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Knife crime has become a common phrase used by the media, but it is not always clear what it refers to or what they mean when they use the term. Knife crime can cover many offences, making it challenging to define and estimate its prevalence. This review aimed to evaluate potential knife crimes in the UK from 2011 to 2021 and analyse the causes and risk factors associated with the crimes. Six UK online news portals were purposefully chosen to be included in the study, and knife crime news was searched retrospectively. The term "knife crime" was used to search. The news portals were the: Metro, the Sun, the Guardian, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and the Evening Standard. In the assigned news portals, 692 reports were found between January 2011 and December 2021. The study revealed that the 11-20 years of age group individuals are more vulnerable as victims, and males are more reported as victims when compared to females. About 61.8% of knife crimes are reported from South England. Knife crime risk is higher in early adulthood and among males. Street violence, fights/gang attacks, family issues and robbery are the leading causes of knife crime and have all been identified as risk factors that must be addressed with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social amplification of risk framework explains why risks provoke public concerns, and presumes that risk signals and societal responses are determinants of the social process by which risks can be amplified or attenuated. This process considers mass media as central to disseminating information, and a conventional view suggests that media hype risks and increase public fear. This study aimed to examine how the discovery of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), the newspaper reports regarding its potential transmission to humans, and the following social events were framed in the UK, and how media functioned in the process of the social amplification of BSE risks. Newspaper articles were collected from archives of the five UK national dailies for the period 1985–2008, and were coded according to the frames, geographic focus, policy discussion and their slant, and the argument bases for policy discussions. The changes in frequency and frames over time were examined. The number of published articles increased, as BSE-related events occurred. Agriculture and trade remained dominant themes, followed by commerce and incident details. Factual reports, including neutral policy discussions, dominated the articles. When advocacy was evident, appeals for weaker policy measures appeared most frequently, favoring balance between objectives and addressing the rational acceptance of health risks. Newspaper media contributed to the social amplification of BSE risks, responding to societal events by producing numerous alarming articles that did not originate from any single health or industry viewpoint but dominated the press with factual reports. Policy advocacy was suppressed by arguments for the rational acceptance of risks. Such media behaviors demonstrated ambivalence, and may have amplified the risks less than expected, without isolating health risks, increasing public fear, or advocating stronger government policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is well-established that media influences public perceptions, and that media coverage of psychiatry is negative compared to the rest of medicine. No studies that we know of, have compared media reporting on antidepressants and talking therapies as treatments for depression. We hypothesised that coverage of antidepressants would be more negative than that of psychotherapies in both headlines and articles. Methods: We identified online articles in The Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Express, and The Guardian between 11 June 2013 and 11 June 2018. Two raters independently evaluated their titles/content with regard to their portrayal of antidepressants and psychotherapies (positive/negative/neutral), with good inter-rater reliability. Results: We identified 221 articles. Antidepressants featured in 184 articles, of which 27 (15%) portrayed them positively, 68 (37%) negatively, and 89 (48%) neutrally; and 173 headlines, of which 24 (14%) portrayed them positively, 64 (37%) negatively, and 85 (49%) neutrally. Antidepressants received more coverage than psychotherapy, which featured in 132 articles, of which 48 (36%) portrayed them positively, 3 (2%) negatively, and 81 (61%) neutrally; and 53 headlines, of which 16 (30%) portrayed them positively, 2 (4%) negatively, and 35 (66%) neutrally. A Fisher's exact test revealed a statistically significant difference between the portrayal of antidepressants and psychotherapies in both articles (p = 2.86 × 10−15) and headlines (p = 2.79 × 10−6). Conclusion: Despite the two treatments being similarly effective, the portrayal of antidepressants in the UK online media is more negative than that of psychotherapy. This could potentially discourage patients from considering taking antidepressants, and provoke patients currently taking antidepressants to stop abruptly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports how 18 UK and Canadian population health artificial intelligence researchers in Higher Education Institutions perceive the use of artificial intelligence systems in their research, and how this compares with their perceptions about the media portrayal of artificial intelligence systems. This is triangulated with a small scoping analysis of how UK and Canadian news articles portray artificial intelligence systems associated with health research and care. Interviewees had concerns about what they perceived as sensationalist reporting of artificial intelligence systems – a finding reflected in the media analysis. In line with Pickersgill's concept of 'epistemic modesty', they considered artificial intelligence systems better perceived as non-exceptionalist methodological tools that were uncertain and unexciting. Adopting 'epistemic modesty' was sometimes hindered by stakeholders to whom the research is disseminated, who may be less interested in hearing about the uncertainties of scientific practice, having implications on both research and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of History Studies (13094688) is the property of History Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Our understanding of where landslide hazard and impact will be greatest is largely based on our knowledge of past events. Here, we present a method to supplement existing records of landslides in Great Britain by searching an electronic archive of regional newspapers. In Great Britain, the British Geological Survey (BGS) is responsible for updating and maintaining records of landslide events and their impacts in the National Landslide Database (NLD). The NLD contains records of more than 16,500 landslide events in Great Britain. Data sources for the NLD include field surveys, academic articles, grey literature, news, public reports and, since 2012, social media. We aim to supplement the richness of the NLD by (i) identifying additional landslide events, (ii) acting as an additional source of confirmation of events existing in the NLD and (iii) adding more detail to existing database entries. This is done by systematically searching the Nexis UK digital archive of 568 regional newspapers published in the UK. In this paper, we construct a robust Boolean search criterion by experimenting with landslide terminology for four training periods. We then apply this search to all articles published in 2006 and 2012. This resulted in the addition of 111 records of landslide events to the NLD over the 2 years investigated (2006 and 2012). We also find that we were able to obtain information about landslide impact for 60–90% of landslide events identified from newspaper articles. Spatial and temporal patterns of additional landslides identified from newspaper articles are broadly in line with those existing in the NLD, confirming that the NLD is a representative sample of landsliding in Great Britain. This method could now be applied to more time periods and/or other hazards to add richness to databases and thus improve our ability to forecast future events based on records of past events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enormous changes wrought in the British newspaper industry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought about a revolution in newspaper reading habits, financing and influence, all aspects of which have been well documented by historians of the press. But what of the contributor, particularly the freelance whose millions of words formed, mostly anonymously, the content of the new mass market press? How did writers negotiate changes in the literary marketplace during this time as editors demanded more ‘news’ and less in the way of whimsical paragraphing, and sketches, the traditional newspaper output of the professional man, or woman, of letters? Through the study of memoirs, correspondence and the fictional output of contributors to the press during this time, it is possible to discern the often fraught relations between writers and their most lucrative market. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

IN RECENT YEARS, THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND HAS BEEN CONFRONTED WITH MASSIVE IMMIGRATION FROM FORMER COMMUNIST COUNTRIES, WHICH HAVE RECENTLY ASCENDED INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION. THE REACTION OF THE PRESS HAS BIRTHED THE IDEA OF A WAVE OF ROMANIANS AND BULGARIANS, WHOSE ARRIVAL WOULD HAVE BEEN DETERMINED BY THE LIFTING OF WORK RESTRICTIONS. THIS STUDY AIMS AT ANALYSING THE REACTION OF TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BRITISH NEWSPAPERS, DAILY MAIL AND THE GUARDIAN. THE FIRST'S ATTITUDE WAS MOSTLY HOSTILE, FREQUENTLY BEING CHARACTERIZED AS SOMEWHAT XENOPHOBIC. THE SECOND ONE'S APPROACH WAS MORE BALANCED, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE PHENOMENON THROUGH ITS CAUSES AND EFFECTS. BETWEEN 2013 AND 2014 THE DEBATE TENDED TO HEAT UP, LEADING TO SOME INTERESTING IDEAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The colonial government attempted to implement the Crown Lands Bill between 1894 and 1897 in Southern Ghana. Among other things, it sought to take control of what was described as ‘waste lands’ and later ‘public lands.’ This article focuses on resistance to these bills in which the Aborigines’ Rights Protect Society (ARPS) played a leading role on behalf of Southern Ghana. This was one of many precedents to the build-up of tension between the people and the colonial establishment. Among other things, the article examines the ramblings within a colonial administration that attempted to push through its policies against a background of resolute resistance. This led to reluctance on the part of some colonial officers to enforce the policy. The argument is that there was an effective collaboration between the Western-educated elite and the people of coastal Southern Gold Coast in the resistance to these bills. They used official letters of protests, newspaper articles, editorials, and demonstrations to express their dislike for the colonial land policy. In addition, they sent delegations to the colonial government in their effort to resist the attempt to take over ‘waste lands’ and later ‘public lands.’ Furthermore, this article argues that the conflict had to do with the different conceptions of land. While the colonial government saw it as part of the economic and political trappings of power, the people of Southern Ghana saw land as a cultural and religious resource that gave them the needed connection with the ancestors in their everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses English news reporting in Malaysia (New Straits Times) and in the United Kingdom (The Times) over several consecutive months during the SARS epidemic in 2003. While the physical features (word counts, standardised type/token ratio, number of sentences, etc.) of both corpora were consistent (and the two newspapers used mostly the same metaphorical lexis), differing features of the two newspapers were found in the rhetoric meaning. A corpus-based investigation of the presentation of news, selection of lexis, and the foci of reporting during the SARS epidemic is thus proposed. The results show that news from Malaysia focused on patriotism along with an emotional hopeful attitude, while news reporting in The Times seemed to be emotionally detached and less personal, reporting mainly on the fall of the stock markets and cancellations of cultural and sports events. In addition, The Times was found to have often considered manifestations of global economic status and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Population is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Indicators and indices (a collection of indicators into a single value) have been promoted for some time as convenient devices for the presentation of complex datasets to a more general audience. Examples of indices are the corruption perception index (CPI), human development index (HDI) and ecological footprint (EF). The research reported in this paper was designed to explore the extent to which the CPI, HDI and EF have been reported in UK national newspapers between January 1990 and December 2009, and whether there are differences between the indices in the pattern of reporting. Results suggest that reporting of the CPI was linked to the timing of reports issued by Transparency International. The same was partly true of reporting of the HDI and timing of release of Human Development Reports s by the UNDP. The EF has more reports than the CPI and HDI, and this is related in part to its greater flexibility and adaptability at more local (intra-UK) scales. The paper recommends that those creating such indices look beyond the methodological dimension and consider how best to make the index resonate with the media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tim Hewat was celebrated during his tenure at Granada Television as one of the most influential journalists working in Britain in the second half of the 20th century, but then largely forgotten for 30 years. This is explained as a function of the specific historicization of journalists, reflecting both academic prejudices and occupational values. The history of journalism is largely devoid of the lived experiences of the majority of its practitioners. Hewat's case indicates that journalists disappear from history when they step outside the domains of valorized media institutions and journalism hierarchies that contribute to notions such as the Fourth Estate. Mobilizing Paul Thompson's category of 'underclasses', this article argues that this reductionism has largely rendered the majority of journalists historically invisible and classified them as unter-journalists, a kind of subcategory which does not comply with a priori norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation identifies the key images that British newspapers use to represent climate change risks. In doing so, it widens the scope of the burgeoning literature analysing textual content of climate change media information. This is particularly important given visual information's ability to arouse emotion, and the risk perception literature's increasing focus on the importance of affect in shaping risk perception. From a thematic analysis of newspaper images, three broad themes emerged: the impact of climate change, personification of climate change and representation of climate change in graphical form. In particular, the depiction of climate change as an issue affecting domestic populations rather than just other areas of the world brings the threat closer to home. Challenging the perception that climate change is still a long-term and future-orientated threat, visual images concretise the risk by providing viewers with tangible examples of climate change's impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the evidence about ownership of the UK national daily press, and the possibility of new entrants succeeding, in the light of concern about media concentration in European fora. It demonstrates that this market is concentrated and effectively closed and explores why this is so. The article shows that this market is stratified in ways which also display closure and concentration and demonstrates that the existing law is ineffective in preventing concentration. It concludes that the nature of the UK national daily press market results from the natural workings of the free market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Food insecurity is a growing concern in the UK. Newspaper coverage can reflect and shape public and political views. We examined how frequently food insecurity was reported on in UK newspapers, how the problem and its drivers were described, and which solutions were proposed., Methods: Using Factiva, we searched for news articles that were substantively about food insecurity and published in national UK newspapers between 01 January 2016 and 11 June 2019. We examined whether the number of articles differed over the study period, and conducted a thematic analysis to theoretical saturation using a random sample of articles., Results: Overall, 436 articles met our inclusion criteria and 132 (30%) were analysed thematically. Reporting was more prevalent in the summer, with mentions of 'holiday hunger' among children, and leading up to Christmas, when charity was encouraged. Articles often contained views from advocacy groups and charities, who appeared to play an important role in maintaining news interest in food insecurity. From the thematic analysis, we developed themes related to the problems ('definitions of food insecurity' and 'consequences of food insecurity for individuals'), drivers ('insufficient income as an immediate driver' and 'government versus individual responsibility'), and solutions ('charitable food aid' and 'calls for government action'). The problem of food insecurity was often defined by food bank use or hunger, but other definitions and a range of consequences for individuals were acknowledged. Articles identified government as a driver of food insecurity, especially in relation to the roll-out of Universal Credit. Few articles proposed individual failings as a driver of food insecurity. The reported existing solutions predominantly focused on food banking and redistributing 'food waste'. The public, charities, and individuals experiencing food insecurity were generally portrayed as supportive of government action to tackle food insecurity. However, contention within government regarding the extent of food insecurity, governmental responsibility and potential solutions was reported., Conclusions: Food insecurity was a topic of significant interest within UK newspapers. Newspapers were used to call for government action and advocate for structural, income-based solutions.

Background: Media reporting of suicide has been associated with imitative acts. Internationally, this has led to the development of guidelines to promote responsible reporting of suicide., Aims: To examine the nature and quality of news coverage of suicidal behavior in the United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (ROI)., Method: UK and ROI press clippings relating to suicide over 12 months (N = 8,101) were coded for content and assessed for quality against existing guidelines. We examined variability in relation to key characteristics (e.g., type of publication) and compared newspaper portrayal of suicide against official statistics., Results: Reports were biased toward young, female, and relatively unusual suicides (including those involving a celebrity, more than one individual, and violent methods). Almost a third of reports had inappropriate headlines, but only a minority were of poor overall quality, and editors appear to be responsive to feedback. There was considerable variability in the quality of reports for different suicide methods., Limitations: This work cannot account for the impact of reporting on suicidal behavior. The speed of change in media trends also limits its conclusions., Conclusion: Our findings underscore the need for sustained efforts to promote responsible reporting of suicide.