Abstract
Jen Birks examines “how legitimacy is determined” when political leaders and the media are able to define what happens when men and women take to the streets in a civil society. She describes civil society as “a shared aspiration; a set of liberties, principles, and practices; and a site variously of self-interested exchange, altruistic cooperation, rational deliberation, radical dissent and symbolic performance.” That extensive explanation should provide a good indicator that this will not be an easy-to-digest book.
One of the challenges Birks presents herself but cannot overcome is her admission that there is no universally accepted definition for civil society. Because it is multi-layered, she has to dig through many potential factors to explain why people protest, why some events lead to louder and larger protests, and why government officials are better able to define the parameters of acceptable and unacceptable actions relating to protests. By extension, the media often take their cue from those officials in framing protest actions. Perhaps more unfortunate is that Birks has empathy and support for protesters, and her writing hints at an endorsement of left-leaning or liberal news agencies and a more critical assessment of right-leaning or conservative media.
Birks evaluates how officials portrayed and media framed events associated with a papal visit to the United Kingdom, student protests surrounding potential tuition increases, union strikes because of pension rules changes, the admission by police that one of its own had successfully infiltrated an environmental protest group, and the Occupy London Stock Exchange protests. Unfortunately, her presentation is choppy; some chapters extensively deal with one of these issues only to have a second suddenly appear. Without sufficient reason, she fails to explain why some of these events deserve more attention in this book than others. At other times, tables of statistical information are included but are not sufficiently examined.
What does come through in this book—and it should have been developed more fully—is the clear distinctions the newspapers made in framing these events. The liberal media adopted a more positive tone toward protesters and workers, and a more negative tone toward Pope Benedict XVI. They were more likely to use sources who shared those positions in their reporting. However, conservative media were rather consistent in a critical evaluation of protests while suggesting that many of the protesters needed to re-evaluate why they were on the streets when they would be doing themselves, their families, and society a favor by getting back to school or work.
As I write this review, the sporadic violent reactions to the decision not to indict a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer in the shooting of a teenager flicker across my television screen and fill my social media feeds. Many of the pertinent questions being asked about the events in Missouri, including what is an acceptable form of protest, how police respond to protesters who block important businesses and roadways, and how media report what’s happening, are identified by Birks in News and Civil Society.
This is a complicated book largely because of its presentation. It also is an expensive book; the price alone will turn off many students who might be assigned to read it. As an instructor, you would be wise to look at other options that examine the relationship among protesters, government, and the media in the United Kingdom.