Newlands, Maxine (2011) Scandal or Saviour? Deconstructing the mediatisation of Met officer Mark Kennedy and the environmental activism movement. In: Abstracts from the ECREA Symposium 2011: the mediation of scandal and moral outrage. From: ECREA Symposium 2011: the mediation of scandal and moral outrage, 16-17 December 2011, London, UK . (Unpublished)

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Abstract

In July 2011, twenty environmental activists were acquitted of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass. The activists had been accused of trespassing at the Radcliffe on Soar coal fired power station, in a co-ordinated action to raise awareness on the impact of coal fired power stations on the environment. The case collapsed after it was revealed evidence against the activists was based on the testimony of an undercover policeman. Met Police Officer, Mark Kennedy, posed as activists Mark Stone for seven years to gather intelligence on the movement for the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU). This use of technology of dominance (to use a Foucauldian term) shows the scandalous measures employed by the state against political and environmental activists in the UK.

The media framed Kennedy as a victim of police mismanagement for a dereliction of duty towards Kennedy; whilst negating the impact on the environmental activists' movement. Indeed, much of the media discourse reaffirms the idea that Kennedy's saw himself in the movement to deter people from getting involved in things- placing himself as a 'saviour' or guardian to help the activists. In a series of media interviews, co-ordinated by public relations guru Max Clifford, Kennedy expressed a belief that his actions were taken on moral, not state grounds, claiming his actions prevented less activists from being arrested.

This paper will examine 1) morality of the state through an analysis of the National Public Order Intelligence Unit; 2) the mediatisation of the state surveillance through undercover police, 3) and the mediatisation of the scandal by the environmental activists' movement, to draw attention to climate change.

Item ID:	35220
Item Type:	Conference Item (Abstract / Summary)
Related URLs:	Organisation
Additional Information:	Symposium program can be accessed at the following URL link: http://communicationanddemocracy.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/ecrea_at_lse_2011_programme.pdf
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2014 01:46
FoR Codes:	16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1604 Human Geography > 160499 Human Geography not elsewhere classified @ 30% 16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1606 Political Science > 160699 Political Science not elsewhere classified @ 50% 19 STUDIES IN CREATIVE ARTS AND WRITING > 1903 Journalism and Professional Writing > 190301 Journalism Studies @ 20%
SEO Codes:	94 LAW, POLITICS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES > 9403 International Relations > 940399 International Relations not elsewhere classified @ 70% 95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9502 Communication > 950204 The Media @ 30%
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