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Protest in Action: an Examination of the Production, Media Representation, and Reflexivity of Protest Group Communications Strategies and Protest Tactics

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Protest in Action: an Examination of the Production, Media Representation, and Reflexivity of Protest Group Communications Strategies and Protest Tactics Protest in Action: An examination of the production, media representation, and reflexivity of protest group communications strategies and protest tactics Jonathan Cable School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies Cardiff University This thesis is submitted to Cardiff University in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2012 DECLARATION This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award. Signed ……………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. Signed ……………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The views expressed are my own. Signed ……………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 3 ` I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ……………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 4: PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BAR ON ACCESS I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loans after expiry of a bar on access previously approved by the Academic Standards & Quality Committee. Signed ……………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… i Acknowledgements Thank you to everyone who has helped, advised, or contributed to my research in any way. There are bound to be people I will forget to thank, so I apologise in advance. Thank you to all of the people who have ever expressed an interest in my work, spoken to me about it, debated with me and encouraged me to explore different ideas and themes, this has been invaluable. Thanks. I am truly indebted and grateful to Professor Simon Cottle for being my supervisor. His advice and direction throughout the thesis has been unbelievably valuable, and especially his commitment to both myself and the research in the final lap of the research by providing me with time and priceless comments and guidance. I would like to extend my special thanks and gratitude to all of the interviewees from the Save the Vulcan, Plane Stupid, and G20Meltdown campaigns who gave up their valuable time to speak to me. Their contributions have helped immensely. Extra special thanks goes to the Save the Vulcan campaign that granted me access to the inner workings of their campaign. They afforded me the opportunity to see active campaigning firsthand and on the front line, and for the regular opportunity to enjoy the Vulcan! I owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Bob Franklin whose Political Communication module on my MA was the inspiration for following an academic path, and for his generosity and friendship ever since. I would also like to thank the staff in JOMEC for any interest they have shown in my research, and for the regular conversations in the corridor. Thanks to all the PhD students across the course of my thesis that have been a constant source of support and advice, and most importantly friendship. They made the writing of a thesis feel a lot less isolated. A special thank you goes to Darren and his friendship, his constant source of banter about everything from football to politics, and for our regular conversations where we put the world to rights. This thesis would not have been possible without the continuing support of my mother, Jacqui, thank you. To Rachel, go my most heartfelt thanks, her continuous support, inspiration, and project management skills she has helped immeasurably, and in more ways than she will ever know. She also said ‗yes‘ at the right moment and agreed to marry me, and I look forward to our life together without the thesis in it! This thesis is dedicated to the loving memory of my father, David Cable, who is not here to see me accomplish this, but I know would be very proud. Thank you all. ii Abstract This thesis analyses the media coverage and dominant institution responses to the media and protest tactics employed by three different protest groups. The three case studies examine the interactions between protest groups, their political targets, and the mainstream media. It pays particular attention to each group‘s media and protest tactics, and how their messages transition from protest action into media coverage and political debates. The three different protest groups comprise of a Cardiff community campaign to save a pub called Save the Vulcan, the environmental direct action group Plane Stupid and their protests against airport expansion, and the mass protests of G20Meltdown against the G20 summit held in London in April 2009. This thesis analyses the media coverage of each group using the concept of political opportunity structures to ascertain the influence of the political and media context on protest groups and their actions. Interviews with activists involved in all three protest groups, and ethnography conducted from within one of the groups, namely, the Save the Vulcan campaign revealed differing attitudes towards the choice of media and protest tactics. All three groups were aware of their portrayal in media coverage, and actively geared their tactics towards attracting media attention. The research analysed protester communications on the internet and leaflets to explore how they represented their issues. A content analysis of British newspaper articles examined the impact of each group‘s media and protest tactics on press coverage. Official documents from the dominant institutions of the police and centralised political institutions were examined to ascertain the debates surrounding the issues. On the basis of these empirical findings and discussion this thesis argues for a revision of the theorisation of political opportunity structures. This grants increased recognition of media coverage and the importance of protest group aims and goals in the assessment of their success and failure to communicate their messages. Finally, the thesis argues that political and media opportunities do influence the success and failure of protest groups, but it is the effective use of media and protest tactics that puts protest groups into a position to succeed or fail. iii CONTENTS List of Tables vii List of Figures viii Section 1: Introduction, Literature Review, and Methodology 1 Chapter 1 – Introduction 2 1.1 Structure and Approach to the Research 4 Chapter 2 - The Meaning of the Message: Its Generation and Construction 9 2.1 Social Movements and Political Opportunities 10 2.1.1 Political Opportunity Structures 12 2.1.2 The Signalling Model and Resource Mobilisation 15 2.1.3 Defining Success and Failure 17 2.2 Media Framing, Collective Action Frames, and Political Contest 18 2.2.1 Media and Protester Framing 19 2.2.2 Media Prominence and Political Saliency of an Issue and Protest 21 Groups 2.3 Conclusion 25 Chapter 3 – Tactical Repertoires: Their Affect on the Messages and 27 Reporting of Protest 3.1 Insider and Outsider Strategies 27 3.1.1 Dominant Institutional Reaction to Collective Action 30 3.1.2 The Spectacle, Image Politics, and Media Coverage 31 3.1.3 Using High Profile Personalities as a Tactic 34 3.2 The Media and Protest Tactics of Direct Action Groups 36 3.2.1 Symbolic Direct Action and Disruptive Protest 38 3.2.2 Media Coverage of Symbolic Direct Action and Disruptive 39 Protest 3.3 Conclusion 42 Chapter 4 - Research Aims and Methodology 44 4.1 Content and Framing Analysis 47 4.2 Interviews and Ethnography 55 Section 2: Findings and Discussion 59 Chapter 5 – Save the Vulcan – How to Save Pubs and Influence People 60 5.1 The Political and Media Backdrop 60 5.2 Shaping the Message 63 5.2.1 Online Communication 64 5.2.2 Online Innovations 67 iv 5.2.3 Other Forms of Communication 67 5.2.4 Campaign Members in Media Coverage 69 5.3 Making the Most of Opportunities 70 5.3.1 Protest Case Studies 71 5.4 Press Representation of the Save the Vulcan Campaign 79 5.4.1 Non-Confrontational Protest Tactics 81 5.5 Political Reaction to the Vulcan Campaign 84 5.5.1 Negative Political Reactions and Political Opportunity 85 5.5.2 Petitions Committee Case Study 86 5.6 Save the Vulcan‘s Tactical Reactions to Press and Political Events 88 5.7 Conclusion 91 Chapter 6 – Plane Stupid – Lights, Camera, Direct Action 93 6.1 Media Awareness and the Timing of Collective Action 93 6.2 Plane Stupid the Brand 95 6.3 Planning and Preparation is Everything 100 6.3.1 Protest as a Cost-Benefit Analysis 101 6.3.2 Direct Action and the Role of the Media 102 6.4 The Media Representation of Plane Stupid 103 6.4.1 Different Protest Targets, Different Reporting 108 6.5 Political and Police Responses to Direct Action 116 6.5.1 Direct Action and Political Opportunity 117 6.5.2 Repressive Responses to Direct Action 120 6.6 Adapting Tactics to External Events 122 6.6.1 Capitalising on External Events 122 6.6.2 Ends Justify the Means 125 6.7 Conclusion 126 Chapter 7 – G20Meldown – More Than a March 128 7.1 International Summits as a Political and Media Opportunity 128 7.2 Storm the Banks and Other Aspirations 130 7.2.1 Four Horseman of the Apocalypse 131 7.3 Everyone is a Spokesperson at the Carnival 135 7.3.1 More Than Just a March 136 7.4 A Media McProtest 137 7.4.1 Sources and Issues 139 7.4.2 Anticipation of Violence 140 7.4.3 The Invisible Threat and the Visible
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