Racism, tolerance and identity: responses to black and asian migration into Britain in the national and local press, 1948-72

This thesis explores the response of national and local newspapers to issues of race and black and Asian immigration in Britain between 1948 and 1972. Scholars have highlighted the importance of concepts of race, identity and belonging in shaping responses to immigration, but have not yet explained the complex ways in which these ideas are disseminated and interpreted in popular culture. The thesis analyses the complex role newspapers had in mediating debates surrounding black and Asian immigration for public consumption. By engaging with concepts of race and tolerance, newspapers communicated anxieties about the shape British culture and society would take in the postwar years. Their popularity granted them opportunities to lead attitudes towards black and Asian people and multiculturalism. The influences of social, political and cultural developments on both the national and local level meant newspapers often adopted limited definitions tolerance which failed to combat racism. In other cases, newspapers actively encouraged racist definitions of belonging which privileged their largely white audiences. In order to understand newspapers’ engagement with concepts of race and identity, this thesis analyses the various influences that informed their coverage. While the opinions and ambitions of prominent journalists had a significant impact on newspaper policy, the thesis highlights the language and genres newspapers used to appeal to large audiences. It argues that this had a significant influence on how responses to immigration were communicated in the public sphere