by Police in 2007.

Further "character references" for the suspects are provided by people who are named in the article such as a University Student who speaks of of one of the suspects being a "peacful person". It's very important and good that Qureshi has brought these comments to light. He also highlights the apprehension and fear that the raid has caused amongst the local people.

The final part of the article mentions the residents' anger at the level of force used by the Police at the time of day when Children were playing in the street. The closing statement of the article is the most important in my opinion it is presented by a sales assistant named as Fatima Jalil who is quoted as saying "People going to mosque regularly, and some men having a beard, is quite normal here - it doesn't mean that they are plotting terror".

By placing this at the end of the article the statement is directly aimed at readers and this is a good thing as it's an important message to get out to every non Muslim person in this country.

Yakub Qureshi has written a good article which presents the human side i.e. the real world view of the operation as opposed to Ottewell who championed the carefully constructed PR messages of the Police force.

This article is given a 'positive' rating.

Article Verdict: Positive

Metro

Nill Return

Wednesday 22nd April

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Unfortunately no copy of today's city edition was available hence no report can be presented for the M.E.N

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Terror Raids: 9 suspects released
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 4

Outline: This is a news brief relating to the 12 men that were detained in the North west on suspicion of terrorism. The metro featured a report on this story on Tuesday 14th April where it dedicated a sizeable chunk of a page to this story whilst the fate of the suspects was still unknown.

This particular news brief is less than 70 words long. It only states that the suspects have been released and handed over to the UK borders agency and now face possible deportation. The home office is quoted and the deportation is claimed to be on grounds of National Security.

No mention is made that these suspects have been released without charge leading readers to believe that they may indeed still pose a threat whereas this is not the case.

The reporting of this article is inconsistent with the previous report last week. When there was ambiguity about their guilt the article featured more prominently but now that no case is to be borought against these innocent men the Metro sees fit to effectively brush this under the rug whilst denying readers the full facts. No surprises then that this get's a 'negative' rating.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: The gang member who killed student at just 12
Section: News
Written by: Jo Steele
Page: 5

Outline: This article is about the murder of 22 year old student Yasin Abdirahman in September 2007 at the hands of a gang who mistook him from someone else.

The article also has an accompanying photo of one the murderers on the front page, 12 year old Carlos Cyrus, who was the youngest member of the gang that attacked Mr Abdirahman. On page 5, accompanying the article is a photo of Mr Abdirahman.

The article does not make reference to his ethnic or religious background. It mentions by name all those convicted but does not make reference to their ethnicities or religious background either.

The article also features comments from the family of Mr Abdirahman.

It is presented in a factual manner and is thus given a 'neutral' rating.

Artice Verdict: Neutral

Article 3
Headline: Thug of 16 is jailed for 'mindless' knife attack
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 5

Outline: This article features immediately below Article 2 but is much shorter. It is about an attack on 21 year old Oliver Hemsley by 16 year Nazrul Islam which left Mr Hemsley paralysed for life.

The article also features a statement from the brother of Mr Hemsley.

Most of the reporting is factual however there are some differences with the article above which are worth pointing out.

The first is that Mr Hemsley is referred to as "...budding fashion designer..." in article 2 Mr Abdirahman is described simply as a pharmacy student. The difference is that Mr Hemsley's article features narrative about his future career path whereas Mr Abdirahman's article just presents the fact in simple terms without any narrative.

The second difference is the headline for this article which uses the word "thug". This word isn't mentioned in the article so it isn't a quote from Mr Hemsley's brother or the judge but appears to be an additional emotive word used by the journalist who wrote this article but whose name isn't mentioned. Compared to the article about Mr Abdirahman, the headline does not feature any emotive language at all.

The third difference is that Mr Hemsley's attacker is Muslim and the Mr Abdirahman's attackers are all non Muslim.

Mr Abdirahman was killed as a result of his attack, Mr Hemsley was paralysed for life. Both are tragedies for the victims and their families. The reporting should be consistent however in the instance where the attacker was Muslim the wording of the article as well differences in reference to the victim certainly doesn't show any consistency. If anything Mr Hemsley's article, although shorter than Mr Abdirahman's contains stronger language to appeal to the readers emotions.

For these reasons this particular article is given a 'negative' rating.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Tuesday 21st April

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Unfortunately no copy of today's city edition was available hence no report can be presented for the M.E.N

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Jesus Vs Dog
Section: Don't miss these at Metro.co.uk
Written by: ?
Page: 2 with web address provided www.metro.co.uk/jesusdog

Outline: This section of the newspaper directs readers to the Metro website and selected features such as video clips and articles are promoted here.

Today's section includes readers being directed to this videoclip, which is a homemade video of what seem to be kids, though not visible in the camera, using a toy Jesus doll to scare their pet puppy.

The article itself promotes the video clip as a "bizarre and Irreverent...epic battle". The video itself is not funny in fact it's very boring. All you see is the puppy getting very excited and running around whilst the kids press the talking features on the doll and then snigger at the antics of their pet. This lasts all of 1 minute and 8 seconds though it actually felt significantly longer whilst watching it.

Promoting such a video involves 2 flaws on part of the Metro, the first indicates that they have limited decent video content to promote and the 2nd is the offence that this is likely to cause not just to Christians but to Muslims both of whom revere Jesus or Eesa (Peace be Upon Him) as he is known in Islam.

Poor judgment by the Metro in promoting this leads to this clip/article being given a 'negative' rating.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: Iran's attack on 'racist' Israel mars UN summit
Section: News
Written by: Joel Taylor
Page: 13

Outline: This article focuses on a speech delivered at the UN anti-racism summit in Geneva by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the subsequent walk out of some Diplomats in response to his speech.

The artcile presents a description of events including comments made by the Iranian President and provides reference to a previous anti-racism summit. It also features comments made by David Milliband in response to the Iranian President's remarks.

Taylor mentions that the previous summit in 2001 the US walked out after attempts to criticise Israel and goes onto state that America along with others boycotted this meeting for fear of a repeat performance.

One thing that Joel does not mention is why there were attempts in 2001 to criticise Israel, specifically the treatment meted out to the Palestinian people. The failure to mention this may make readers sympathise with Israel as it seems that it's being 'picked on' or 'bullied'. In such a case the natural instinct is to side with the victim. However there were legitimate reasons in 2001 and now to crticise Israel for its vast list of Human rights abuses and instances of racism against Arabs which are not referred to.

Therefore the article is given a 'negative' rating for not presenting the full picture.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Articles 3 & 4
Headline: (Article 3) Jailed reporter 'will get appeal' & (Article 4) 'free woman' from death row
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 13

Outline: These 2 news briefs are being presented as a combined review because both feature immediately to right of the article above by Joel Taylor and both are Iran-related.

Article 3 is about Roxana Saberi, an American journalist who is mentioned as "Iranian-American" in the article. It states that Iranian officials will get a fair appeal against her conviction.

The sentencing of Ms Saberi has made headlines in several news outlets as she is an American Journalist who has been accused of spying by Iran. Including it next to Taylor's article adds a negative side to the Iranian image.

Article 4 mentions that protestors are campaigning for a woman who is on death row in Iran to be freed. It mentions that the woman in question, Delara Darabi, was a juvenile when she was sentenced and this is referenced to Amensty International.

This is another interesting choice of article to place next to Joel's piece.

Both of these briefs feature women that have fallen foul of Iranian law. The plight of women incarcerated with one facing the death penalty is likely to generate sympathy amongst readers. Mentioning Amensty International in one of the reports is also likely to convince people of the innocence of the accused even though no details of the case are presented. The prestige of Amnesty's brand name is used to win over the readers.

This is very careful "product placement" by the Metro as Articles 2, 3 and 4 combined will leave readers with a very negative image of Iran e.g. It's leader calling Israel 'racist, a foreign journalist being jailed for spying and a young woman facing the death penalty.

All in all, not great PR for Iran and in all likelihood this is the exact aim of placing all 3 articles together.

Artice Verdict: Negative