In this blog I will conduct a case study about the Jade Goody racism row, and cover the different representations of this story in the media to see if the press is really that reliable.
| Above: Jade Goody |
Brief History of the issue:
The Celbrity Big Brother racism controversy was a series of events related to incidents of percieved racist behaviour by contestants in the 2007 series (broadcasted on Channel 4) in particular Jade Goody, Glamour model Danielle Lloyd, and ex singer of S Club Seven Jo O'Meara were accused of directing racist comment towards Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. These screening of these racist comments resulted in national and international media coverage especially for Jade Goodey. Many agencies and coperations cancelled their contracts with the housemates accused of racism, citing the allegations as the reason for the terminations. Many sponsors of the Big Brother series cancelled their sponsorship of the show.After the show, Goody stated that she understood her comments appeared to be racist, and apologized for any offence caused. After conducting an investigation, Ofcom ruled that Channel 4 had breached the Ofcom code of conduct, and legal actions were placed on the network.
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| Goodey and Shetty argueing over racist comments |
Reaction: By 20th January, Ofcom recieved 44,500 complaints from members of the public. Whilst Channel 4 recieved an additional 3,000 complaints about racism and bullying by housmates against Shilpa. Channel 4 originally described the situation as "girly rivalry", but later admitted there had "undoubtedly been a cultural clash between her and three of the British females in the house".Channel 4 continued to air moments of racism on their show, stating that the social dynamics of the housemates are part of the story and viewers had the right to see the events portrayed as accurately as possible
Media Reaction:
Various media outlets projected the issue as 'girish rivalry' but later blamed it on bullying and racism. As time progressed, most of the media coverage of Jade became negative, althought accusations of racism were replaced by those of bullying. The British tabloids mainly concentrated on comments made by Jade, rather than those by other housemates and Jades boyfriend. The contraversy generated over 300 newspaper articles in Britain, 1,200 in English language newspapers around the globe, 3,900 foreign language news articles, and 22,000 blog posts on the internet. Even though Big Brother was Channel 4's most finanically successful television programme, Chairman Vanni Treves urged the station to cancel the show. However Celebrity Big Brother was suspended on 24th August 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity_Big_Brother_racism_controversy#Media_reaction
Youtube video: ITV coverage >>>>
Here is one point of view from the Telegraph: 17th Jan 2007
Race row as Big Brother sinks to vile spectacle
Allegations of racism on the reality show Celebrity Big Brother brought thousands of complaints yesterday amid protests led by comedy star Meera Syal.
The actress and author said the Channel 4 show had slipped into "vile spectacle" after more than 7,600 viewers accused contestants of racially abusing the Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty.
She said: "There is a very thin line between what is entertainment and a vile spectacle and I think we are in that area now."
Whipped up by an internet campaign, the protesters claim that Shetty is being victimised and bullied. Shetty, 31, broke down in tears after allegedly being taunted about her skin colour, accent and cooking.
BBC News portray it in a different perspective, they felt it was a misunderstanding and gained information of an official apology from Jade. Here are some quotes from the article (January 20th 2007)
I'm not racist, says TV's Goody
Goody said her behaviour was "nasty" adding: "I'm not racist, but I can see why it has had the impact it's had."
Syal, 45, who stars in The Kumars at No 42, said: "What this treatment of Shilpa has done is remind a lot of Asian people in Britain of the type of uncomfortable treatment they've received themselves over the years. This is bullying."
The alleged abuse involved Jade Goody, 25, a regular reality show performer, her mother Jackiey, Danielle Lloyd, 23, a former Miss England, and Jo O'Meara, formerly of S Club 7.
It is alleged that they mocked Shetty for "wanting to be white" when she bleached her facial hair, complained about her spicy food and referred to her as "the Indian".
A spokesman for Channel 4 defended its decision not to intervene in the show saying it had to portray events "accurately". He added: "We don't tolerate any racist abuse in any form."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1539700/Race-row-as-Big-Brother-sinks-to-vile-spectacle.htmlThe alleged abuse involved Jade Goody, 25, a regular reality show performer, her mother Jackiey, Danielle Lloyd, 23, a former Miss England, and Jo O'Meara, formerly of S Club 7.
It is alleged that they mocked Shetty for "wanting to be white" when she bleached her facial hair, complained about her spicy food and referred to her as "the Indian".
A spokesman for Channel 4 defended its decision not to intervene in the show saying it had to portray events "accurately". He added: "We don't tolerate any racist abuse in any form."
BBC News portray it in a different perspective, they felt it was a misunderstanding and gained information of an official apology from Jade. Here are some quotes from the article (January 20th 2007)
I'm not racist, says TV's Goody
Goody said her behaviour was "nasty" adding: "I'm not racist, but I can see why it has had the impact it's had."
On seeing clips from the show, she said: "I look like one of those people I don't like."
I apologise to anyone I offended- Jade Goodey
She was silent for a few seconds before saying: "That's intense."
She made up with Shetty before the eviction, with Shetty saying she did not believe Goody was racist.
Comments have included Goody calling Shetty "Shilpa Poppadom". Goody insisted on the show that she "didn't say Shilpa Poppadom in a racial way" and that she did not judge people "by the colour of their skin".
Goody told McCall: "I'm disgusted in myself for saying what I have just seen myself saying. I do not approve of any of my actions and I do not approve of the words that came out of my mouth."
One viewer said: "I have heard worse so called abuse on playgrounds and in internet chat rooms - all it helped was the ratings for a very tired programme"
Earlier, Shetty was asked by Big Brother whether she felt her argument with Jade was racially motivated. But Shetty said: "I think it's a sequence of events that created that misunderstanding and made me believe for maybe a fraction of a second that I thought she was being racist. "But I don't think so today, in hindsight, that she was being racist."
The Independant portrays the story of Jade being a bully and a racist, and suggesting that Channel 4 were partly to blame (24th May 2007) here are some quotes from the article, which in my oppion sound very biast
The Guardian has many interesting facts e.g numbers. It seems to be putting the blame on Channel 4 for intending to boost its ratings by using racism, and gives mainly the public's view which feel that it gives a bad perception on Britain. However it gives a statement about reconciliation between all housemates. This article gives some cold hard facts but comments made by interviewees seem very biast. Below is some quotes from the article (20th January 2007)
"40,000 complaints were made to broadcast regulator Ofcom"
Gordon Brown urged a "vote for tolerance" after visiting a Bollywood film studio in Mambai, he presented the choice between Goody and Shetty as one that would shape how the rest of the world see's Britain. He said: "I know that people in India say that Britain is generally a country of tolerance," Mr Brown said. "It is up to people to cast their votes, but a vote for Britain is a vote for tolerance."
"She appeared to pause for thought when presenter Davina McCall told her of the political and diplomatic storm her words had provoked and played back footage of her behaviour. She said that when her comments against Shetty, who she referred as "Shilpa Poppadom", were read back to her, she thought "Oh my God, maybe I am racist".
She added: "I look like a complete and utter nasty small person - the sort of person I don't like myself," but continued: "I am not a racist and I sincerely, with my hand on my heart, apologise to anyone I have offended out there."
If Goody was unaware of the effect her words would have, Shetty was not. In one exchange before the eviction, she told Goody she did not think her a racist, but added: "You said it, its going to be out and a lot of Indians heard it. Trust me, it's not going to go down well."
In an intriguing twist, it emerged last night that Goody's mother Jackiey Budden, who called Shetty "the Indian" and refused to pronounce her name properly, is a practising Muslim who performed prayers while in the house. The prayers appear to have been cut from footage shown in the nightly TV updates.
Budden, who asked Shetty: "Do you live in a house or a shack ?" has observed Ramadan, the month of fasting, for nine years, according to Goody's agent and publicist John Noel Management.
The Guardian poll also shows a majority believe Channel 4 had a responsibility to intervene. Women felt more strongly about this than men, with 72% saying Channel 4 should have stepped in when the campaign against Shetty emerged
In a statement, Channel 4 said: "Over the past few days Celebrity Big Brother has generated an intense and, at times, heated public debate which the evicted housemate will be unaware of. As a result, Channel 4 and Endemol have taken the decision to conduct tonight's eviction ... without a crowd." Instead, Goody was interviewed in front of an audience drawn from friends and family of contestants.
Channel 4, which is struggling to contain perceptions that it is tolerating racism to boost its ratings, also cancelled the post-eviction press conference, allowing Goody to be briefed before facing the media. In a further damage limitation move, Channel 4 announced that it would donate profits from last night's phone vote to charity.
Goody and Danielle Lloyd, briefly Miss Great Britain, both apologised to Shetty on Thursday night in an attempt at reconciliation. Goody and the Bollywood actor hugged each other.
Complaints to Ofcom reached 40,000 but the furore has also dramatically increased viewing figures - which had sunk to 3.5m but rose to 5.7m by Thursday.
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, said the programme had exposed the reality of racism in Britain. "This has laid bare the dark heart of private prejudice that all too often sits behind the public veneer of tolerance tells us we still have work to do to feel at ease with our diversity."
The quote about Jade's mum being a practicing muslim does not seem legit, because it had all of a sudden "emerged" after the row happened.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jan/20/raceintheuk.bigbrother
The article from The Sun " Im no racist says Jade" are very rude by reffering Goody to "GOBBY Jade", My own personal oppinion of this newspaper is that it is very biast. It demonises public stories by giving no straight facts and is sleazy journalism, unlike independant newspapers.
She admitted to Big Brother that she was more scared of being evicted this time around than during her first appearance.
She denied being a racist but said she feared some of her comments to Shilpa could have been seen that way.
"I said something regarding Shilpa's surname that I think may have caused offence to people outside," she said. "It wasn't meant in a racist way at all and it worries me that people may think of me as a racial person that makes racial comments.
"I never would, I've not been brought up like that."
She went on: "Shilpa says she knows I'm not racist, but the press have a lot of power and if they want to print I'm racial that could influence a lot of people and I could be evicted for the wrong reasons.
"Fair enough if people vote me out because they don't like me, but if it's because they think I'm a racist b**** I'll be worried about walking out - because that's not me."
"In a way I want to go, but I want to go for the right reasons, not for other stuff,” she told them.
Shilpa - who is also up for eviction tonight - told Jermaine Jackson that Jade was "scared" of how her row with the Bollywood siren might have come across outside.
"She is scared because she said some things that might have come across...," she said before tailing off.
This article does give some interesting points, but it is mainly from Jades side not Shilpa's too, the quotes are only from the victim and the so called 'racist' Jade. They should have got more reliable sources such as eye witness accounts, word of mouth from both sides may not be truthful. This article in particular would have given her bad publicity.
Interview with Jade on The Wright Stuff >>>>
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/celebrity_big_brother_hijack/28936/Im-no-racist-says-Jade.html
In conclusion, I believe that Jade's actions were all a big misunderstanding, but the media had to take it further and broaden the issue which made her look bad in the press. The story from the independant seemed more reliable as it gave straight facts, and some articles gave statements that Shipla forgave Jade. But some articles were very biast towards the issue and using harsh comments against Jade. The media turnt it into a big fiasco which involved politicians, celebrities ect..who believed that she was making Britain look bad, but when it can't be down to one particular individual its the publics actions. They were also biast to suggest that Channel 4 intended it to happen to boost ratings. I advise people to check their sources first and look deeper into the story by researching the matter, rather than stick to one story.
Channel 4 was guilty of "serious editorial misjudgment" over its handling of the Celebrity Big Brother racism row, Ofcom ruled today.The media watchdog has ordered the broadcaster must make a series of on-air apologies during the new series of Big Brother next month.The show sparked an international outcry over the treatment of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty by housemates Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara.
It found Channel 4 guilty of breaching the broadcasting code.
Labour MP Keith Vaz said:
"I welcome the adjudication by Ofcom".
"This is a vindication of the huge number of complaints that were made by viewers about the continual broadcasting by Channel Four of racist comments".
"Channel Four has behaved in an arrogant way which has shown contempt for the code of broadcasting".
"It is only right that they should be punished by having to broadcast, for the first time, an on-air apology".
"Andy Duncan should now apologise to Shilpa Shetty and realise that the contempt that was shown by them during this whole episode, in my view and that of many of the viewers who complained, now merits his resignation."
In its long-awaited report on the race row, Ofcom singled out three occasions on which Channel 4 had failed to handle the situation appropriately.
They were: Jade Goody referring to Shetty as "Shilpa Poppadom"; Lloyd saying that Shetty should "f*** off home"; and the argument over Shetty cooking a chicken, which ended with Lloyd and O'Meara making derogatory comments about Indian eating habits.
In unseen footage from the show, Goody, O'Meara, Lloyd and Goody's boyfriend, Jack Tweed, made up a limerick about Shetty in which they joked about using a word which rhymed with "tacky".
Big Brother producers asked O'Meara and Tweed into the Diary Room and told them: "It is clear that this was a reference to the racial insult 'Paki'." Both agreed. Ofcom accepted that Channel 4 bosses were unaware at the time of what had been said.
The Guardian has many interesting facts e.g numbers. It seems to be putting the blame on Channel 4 for intending to boost its ratings by using racism, and gives mainly the public's view which feel that it gives a bad perception on Britain. However it gives a statement about reconciliation between all housemates. This article gives some cold hard facts but comments made by interviewees seem very biast. Below is some quotes from the article (20th January 2007)
"Jade Goody was evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house last night in a vote which could be seen as a public stand against racial intolerance. An overwhelming majority - 82% - of viewers voted against her. In a post-eviction interview, Goody said she was "embarrassed and disgusted" by her own behaviour".
"40,000 complaints were made to broadcast regulator Ofcom"
"The public does not believe the housemates' behaviour is representative of the country, the poll shows, with 55% believing the insults directed at the Indian housemate were not typical of modern Britain. A quarter say it did reflect society, with more than half of people believing Channel 4 had engineered the clashes to gain viewing figures".
Gordon Brown urged a "vote for tolerance" after visiting a Bollywood film studio in Mambai, he presented the choice between Goody and Shetty as one that would shape how the rest of the world see's Britain. He said: "I know that people in India say that Britain is generally a country of tolerance," Mr Brown said. "It is up to people to cast their votes, but a vote for Britain is a vote for tolerance."
"She appeared to pause for thought when presenter Davina McCall told her of the political and diplomatic storm her words had provoked and played back footage of her behaviour. She said that when her comments against Shetty, who she referred as "Shilpa Poppadom", were read back to her, she thought "Oh my God, maybe I am racist".
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| "Above: Goody's interview with Davina McCall" |
If Goody was unaware of the effect her words would have, Shetty was not. In one exchange before the eviction, she told Goody she did not think her a racist, but added: "You said it, its going to be out and a lot of Indians heard it. Trust me, it's not going to go down well."
In an intriguing twist, it emerged last night that Goody's mother Jackiey Budden, who called Shetty "the Indian" and refused to pronounce her name properly, is a practising Muslim who performed prayers while in the house. The prayers appear to have been cut from footage shown in the nightly TV updates.
Budden, who asked Shetty: "Do you live in a house or a shack ?" has observed Ramadan, the month of fasting, for nine years, according to Goody's agent and publicist John Noel Management.
The Guardian poll also shows a majority believe Channel 4 had a responsibility to intervene. Women felt more strongly about this than men, with 72% saying Channel 4 should have stepped in when the campaign against Shetty emerged
In a statement, Channel 4 said: "Over the past few days Celebrity Big Brother has generated an intense and, at times, heated public debate which the evicted housemate will be unaware of. As a result, Channel 4 and Endemol have taken the decision to conduct tonight's eviction ... without a crowd." Instead, Goody was interviewed in front of an audience drawn from friends and family of contestants.
Channel 4, which is struggling to contain perceptions that it is tolerating racism to boost its ratings, also cancelled the post-eviction press conference, allowing Goody to be briefed before facing the media. In a further damage limitation move, Channel 4 announced that it would donate profits from last night's phone vote to charity.
Goody and Danielle Lloyd, briefly Miss Great Britain, both apologised to Shetty on Thursday night in an attempt at reconciliation. Goody and the Bollywood actor hugged each other.
Complaints to Ofcom reached 40,000 but the furore has also dramatically increased viewing figures - which had sunk to 3.5m but rose to 5.7m by Thursday.
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, said the programme had exposed the reality of racism in Britain. "This has laid bare the dark heart of private prejudice that all too often sits behind the public veneer of tolerance tells us we still have work to do to feel at ease with our diversity."
The quote about Jade's mum being a practicing muslim does not seem legit, because it had all of a sudden "emerged" after the row happened.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jan/20/raceintheuk.bigbrother
The article from The Sun " Im no racist says Jade" are very rude by reffering Goody to "GOBBY Jade", My own personal oppinion of this newspaper is that it is very biast. It demonises public stories by giving no straight facts and is sleazy journalism, unlike independant newspapers.
Here are some quotes from the article (19th January 2007)
She admitted to Big Brother that she was more scared of being evicted this time around than during her first appearance.
She also said she feared a backlash when she leaves the house - as if anticipating the furore she has caused with her alleged racist bullying of Indian housemate Shilpa Shetty.
"It was different four years ago because I had nothing to lose. Now I'm a known person and there are people that like me. I've got a fan base and I'm scared of being rejected."
"I said something regarding Shilpa's surname that I think may have caused offence to people outside," she said. "It wasn't meant in a racist way at all and it worries me that people may think of me as a racial person that makes racial comments.
"I never would, I've not been brought up like that."
She went on: "Shilpa says she knows I'm not racist, but the press have a lot of power and if they want to print I'm racial that could influence a lot of people and I could be evicted for the wrong reasons.
"Fair enough if people vote me out because they don't like me, but if it's because they think I'm a racist b**** I'll be worried about walking out - because that's not me."
"In a way I want to go, but I want to go for the right reasons, not for other stuff,” she told them.
Shilpa - who is also up for eviction tonight - told Jermaine Jackson that Jade was "scared" of how her row with the Bollywood siren might have come across outside.
"She is scared because she said some things that might have come across...," she said before tailing off.
This article does give some interesting points, but it is mainly from Jades side not Shilpa's too, the quotes are only from the victim and the so called 'racist' Jade. They should have got more reliable sources such as eye witness accounts, word of mouth from both sides may not be truthful. This article in particular would have given her bad publicity.
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| Above: A main headliner for The Sun. It seems as if they are trying to promote the eviction of Jade, and is encouraging public hate against her |
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/celebrity_big_brother_hijack/28936/Im-no-racist-says-Jade.html
In conclusion, I believe that Jade's actions were all a big misunderstanding, but the media had to take it further and broaden the issue which made her look bad in the press. The story from the independant seemed more reliable as it gave straight facts, and some articles gave statements that Shipla forgave Jade. But some articles were very biast towards the issue and using harsh comments against Jade. The media turnt it into a big fiasco which involved politicians, celebrities ect..who believed that she was making Britain look bad, but when it can't be down to one particular individual its the publics actions. They were also biast to suggest that Channel 4 intended it to happen to boost ratings. I advise people to check their sources first and look deeper into the story by researching the matter, rather than stick to one story.
