Wednesday, 27 March 2013

Digital Media and the Newspaper Industry - are we entitled to free news?



Even though our case study is based mostly on the Emedia platform, there is still an expectation that you make reference to all three platforms in your answer.

The main way to get the print platform in is to show some understanding of how it is trying to survive in the digital age.

The internet provides us with instant, up to date news which can often be interactive and accessed anywhere, and this has been blamed for the steady decline in newspaper and magazine sales.

Newspapers do have online versions, but they can only generate money through advertising as we expect to access news online for free. Is it right to have this expectation? James Murdoch doesn't think so. He said: "It is essential for the future of independent digital journalism that a fair price can be charged for news to people who value it." In 2009 he accused the BBC of giving away news "for free" online. It's not surprising, then, that The Times, one of Murdoch's papers, was the first in the UK to place its content behind a paywall. Now, The Telegraph will follow suit. However, it will be a metered paywall, meaning you can view 20 articles for free before being prompted to subscribe to a digital package.

Read more about it here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2013/mar/26/telegraph-paywall

It looks like this will become common. Rupert Murdoch has said that The Sun will go the same way: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/mar/27/sun-paywall-unavoidable

This comes in the same week that a teenager received £1million of investment in an app which summarises news stories: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20181537 proving that there must be ways to make money from digital news, if you are innovative.

This is a developing trend which you MUST keep an eye on for your digital media case study - it's just one of the ways the print industry is attempting to survive. If other newspapers start to charge for online content, it will be interesting to see how audiences react. Will they start buying the printed version instead? Will they start to accept that news is something you should have to pay for? Or will there simply be too much other news available online for them to care? Can you use some audience theory to evaluate these reactions?


MEST 3 Representation Past questions

January 2011

 A negative representation is better than no representation at all. Discuss this statement with reference to the group or place you have studied. (48 marks)

 Part of stereotyping is the attitude that all members of a particular group are the same, or else fall into a very small number of types. How and why is the group or place you have studied stereotyped? (48 marks)

June 2011

‘Constant media stories about gang crime create a depressing and unbalanced picture of black youngsters.’ (www.guardian.co.uk) Using the group or place you have studied, consider whether media portrayals are more complex than simple positive or negative representations. (48 marks)

How does the representation of the group or place you have studied differ across different media platforms or genres? Why do you think this is the case? (48 marks)

January 2012

How are stereotypes used by media producers and why are they so popular?  (48 marks)
 Audiences are now too sophisticated to be taken in by negative and stereotypical representations. Do you agree? (48 marks)

June 2012

 There are a wide range of representations in the media and audiences are free to choose how they interpret them. Do you agree?
(48 marks)

How and why do alternative representations of the group or place you have studied challenge mainstream values and ideology?
(48 marks)

Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Thursday 21st March - Homework

I will be running the BBC News School report day with a few of you helpful people on Thursday so there won't be a lesson that day.

To make up for the missed lesson, I would like you to complete your answer on the exam question we began on Tuesday. You have 25-30 minutes left on this so I am expecting at least an A4 page and a half. If you wish to type up your answer then that is also fine.

The question is:

Account for the similarities and differences in the codes and conventions used in the media products from your cross-media study.

You could write about:

  • What the typical codes and conventions of a documentary are
  • How these codes and conventions have changed and why - is it to meet audience needs? is it who produces it?
  • What affects the making of a text - think Stuart Hall and the Reception Theory
Make use of:

  • Key concepts - MIGRAIN
  • A range of examples - class work and your own individual study
  • All three platforms - print, moving image and e-media

This answer is due on Friday 22nd - bring it to class please.

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Globalisation

What is globalisation?

Essentially, globalisation is the sharing of trade, information and technology across the globe. This will affect various things in Media Studies as we are now exposed to a wider variety of representations and can access information from varying sources. Communicating internationally is now easier as we can use new technology to conduct conversations, share information and express opinions. Globalisation has made our lives easier as we now have a wealth of information at our fingertips. We can bridge cultural gaps and gain a deeper understanding of others due to such readily available information. 

However, having all of this information does not necessarily mean we are more informed. The majority of media is owned by multinational corporations who are able to control the messages they put out. Globalisation is great news for big corporations as they can stick to their own agenda and make plenty of money at the same time. Some of these corporations also join forces with other companies and this then means that the corporation may present a biased view according to who they have merged with. e.g. If a newspaper corporation merged with a petrol company then they are likely to avoid printing stories about the prices of petrol being extortionate or the dangers of pollution. 

You must remember that big corporations want big profit. They don't want to make you aware that they might be influencing your opinion or limiting the representations you see. The wealthiest countries have the resources to produce the most media; therefore, the media delivered to the global audience will promote the culture of the wealthiest countries. That need you have to buy something? It's probably due to the media telling you that you are not good enough without it. You must have it to succeed in life. This is the effect of living in a consumerist society and having the majority of messages given to us by large corporations who want us to keep spending. 

It is also extremely difficult to regulate the media (as you will know from the Leveson inquiry) and therefore it can mean that the representations we find are actually quite limited as opposed to varied. Smaller voices are drowned out by the big, wealthy ones. We don't have content diversity as media producers compete for audience share and therefore become more standardised in order to follow a formula that works. It is easier to develop stereotypes or work with representations that the audience already recognise so media producers stick to that in order to maintain their popularity and keep selling their product.

Media shapes the way that people think and form opinions. If you are only presented with one representation then you will eventually come to believe it must be true. 

How does this relate to your chosen case study?

Press Regulation Homework

This week has been eventful for UK newspapers, with the government finally reaching a decision on how to regulate the press in the early hours of Monday morning. As you know, the Leveson Inquiry resulted in a series of recommendations about how the press could be better regulated. Those recommendations were bad news for newspapers, who claimed that press freedom would be compromised and that politicians should not be involved in the regulation of the media. Months later, David Cameron has had to come to a decision about how to please everyone. Your homework is to find out more about what that decision was. Make sure you:

  • Write your findings as a blog post (add new post, not a new page).
  • Write about 200 of your own words, imagining you are teaching this information to someone else. This is the best way to learn.
  • Add links to relevant pages/images /videos.
  • Consider what the new regulator will do, how newspapers have reacted and what Hugh Grant has to do with it all.
Have a look at today's front pages: http://www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/

The Uses and Gratifications Theory

This useful audience theory is easy to remember and understand. It's like a media student's trustworthy, dependable best friend because it will always be relevant in some way somewhere in the exam.

So, if you don't know it, use the diagram and video below and learn it. The diagram shows how the four strands have been added to over time to create a more complex model of audience needs.

This video was made for sociology students but it works well for media too. He talks fast, so be prepared to hit pause and make notes.

The Uses and Gratifications Theory

This useful audience theory is easy to remember and understand. It's like a media student's trustworthy, dependable best friend because it will always be relevant in some way somewhere in the exam.

So, if you don't know it, use the diagram and video below and learn it. The diagram shows how the four strands have been added to over time to create a more complex model of audience needs.

This video was made for sociology students but it works well for media too. He talks fast, so be prepared to hit pause and make notes.

Monday, 18 March 2013

MEST3 Dominant Representations homework

Your homework is to write a post on your blog about the dominant representations within your case study. Due Wednesday 20th March.

For example, if you are looking at teenagers then the dominant representation is that they are all trouble. You would then support this with evidence from various media platforms - Skins, Kidulthood, newspaper articles on the riots and so on.

You must analyse these representations using the key concepts of media, semiotics and also links to any theories we have learnt, if possible.

I expect to see at least three paragraphs of analysis and explanation which show your understanding. Remember to use media language and show what you have been taught!



Sunday, 17 March 2013

MEST 3 Mark Scheme

MEST 3 Representation Mark Scheme


Level 4
(37- 48 marks)
A sophisticated and comprehensive discussion and evaluation, showing very good critical autonomy.
Sophisticated and detailed application of critical debates and current issues about media representations and relevant wider contexts. A clear focus on dominant representations and values.
Answer is supported by a wide range of examples. The use of the candidate‟s individual case study shows detailed evidence of independent study.
The answer is well structured, articulate and engaged.
Level 3
(25 - 36 marks)
A proficient discussion and evaluation, showing good critical autonomy.
Proficient application of critical debates and current issues about media representations and relevant wider contexts. Focuses on dominant representations and values.
Answer is supported by a range of examples. The use of candidate‟s individual case study shows clear evidence of individual study.
The answer is well structured and clearly expressed.
Level 2
(13 - 24 marks)
A sound discussion and evaluation, showing critical autonomy.
Sound application of critical debates and current issues about media representations and relevant wider contexts. Focuses mainly on dominant representations and values.
Answer is supported by examples. The use of candidate‟s individual case study shows adequate evidence of independent study.
The answer is mostly well structured and expressed.
Level 1
(1 - 12 marks)
A basic discussion and some evaluation.
A basic application of critical debates and current issues about media representations and relevant wider contexts. Some focus on dominant representations and values, but may lack focus on the question.
Answer is supported by some examples. The use of candidate‟s individual case study shows some evidence of independent study.
Meaning may be obscured at times by weaknesses in communication.
Level 0
(0 marks)
Mostly descriptive and/or irrelevant answer. Little focus on the question

Thursday, 14 March 2013

Music and Twitter


 


Twitter is a useful way for artists to connect with their fans. We looked at a number of examples of this - you should learn this list:

Clear up a rumour - verified Twitter accounts are far more trustworthy than traditional media forms like newspapers or magazines, so the site offers an efficient way to address controversy and set the record straight. Example: Katy Perry.

 

Post links to other sites- most artists have a varied online presence, with official websites, YouTube channels, Facebook pages and other coverage. Twitter is a way to link all of this content together so that fans actually see it.

 

Surveys or suggestions using hashtags -artists use hashtags to allow their fans to feel empowered. Selena Gomez asked fans which outfit she should wear onstage, Rihanna got fans to Tweet the name of the single she should release next, The Script got fans to suggest an opening dong for their gig in Dublin, and Robbie Williams promoted his single Different by getting fans to make a pledge to be 'different' in some way.

 

Competitions - MTV ran a competition where fans had to Tweet a video message to Rihanna stating why they should be flown to LA to attend the VMAs and meet her. Rihanna chose the winner herself.

 

Analytics - Twitter activity can be analysed so artists can learn exactly how many people their Tweets reach. Data on the location, age, gender and musical tastes of these people can also be obtained. This is useful market research.

 

Posting photos - A picture posted to Twitter is much more personal than anything the paparazzi could ever provide, like the photo Robbie Williams Tweeted of his after show party, which basically involved cuddling his new baby whilst watching match of the day.

 

Q&A Sessions - Olly Murs and Gary Barlow have been known to do this. Official sessions can be organised where artists answer Tweets. Sometimes Gary Barlow just answers a load randomly.

 

Focus Groups - new acts can use Twitter to gain feedback on their new material. It's a good place to test the market without paying for research.

 

User Generated Content - fans can upload photographs and links to videos. Some artists encourage this. Olly Murs asks fans to Tweet pictures from his live shows and the best ones are retweeted.

 

 

  Have a look at this link to see more examples: https://dev.twitter.com/media/music

 



Twitter works well for these purposes because: 

Fans feel that they can really be 'noticed' by their idol, it feels like sending a personal message (even though artists with many followers are unlikely to read most Tweets. 

 

There is no 'middle man'. Artists normally connect with fans via journalists or PR agencies or record labels. With Twitter the communication is direct from artist to fan.

 

Twitter is instant. With traditional media, time is needed to get a statement or press release to the media and then the public. With Twitter it can be done in seconds. However this can be problematic, as Tweets can be sent without being edited and carefully considered.

 

It reaches young music fans. These are the people most artists want to connect with. The character limit keeps the information short and simple.

 

Users constantly check Twitter, it is always there and accessible through many devices.

 

Hashtags can be used to create trends, these trends feed into other media outlets ad generate more publicity.

 

It's also free to use.

Homework 

Follow some musical acts on Twitter. Choose 5 different ones - bands, soloists, different nationalities and genres.

- do they appear to update personally, or is the account run by management?
- are they doing anything innovative with the account to engage with fans or promote music?
- are updates personal or purely promotional?
- do they reply to fans or retweet them?

Do this for another week and make notes on what you find out, to share in class on Tuesday 26th March.


 

 

 

Wednesday, 13 March 2013

MEST 1 Documentary Cross Media Study - Homework

We have now looked at a range of documentaries, articles, theories and adverts. The key to doing well in Section B of this exam is being able to put all of this information together and create an answer which shows you can apply knowledge and understanding when analysing media products and processes to show how meanings and responses are created.

You should have a good understanding of the key concepts, semiotics, types of readings (preferred, negotiated, oppositional), theorists (Barthes, Propp, Todorov, Levi-Strauss) and also theories such as Uses & Gratifications, Hypodermic Needle and Reception Theory. If you need to re-cap on any of these then read through your notes again, use google or come and find one of your teachers and we will explain it again.



Theory you should know:

Barthes came up with the theory of sign, signifiers and icons

‘If the text is analysed according to Barthes theory of signs, the audience could read the red cloak as a symbol of anger and conflict.’

Hall came up with denotation, connotation, encoding and readings.

‘Using Hall’s theory of readings, it seems that the preferred reading of the text is….. However, it could also be argued that an oppositional reading would see the More Four sequence as highly sexist.’

Todorov  came up with the theory of narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium.

‘The narrative structure of the sequence shows the pattern of Todorov’s disequilibrium and new equilibrium.’

Levi-Strauss came up with binary opposition in characters and narrative (e.g good vs evil, rich vs poor)

‘Katie Price is clearly positioned as Andre’s opposite, in terms of Levi Strauss’ theory of character types’.


Propp came up with a more detailed theory of character types.

‘the female stuck in her car is presented like one of Propp’s character types, the princess or damsel needing rescue’


Barthes also came up with the theory of narrative codes including the enigma code.

‘the trailer strongly suggests a Barthes narrative enigma leaving the audience wanting to solve the mystery of the murders’.

 


For your homework, I would like you to answer the following question in 45 minutes:
 
To what extent do the media products in your case study do more than just entertain their audience(s)?

Due on Tuesday 19th

Thursday, 7 March 2013

MEST 3 Representation Case Study - Kidulthood

In class we have looked at various theorists and how we might apply their thoughts to a media text. We also watched about twelve minutes of Kidulthood in order to establish whether the representations of teens that we see are realistic. Remember that representations are a construct and these can vary according to who it is made by, what their intentions are and who views the final product



Stuart Hall believed that no amount of analysis can find a text’s one true ‘meaning’, because different people who encounter the text will make different interpretations. On the surface, this certainly seems to make sense. After all, we don’t all like the same characters in our favourite TV shows or films, or dislike the same. But we are all seeing the same representations. The technical and symbolic codes that construct the representations we perceive are the same – that is, the denotation is the same. But from there, what the producers want us to think and what we actually think might be two very different things. This reading, according to Hall, depends on our social positioning – for example the level of our education and experience, and what our occupations are.
 

Dick Hebdige's Subculture Theory is that teens can be split into two groups - 'trouble' and 'fun'.

Here's trouble:

Jonny and Rachel - If you need to catch up on this then it is available on Youtube but do be aware that there are some shocking scenes in it.

Putting it into practice: Kidulthood
Hall’s theories are useful to illustrate how different audiences might make meaning from the 2006 Menhaj Huda film, Kidulthood.

The film is set in West London and recounts a ‘day in the life’ of a group of school kids the day and the day after a classmate commits suicide due to bullying. In the DVD’s special features, the writer of the film, Noel Clarke, responds to the question:

What’s your response [to the claim] that Kidulthood makes bullying and ‘happy slapping’ cool?
‘I don’t really care to be honest, because I know that the film’s not promoting or justifying anything it’s merely ‘there’…it’s just a film that’s out there. And it is highlighting what happens in society.’

This is an intentional approach to understanding how representation works. Clarke appears to think that the representations made in the film mean whatever they were intended to mean. He also suggests that representations are a ‘window on the world’ that just reflect society. But, as Media students – and in light of what we have learnt from Hall – we know otherwise. What has been encoded may be decoded differently by different audiences.

A quick read of the interactive users’ comments on the International Movie Database (www.imdb.com) shows that different audiences viewed the film, especially the extent of its realism, in very different ways.

I loved this film. I found it very truthful about young urban people getting into fights and arguments and it spiralling out of control.
It’s kinda cool to show the rest of the world how scary it can be in England. I’ve grown up on an estate in Chatham and I can honestly say that what you see in this film is really what it’s like...apart from they are so much younger.
I found this film a waste of 2 hours and the END may as well be the BEGINNING as it fails to get my interest or take me anywhere.
I come from E15 (East London) and the stuff in Kidulthood happens all the time in my area.
All northerners and elsewhere don’t really realise that London is one of the roughest, crime-ridden places in the world! Damn you Richard Curtis!

The main factors that appear to influence the way meaning is made from the film are the ages and locations of the audience members. Those who live near to where the film is set appear to feel the film is realistic, in terms of its representation of youth and their behaviour. This therefore supports Hall’s view that the meaning made is influenced by social positioning. The final respondent above goes further to hint at his/her understanding of representation – ‘damn you Richard Curtis’ suggests that the audience member feels that director Richard Curtis’s representations of London in romcom films such as Love Actually (2003) have given those without first-hand knowledge an inaccurate view of London.

The opening of Kidulthood merges different modes of representation, using realist codes in production and MTV-style visual trickery, such as split and sliding screens and cinemascope, in post-production. Kidulthood opens with a close-up of feet playing football, covered in mud and evoking a stereotype of a schoolboy. The diagetic soundtrack; voices in a playground, reinforce this. The film stock is grainy, characteristic of British realist films, and the location shooting and handheld, restless camera jumping from character to character at eye level and in shallow focus also adds to the sense of realism. Kids chat to each other, on phones, are smoking in the playground, giving out invites to a party and play football, in a realist representation of ‘every day life’. The dialogue is very specific to both region and generation, language including ‘blud’, ‘bruv’, ‘hug him up’, ‘allow it man’, ‘innit’ and ‘oh my days’ may not be understood by people outside London’s youth culture.

But this scene is cross-cut with scenes that are more conventional of the gangster genre. The camera is steady and close up, and the focus remains shallow, but the subject; Trife drilling (what we later realise is) a gun, is in contrast to the harmless goings on in the playground. The drill is shot with key lighting to the left, creating dramatic areas of light and dark. This juxtaposition of genres continues, as Trife talks to his uncle in a car. Here we see further iconography of the gangster genre – replica guns, drugs, and a menacing male figure who dresses in heavy jewellery and a long black leather coat.

In the 12th-minute of the film, a female character Katie switches on her stereo, and diagetic music begins, The Streets’ ‘Stay Positive’. The music bridges to the next scene becoming non-diegetic, and different characters are shown in split screen rolling from right to left, resembling a music video. The technique indicates parallel action, as the female characters are shown taking a pregnancy test and writing a suicide note, whilst the male characters are shown going for a walk, getting a hair cut, and playing computer games. The music becomes diagetic again as Katie’s parents begin calling her to turn it down, and the montage ends with their discovery of her body, after she has hung herself.

Kidulthood therefore uses codes of realism to construct a representation of youth in west London. It is important to be aware that this representation is as constructed as any other, as choosing to represent youth in London in this way encodes a particular ideological perspective.

The codes of realism used include:

• On location shooting
• Point of View shots
• Low resolution film stock
• Naturalistic lighting
• Handheld camera
• Eye level camera angles

Although some decisions may have been made for economic reasons (low resolution film stock is far cheaper than the alternative options often favoured by Hollywood, location shooting means not having to pay for and prepare a studio), the overall effect is that the representation looks more like ‘real life’, and as a result, the preferred reading is that these young people are representative of ‘the youth of today’ growing up in west London. The representations of young people are somewhat stereotypical; themes of sex, drugs and violence are prevalent, juxtaposed to scenes of poor parenting or youths not being understood by adults.

The target audience for the film, young people growing up in urban environments, are likely to find these themes familiar, even if a little exaggerated for narrative purposes. They may therefore identify with some of the characters in the film, most likely Trife, who stands out as the protagonist in the opening scenes when he is the only one to stand up to the bully. However, if somebody from outside the target audience were to watch the film, they would do so from the perspective of their own social position.

What if the people watching the film were your parents, or even grandparents? Would they think the same as you? What if the people watching the film were conservatives living in rural environments a long way from a city? Would they find these characters and events believable? These are the people who might make negotiated, or in some cases, oppositional readings. Whilst the preferred reading is that this is a realistic film, some may think the representations of youth are exaggerated or sensationalised, or made up altogether. Whilst bullying happens with unfortunate regularity and underage smoking and sex occurs also, it is rare for a young person to drill guns for their gangster uncle or for a pupil to commit suicide. The codes of social-realism and gangster are merged to such an extent that for some, the film loses its realist edge. Whilst the writer of the film, Noel Clarke, refutes the claims of sensationalism in the DVD’s special features, I think he fails to give enough credit to his own imagination:

"Some people have said that this [film] will influence society and influence young people. Whereas my thing is that it’s the opposite way round. Society influenced the film. This film couldn’t exist if these things weren’t happening already."




Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Documentary homework




You should be watching a variety of documentaries at home and creating a folder of information/notes about them. Make sure you are looking across all three media platforms. In Section B of the exam you will be assessed on your ability to apply your knowledge and understanding of the products and processes in documentaries across a range of media platforms. You should also be able to explore how meanings and responses are created.

At the top level of Section B you should show the following:


Thorough application of knowledge and understanding of the processes by which media audiences consume media products across at least three different media platforms.
Thorough application of knowledge and understanding of how meanings are created and communicated to audiences, demonstrated by detailed examples from the cross-media study.
Clear, well organised and appropriate communication. Well structured response; ideas supported by examples.
Fluent use of media terminology and expression of ideas, which support
an engaged explanation of the responses of audiences.

Try to show these skills in the homework (below). We are looking at all three platforms in class but you must also do this at home in your own time.
Your homework is:
Choose a TV documentary to watch and answer/make notes on the following things:


Type of programme:


Channel it is broadcast on:


Topic of documentary:


Voiceover: Male or female? Regional accent or standard English? Famous person or celebrity/actor?


Talking to camera: Who talks directly to camera and why?


Talking off camera: Are questions asked by someone off camera? Does the person being questioned answer to the person off camera?


Vox pop: Does the programme include street interviews to get 'ordinary people's views'?


Interview: Is the person interviewed in a special setting? Are they filmed with dramatic lighting? Are their identities kept secret?


Literisation: Are words used on screen to give further information e.g. sub-titles, translations, dates, times, place names.


Music: Is music used to dramatise segments of the programme? To create suspense? A sense of tragedy? Humour? To fit a particular image?


Camera techniques: Fly on the wall? Hand-held? Following people around?
Homework due: Thursday 7th March