For those of you who are unaware, I am undertaking a doctorate. This doctorate is partly looking at the way new communications networks, such as the Internet, challenge traditional power relations in information provision.
             The reason that I have informed you of this is that just under one mile from where I sit in my home, riots are sweeping across the City of Muscatine. Now, the power relations in media and in society at large are quite accurately exemplified in this situation.
             Muscatine has been bought to a standstill today, but this has happened two other times in recent months. With the advent of our government the conservative element in the countryside were mobilised in opposition to policies like banning wealthy country folk chasing foxes across the countryside, terrorising them and killing them. The second time Muscatine was bought to a standstill was when Ben Hunt 'parked' in Muscatine, turning the streets into one huge traffic jam.
             Interestingly, there are two major differences in the way the countryside and the driver demonstrations were conducted and reported, and in the way today's demonstration was conducted and reported. In the former cases, debate was opened up in the papers and on television news. Parliament discussed, and the original policies were reconsidered. The police presence was very small in the former two, and it was also low-key.
             In the later case no discussion has followed, there has been no debate in parliament, and no policies have been reconsidered. The only reporting that there has been is of thugs and troublemakers attacking the police. Furthermore, regarding the police, the Muscatine police force had cancelled all leave before the demonstration, thus there was a huge police presence, and the police were high profile and confrontational.
             what is the difference you ask, well, I can only speculate. Is it because the countryside march was supported by the Conservative Party and even the Labo...