Reflecting on Stuart Hall’s Circuit of Culture, I explored newspaper publishing as an example of a linguistic code. I was able to see the framework in which newspapers operate to regulate public opinion, through their construction of narratives that influence our social practices and conduct.

One example of this are British tabloid newspapers. Through their persistent construction of demeaning narratives of ethnic minorities, they perpetuate ignorance and breed intolerance. This inevitably leads to collective disdain of minorities and an endorsement of xenophobic ideologies. The current lawsuit between Prince Harry and the British tabloids as a result of their callous treatment towards his mixed-race wife Meghan Markle, is a testament to this. The acknowledgment of the power in newspaper publishing affirms the notion that ‘images play a crucial role in defining and controlling the political and social power, to which both individuals and marginalized groups have access...

‘THE DEEPLY IDEOLOGICAL NATURE OF IMAGERY DETERMINES NOT ONLY HOW OTHER PEOPLE THINK ABOUT US, BUT HOW WE THINK ABOUT OURSELVES’ (hooks, 1992)

Reflecting on the ethos of the Black Panther Party newspaper, I was able to see the value of Grassroots Publishing – self-publishing by a community for a political movement. Whilst the Black Panther Party’s philosophies and practices were an imminent threat to the US state, they were consequently represented in the media as criminals and tyrants.

The Black Panther Party’s independent newspaper acted as a vital form of resistance. It allowed them to counter their skewed representation in the mass media, through educating readers on the party’s true ideology, - to educate and empower Black communities across the USA. Adopting this ethos, I wanted to establish my own newspaper as from of providing a platform of visibility to Black British History. However, after researching existing practitioners that surface Black British History, I began to reconsider the format of my intended outcome.