Newspaper campaigns Flashcards
what are the two examples of newspaper campaigns??
- Sarah’s law
- Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
how was Sarah’s law a newspaper campaign??
Although Sarah’s Law started as an individual campaign, set up by Sarah’s parents after her murder, it soon transformed into a newspaper campaign.
The News of the World backed the campaign and ran several front page articles on Sarah’s murder, urging the public to support the campaign for policy change.
what was the reason behind Sarah’s law campaign??
1st July 2000, 8-year-old Sarah Payne was abducted and murdered by a known sex offender, Roy Whiting.
Whiting was questioned because he lived nearby and was on the sex offender register. Due to initial lack of evidence, Whiting wasn’t charged for the murder until 6th February 2001.
Sarah’s parents believed it should be the right of parents to be aware of known sex offenders living in their area, and that this information should be disclosed to protect their children from possible harm.
what were the methods used by Sarah’s law campaign??
News of the World attempted to pressure the government into making changes to the law through their ‘name and shame’ campaign. They released the identities of 100 men on the sex offender registry and threatened to release 1000 more if changes weren’t made.
However, this led to a lot of issues when they incorrectly identified innocent men as sex offenders. There was also a surge of vigilantism that led to several attacks on the named individuals. This method was stopped by the police.
Then, News of the World focused on a petition to get the government to introduce the new policy, which received 700,000 signatures.
what was the policy introduced by Sarah’s law campaign??
This campaign led to the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme.
Initially, the campaign was for government to allow controlled access to the sex offender registry, so parents with young children could know if a child sex offender was living in their area. However, the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme is a modified scheme where parents can enquire about a named individual that has contact with their child, e.g., babysitters.
At first it was piloted in four areas of England and Wales in 2008, but after proving successful, the scheme was extended to cover the whole of England and Wales by spring 2011.
how was the dangerous dogs act in 1991 a newspaper campaign??
After a spate of dog attacks in the 1980s/1990s several newspapers called for a ban on certain breeds of dog. In particular quoting the Telegraph & Argus’ front page on the attack of Rukhsana Khan by a pitbull terrier in 1991 and then saying,
The paper carried a colour picture of little Rukhsana resting in her hospital bed, and it was obviously a very bloody picture.
Other papers were also right to use the picture because it has helped to jolt the Government into the awareness that millions have been urging on them for the past three or four years.’
what was the reason behind the dangerous dogs act in 1991?
The campaign started after a series of dog attacks, culminating in one in 1991 when six-year-old Rukhsana Khan was badly injured and a number of other dog attacks were raised in parliament.
Rukhsana had been playing in a park near her home in Bradford when she was mauled by a pit bull terrier and taken to hospital.
what was the methods used by the dangerous dogs act 1991??
The Daily Express, Telegraph and Argus, and Yorkshire Herald attempted to pressure the government into making changes to the law around dangerous dogs by publicising graphic details of dog attacks and including pictures of the children who had been attacked.
This sparked a moral panic, which put pressure on MPs to make a change to the law regarding dogs.
what was the policy introduced by the dangerous dogs act in 1991??
his campaign led to the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991).
Four types of dog were banned under the act, the American Pitbull Type, the Japanese Tosa, the Dogo Argentino, and the Fila Brasileiro. The act also makes it an offence for an owner to allow any dog “to be dangerously out of control”.
The legislation has been amended several times since, in particular in 1997 when the law was adjusted to allow courts the flexibility to decide if the ‘dangerous dog’ had to be put down.
