Identities and the Media: Feminism

Media magazine reading 

What are the two texts the article focuses on?
- Pan Am & Beyonce's 'Why Don't You Love Me?' 

What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)?
One of the main characters from Pan Am are presented on the front of a magazine to be 'visually enjoyed by men, through a demonstration of the 'male gaze'. The visual pleasures are enhanced with the use of the costume, hair and make-up to be admired by men.

Beyonce is sexualised primarily with the use of costume and styling in order to objectify her as a subject of the male gaze. 

Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?
Texts as such have a stronger presence in the form of sexist reinforcement. This is due to the satirical nature of the texts being too subtle for audience consumption, instead drawing more focus to its surfacely sexist approach to representing women.


Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog.Feminism: A movement aimed at defining, establishing, and defending women’s rights and equality to men. 
Post-feminism: An ideology in culture and society that society is somehow past needing feminism and that the attitudes and arguments of feminism are no longer needed. 
Third wave feminism: Was a movement that redefined and encouraged women to be dominant and sexually assertive.


No More Page 3

Research the No More Page 3 campaign. Who started it and why?
Writer and actor Lucy-Anne Holmes' research discovered that the most prominent photograph of a woman in circulation via British newspapers was of a young woman in minimal clothing. Lucy was aware that her efforts to discourage The Sun editorial from reinforcing this sexist representation of women would be futile and thus exploited the resources at her disposal on the internet to start the campaign. 

What are the six reasons the campaign gives for why Page 3 has to go?

1) "It’s 2014! Page 3 was first introduced in the sexist 1970s. A lot has changed over the last 30+ years in our society, we think it’s time The Sun caught up…"

2) "It’s soft porn in the UK’s no.1 selling family newspaper that children are exposed to. Until 2003 the models were only 16 (and made to dress up in school ties and hats – seriously!) It’s never been OK. One day we’ll look back on this and think “oh my goodness, we did what?!”"

3) "What does it teach children? They see page after page of pictures of men in clothes doing stuff (running the country, having opinions, achieving in sport!) and what are the women doing in this society they’re learning about? Not much really, other than standing topless in their pants showing their bare breasts for men. It’s not really fair, is it?"

4) "Women say, do and think so many interesting and incredible things and should be celebrated for their many achievements. They are people, not things! Not ‘that’. The fact that we hear ‘look at the tits on that’ or ‘I’d do that’ is disgusting, disrespectful and objectifying. Page 3 of The Sun is the icon that perpetuates and normalises this horrible sexist ‘banter’."

5) "Every single weekday for the last 44 years in The Sun newspaper the largest female image has been of a young woman (usually of a very particular age, race, physicality) showing her breasts for men, sending out a powerful message that whatever else a woman achieves, her primary role is to serve men sexually. Pretty rubbish that really."

6) "The Sun newspaper could be so much stronger without Page 3. Because currently, any story they run about women’s issues such as rape, sexual abuse, harassment, domestic violence or the dangers of online porn is drowned out and contradicted by the neon flashing sign of Page 3 that says ‘shut up, girls, and get your tits out.’"

Read this debate in the Guardian regarding whether the campaign should be dropped. What are Barbara Ellen and Susan Boniface's contrasting opinions in the debate?
Boniface argued that the practical purpose of Page 3 is outdated to the availability of internet pornography. Ellen disagrees with Boniface and proposes that women should have their right to autonomous nudity. 

How can the No More Page 3 campaign be linked to the idea of post-feminism?
The campaign's success demonstrates a move towards equality by women having a pivotal role in decision making within the media. 


What are your OWN views on the No More Page 3 campaign. Do you agree with the campaign's aims? Should the campaign continue?
My personal views reside with the incentive for the No More Page 3 campaign solely. This is due to my disagreement with the overall wanton sexualisation of women in modern culture.

Do you agree that we are in a post-feminist state or is there still a need for feminism?
To be honest we're in this social threshold right now within first-world society where there is a wide array of paradoxical beliefs and attitudes toward gender politics. I don't even know how to feel about anything anymore. 

Post-colonialism: Edward Said blog task

Yasmin (2004) 

- "Paki go home"

- Hijabi's second life - married

* Not a particularly positive or negative representation of British muslims, but definitely a shaken one - heavily influenced by prejudices invoked by British/Caucasian majority.

*Western demeanour is antagonised in the film whereas Eastern muslims are portrayed as the 'lamb' in this matter. 

* Focus is more on social influence - Yasmin lives her life as a 'British' (puts on a 'white mask') and a Muslim woman (stopped by police), which serves her with different consequences. 

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Said's theory of 'orientalism' explores the division between 'East' as the more decivilised counterparts to the Western domineered world which is a lot more advanced and superior. 

Alvarado's theory for the representation of black people casts them into 4 categories: humour, dangerous, exotic and pitied. 

Fanon's theory explores representation through 'putting on the white mask', if the 4 categories: decivilised, primitivised, infantilised, essentialised. 

- Alvarado 

Alvarado's theory for representing black people under the category of humour can be applied here as Ice Cube is sidelined as a comedian in the narrative.

The categorisation of black people as dangerous can be considered in this depiction of urban culture of young Afro-Caribbean Britons.

This advert demonstrates the idea of black people being pitied, in need of Western benefits to survive.

- Fanon

Fanon's theory can be extracted from its original context of application on black people, and considered on the representation of other ethnic minorities. The Chinese are arguably primitivised somewhat as they use means of violence in their daily demeanour. Whilst the art of karate is celebrated, it is also used as a stereotype associated with Chinese people.

The family of ethnic minority is primitivised here and presented in a decivilised manner which is clearly satirical as attempts of fitting in with Western culture are to avail as they operate in a socially absurd manner. 

Jesminder changes her name to 'Jess'. This is an evident example of how ethnic minorities feel an urge for 'putting on a white mask' due to the pressures of prejudice by a Western dominated society.

- Said 

A clear dichotomy of power is presented in this heartfelt socio-politically controversial narrative. The East is discriminated for its perceived uncivilised presence in contrast to the dominance of the West.

The African tribe leader is orientalised and the West intrude as 'benefactors' to this forested land. 

This Tarantino premiere depicts orientalism through a slave-trade era narrative. Power shift is evident between the 'White of the West and the Colour of the East'.

Weekly New/Digital Media Homework 19

Time spent online 'overtakes TV' among youngsters 

New research finds a cultural shift in the domestic sphere of entertainment. Younger ones have been reported to 'binge watch' box sets online. Demonstrates change in consumerism due to new and digital media. 

Egypt five years on: was it ever a 'social media revolution'? 

The role of social media is deemed pivotal in political protests. The argument prevails around the magnitude of influence by social media. 

Weekly New/Digital Media Homework 18

Spotify acquires two startups that could help it become more social

New partnerships with tech companies including Soundwave and Cord Project can further Spotify's lead against rival music streaming services including Apple Music. This makes way for more corporate competitive play which develops the debate of whether these tactics are ultimately beneficial for corporate profits or the consumer's experience. 

Is the mainstream media doing ISIS a favor?

The sensationalised agenda of reporting terrorism to generate shock and awe for an exchange of high reception is posing a robust representation of the terrorist group which is found to, in actuality, be losing power as a public threat. This reinforces the viewpoint that its par of the course is to to grab peoples’ interest. In the end of the day, newspapers and TV stations tend to be commercial entities that need to stay afloat.

Identities: Post-colonial theory & blog tasks

Post-colonialism: blog task

List FIVE films, FIVE TV programmes and FIVE online-only productions that are discussed in the article.

Films: Kidulthood, Anuvahood, Slumdog Millionaire, Sunshine, Star Trek, Rollin' With The Nines, Sket, Attack The Block, Shank, Ill Manors.

-TV Shows: Dr Who, Top Boy, Luther, 55 Degrees North, Line of Duty, The Real McCoy, 3 Non-Blondes, The Crouches, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

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Online productions: Brothers With No Game, Venus vs Mars, The Ryan Sisters, All About The McKenzies, Meet the Adebanjos. 

Watch Destiny Ekaragha's clips above (more of her work is available onher website, including the short film The Park). To what extent can we apply Alvarado's and Fanon's theories to these films? Do they reinforce or subvert typical black stereotypes in British film and TV? Refer to specific scenes and events in the clips in answering this question and aim for at least 350 words.

The feature-length film Gone Too Far by Destiny Ekaragha conveys a comical narrative through the use of stereotypes identifiable to the audience. A profound example of this corresponds with Frantz Fanon's 4-section model of representation of Afro-Caribbean people. One of the delineations suggest that stereotypes decivilise black people, which is presented through the various shots displaying the mother, as well as the foreign visitor wearing sandals, an outfit article commonly associated with poverty in third-world countries. This also links further with the idea of primitivism in the presentation of these characters, as the dialect of the visitor is foreign to British audiences, which is significant as the film is based in England and distributed to the audience within. Whilst these stereotypes are commonly perceived negatively, the more subtle stereotypes of humour and exoticism, as proposed by theorist Alvarado, are also prominently prevalent with the representation of the characters. Being of a comedy genre, the visitor of African origins plays the role of a 'clown' and is essentially the laughing stock generating comedy within viewers due to his unawareness and 'inferiority', which is a convention of comedy dictating that those who are unaware of a situation are bound to make for amusement as a result of hegemonic ideas which place the audiences at a level where they deem themselves more educated, and aware of social etiquette than, for example, the 'clown' of Gone Too Far. Exoticism is presented through the portrayal of the mother, who is dressed in traditional African dresses and has a corresponding dialect, which amounts to the multitude of stereotypes forming a comedy-drama featuring Afro-Caribbean characters. 

The short Tight Jeans by Destiny Ekaragha uses stereotypes to communicate a socio-political debate by the voices of the actors who are to an extent representative of black suburban Britain. Alvarado's theory of developing pity as a stereotype for black people is presented through the establishment of setting in what will be presumed a poverty-stricken council estate. A further application is via the use of humour as the characters adopt a comedic role in discussing serious topics such as the slave trade, and reducing them to a discussion about genitalia. 

Nonetheless, whilst Ekaragha reinforces these traditional stereotypes, many are subverted as a means of raising a conscious and very apparent inversion of beliefs such as that black youths engage in crime and gang violence - ideas which are absent in her pieces. 

Weekly New/Digital Media Homework 17

How new/digital #media is changing advertising and content 

Could the BBC be considering closing its 24 hour news channel?

The impact of NDM (48) Feedback/LR

34 - B

WWW - This is difficult to mark as in many ways it is a top level essay: excellent critical autonomy, real authority to the tone, good use of quotes, and great to see both sides of the argument explored.

EBI - There are definite areas for improvement however:
- You never make it clear what your case study is, a real weakness to address
- Far more examples needed, particularly contemporary. Why are you using Rodney King (1991 not 2001) when there are so many recent examples? Not using them weakens the section on UGC considerably.
- Annoying comment but watch your handwriting..! had to read several bits two or three times. Will your examiner be so charitable?
- Focus on the question throughout: some paragraphs referred to 'democracy' and 'equal' but not all.

LR - See blog

Improvements:
- Include examples - strengthen knowledge on case studies - revise!
- Focus on questions - remember to link keywords repeatedly.
- Handwriting.

Developments in NDM: Essay (48)

“The development of new/digital media means the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and production.” Discuss the arguments for and against this view. (48)

Detail

Decline of newspapers

Social media activity

• “The barricades today do not bristle with bayonets and rifles, but with phones.”

Paywalls

Citizen journalism

Hyperreality

UGC

News values

The impact of NDM on the news industry

Marxism and pluralism

Globalisation

Response

Developments in new and digital media have matured rapidly on an annual basis to complement the prevalence of technological advancements. As a result, dramatic effects are set on the way that audiences are ‘consumers’, and newly also: the ‘producers’ of information. In the forms of entertainment and news, new and digital media has inspired an overwhelming proliferation of globally accessible digital sources, from which audiences can access values and ideologies not otherwise available to them due to the internet being considered “the most important medium of the twentieth century”.

Digital technology has grown to intervene in virtually every aspect of modern lifestyles since the 21st century, and has hence incited what is proclaimed: the “information revolution”, an idea which is undeniably so because there is now no clear dichotomous distinction between what we consider a ‘producer’ and a ‘consumer’ in today’s digitally-operant social landscape. Whether this empowers an audience in terms of consumption and production however, is debatable across different perspectives which determine whether examples of audience consumption and production can prove to be empowering.

Evidently, one of the most notable changes in the way that information is reported to audiences - is the decline of the newspapers industry. With smart devices becoming increasingly integral in the lifestyles of first-world masses, news is instantly accessible to audiences in many multimedia formats. This leads to traditional newspapers needing to adopt a different angle (newspaper content is now predominantly based on views and analysis rather than being solely informative) in order to sustain some purchase value. Yet even though newspapers have adopted such a strategy, many news values theorised by Galtung and Ruge are far superiorly met by digital means of reporting. Smartphone/tablet applications such as TheGuardian app notifies users instantaneously at the dawn of every headline and provides them with the ability to have their selection of news tailored according to their own preferences. This provides one of the many perks of digital news to even former newspaper giants, which have now tactfully chosen to adapt to NDM developments to avoid the costly manufacture of redundant newspapers.

With regards to finance, newspaper institutions have largely suffered from the past years as indicated by annual financial reports which have shown an ascension in losses incurred. This can be attributed to the fall in demand for newspapers due to the greater accessibility of online news via social media sites such as Twitter, BuzzFeed and Facebook, as well as Google which is allegedly responsibility for the reduced revenue of newspaper corporations, who have less businesses advertising through their platform. A recent online report discovers that MailOnline is the most frequently visited digital news platform worldwide, and is forecasted to accumulate over £100m in revenue over the next three years. The tabloid’s conservative, right-wing approach on socio-politically sensitive topics is imitated on the website and serves, what Marxist theorist Gramsci coined: a hegemonic view.

Consumers are effectively passive recipients of these biasedly hegemonic values, and has thus been demonstrated by the resultant victory of the Conservative party in the 2015 UK general election. This was demonstrative of the ultimate falsification of Murdoch’s sinister statement claiming “The internet has given readers much more power”, which was clearly retorted by the election results after the undeniably overpowering support for the Labour party, over Twitter in particular. Murdoch’s involvement in the elections promotes a continuing disempowerment of audiences, which is reinforced as research indicates that no government has been elected without the assistance of Murdoch since 1969. This shows a clear constraint on democratic practice which remains unaffected by the development of NDM, which although gives the illusion of an increased democracy, as Keen suggested, “Rebellion is encapsulated in the internet”, the results are yet bound by hegemonic power in making important sociopolitical decisions.

The empowerment of audiences is considered in one stance according to the access to variously ranging views and values. The extent to which this ability is granted to UK audiences is a lot more debateable in comparison to the Stalinist model of North Korea, which has its media strictly limited to reinforcing only the views and ideologies of the dictating proletariat. The UK is commonly determined the polar opposite of this, being regarded as a population largely liberal in its ability to advocate and support ranging views, a lot of which differ from those of the governing Conservative body. New and digital media enables this output of pluralistic views on social media networks, a profound one being Twitter, which generates discussion by the use of tweets, mentions and the newly introduced ‘like’ system – indicative of support for publicised information. Opinion leaders such as Owen Jones, who are openly against the Marxist nature of the cooperation among leading governments and the Murdoch controlled media, which statistics suggest influences around 50% of the total mainstream media in the UK. This indicates a disempowerment of audiences in wholesome as half of the output is under regulation of the governing state.

This is further justified by the Ipsos Morum poll of 2014 which finds the majority of Britain to be under the false impression that socio-political moral panics are prevalent to a much larger extent than they really are. Correlations between this and the hyperbolised representation of these panics by the mainstream media are found as debates of false benefit claim and the establishment of Islamic  beliefs in the UK are believed to be generally a lot more significant. Ultimately, the hegemonic control of the media is suggested in a cynical nature as it is found that the media defies its primitive role to inform audiences, as they do in fact misinform them with false beliefs which fuel moral panics and thus demonstrate a reinforcement of values advocated by the governing body, hence disempowering a society which is made to merely believe they are under pluralistic liberation.

To a definitive measure, the internet continues to prove itself unsuccessful for audience empowerment as Herman and McChesney state: "the egalitarian potential of the technology is minimised" and instead, "global media firms (are) able to incorporate the internet and related computer networks into their empires". Such is evidently demonstrated by the wide internet-based digital technology market as institutional conglomerates such as Google and Facebook adopt smaller uprising companies.  

The print industry for media has also suffered greatly due to a failed recognition of the overpowering force the internet had in the late 90s. Mistakingly, industrialists anticipated free digital media content to merely promote printed content in the form of a marketing tool, which resulted in an unprecedented tide, washing away the purpose of print as digital media had proven itself as a free and reliable platform to obtain information in sophisticated ways. As a defence mechanism, David Simon demonstrated support for the implication of paywalls by the New York Times and Washington Post to maintain sustainability in the digital climate. This was proposed as a means for institutions to collect revenue which would be reinvested into the journalism of the content provided, making for high quality material worthy of payment. With the availability of free major news websites such as The Guardian and Mail Online, audiences neglect the paywalls of Murdoch’s The Sun and The Times as the incentives for payment seem unreasonable for audiences who have the free abundance of the internet at their disposal. Nonetheless, it is worth acknowledging that audiences are resultantly at risk of being disempowered instead because of the decreasing value of journalistic content because of the decrease in revenue accumulated by these decaying organisations. Consequently, the news industry is susceptible witnessing a dystopian future as the overall quality of news is reduced to resemble the poorly criticised standard of celebrity gossip providers such as TMZ and, growingly, Mail Online.

An irrefutable and revolutionary shift in the modern media landscape is the growing significance of social media. This has proven itself, over the past decade as a developingly significant tool for audience empowerment. Coincidentally, with the growth of digital technology and the convergence of multimedia, audiences can now utilise the power of producing user-generated content in order to promote a whole new world of information provision. Considering this, the prevalence of citizen journalism has been symptomatic as evidenced on many instances of a significant role that this has had upon the socio-political consensus worldwide. A profound example of this was the Rodney King beating, which showed smartphone footage displaying an Afro-American citizen severely subjected to police brutality, a tragic phenomenon which is growingly more common as of 2014’s Trayvon Martin incident, among dozens of cases. This inspired an uproar through the use of Twitter, which is an actualisation of an ‘opinion’ report by TheGuardian stating “The barricades today do not bristle with bayonets and rifles, but with phones.” (2015). Provingly, social media has raised an imperishable awareness among engagers with the use of hashtags such as #blacklivesmatter which have circulated tremendously ever since its dawn. Although this has had a positive social impact, it is limited by the ultimate proletariat power of governing bodies such as the American police force, which has failed to justly punish its officers for racist discrimination in their treatment of, well, sometimes - felons. Therefore, the empowerment of audiences is yet to be achieved in this field as ultimate decisions remain unaffected by social protest.

In conclusion, the development of new and digital media has undeniably granted audiences with the autonomy to access and reproduce materialised information in a way which was once only reserved to major corporations. This has significantly been positive in its way of enlightening and entertaining audiences in revolutionary ways. However, profound decisions affecting lifestyles are yet reserved to the elites, and hegemony remains largely a pivotally influential contagion upon the majority of media consumers.

Identities and the Media: Reading the riots

Media Magazine extended feature on the media coverage of the UK riots (MM38 page 5)

How did the language and selection of images in the coverage create a particular representation of young people? 

Adjectives with negative connotations are employed: 'rampaging', 'disorder', 'fighting'.

Dark colour schemes, plenty of fiery shades are used to reinforce the 'destructiveness' associated to the riots.

Why does David Buckingham mention Owen Jones and his work Chavs: the demonisation of the working class?

Statistics/findings from the riots found that those of a middle-class, wealthy background. However, as Owen Jones outlines in his recent book, there was a class dimension in the representations created in the press, concerning the demonisation of those from lower social backgrounds in particular, alongside young people. 

What is the typical representation of young people – and teenage boys in particular? What did the 2005 IPSOS/MORI survey find?

Typical representations detail young people to be of immature intellect, reasoning and rebellious. A 2005 IPSOS/MORI survey found that 40% of newspaper articles featuring young people focused on violence, crime or anti-social behaviour; and that 71% could be described as having a negative tone.

How can Stanley Cohen’s work on Moral Panic be linked to the coverage of the riots?

Coverage of the riots was mostly sensationalised in order to link the young people represented with a set of counter-moral expectations in society. Radicalised headlines reinforce the severity of this to make it seem as if young people 'are running riot'.

What elements of the media and popular culture were blamed for the riots?

Rap music, violent computer games and reality TV have been held responsible for provoking young people. 

How was social media blamed for the riots? What was interesting about the discussion of social media when compared to the Arab Spring in 2011?

The role of social networking had been attributed as a power abused by 'mindless thugs and morons' to premeditate terror on the streets. In comparison, the 'Arab spring' early in 2011 had used social networking as a utility for anarchist revolutions.

The riots generated a huge amount of comment and opinion - both in mainstream and social media. How can the two-step flow theory be linked to the coverage of the riots? 

The two-step flow theory can be applied to all second-hand reporters of the riots as their underlying prejudices and socio-political views pivotally alter the nature of reporting.

Alternatively, how might media scholars like Henry Jenkins view the 'tsunami' of blogs, forums and social media comments? Do you agree that this shows the democratisation of the media?

Tending to celebrate this 'tsunami' of digital platforms as a 'more egalitarian approach', replacing the traditional hierarchy.

What were the right-wing responses to the causes of the riots?

Conservatives perceive young people as the perpetrators of social disorder, with the police and governing bodies being reasonable in their handling of situations. 

What were the left-wing responses to the causes of the riots?

Young people have presented a symptomatic response to the disorderly rule of the upper-class. 

What are your OWN views on the main causes of the riots?

Several socio-political issues are contributory to the riots. The riots serve as a response to fundamentally prevalent issues including poverty, disagreements in policy-making and unemployment which have the inevitable potential for provoking such terrific events. 

How can capitalism be blamed for the riots? What media theory (from our new/digital media unit) can this be linked to?

Capitalism is evidently relevant as this oversees issues of poverty and unemployment, amidst arguments blaming young people's material ambitions for the riots and looting, which developed into a moral panic in this situation which villainised young, especially working-class young people; class-consciousness in this matter comes from Marxist and hegemonic ideologies favouring those in power. 

Were people involved in the riots given a voice in the media to explain their participation?

Young people had no available platform to comment on mainstream media sources.

In the Guardian website's investigation into the causes of the riots, they did interview rioters themselves. Read this Guardian article from their Reading the Riots academic research project - what causes are outlined by those involved in the disturbances?
Disapproval of police practices in the cities presented as the most profound cause of the rioting. However, other opportunists had claimed the availability of free goods and luxury items as a chance for them to obtain 'free stuff' they couldn't usually afford. 

What is your own opinion on the riots? Do you have sympathy with those involved or do you believe strong prison sentences are the right approach to prevent such events happening in future?
Ultimately, the events of disorder are ones which are unpardonable for any reason, but nonetheless it is just to discern that civil outbreaks as such are bound to occur as a result of socio-political disagreements catalytic towards the disapproval from the public. Strong prison sentences should be a luxury given those who are obvious repeated offenders, actual threats towards the general public which should be managed immediately. 

Weekly New/Digital Media Homework 16

Does the media say too much when reporting on terrorism?

The purpose of the media and news reporting is reconsidered in the time of societal anxiety concerning the reporting of terrorism. Issues such as content control and regulation are overviewed within the article.

One Year After Charlie Hebdo, More Censorship Than Ever In Europe

The new wave of censorship is arriving on the one-year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdomassacre in Paris, commemorated by the Paris police shooting a suicide bomber dead. The Charlie Hebdo attack was not only the most effective act of freelance censorship in recent memory, but also a spectacular example of effective assimilation. Granted, it’s not the sort of assimilation France’s existing citizens had in mind. They thought the new arrivals would accept French and European cultural and legal norms, but instead theCharlie Hebdo massacre showed us how French and European culture are bending the knee to Islamic law.

Weekly New/Digital Media Homework 15

Removing Twitter's 140-character limit is Jack Dorsey's biggest gamble yet

The debate proceeds with Twitter's network-defining 140 character limit. Creator Jack Dorsey continues to propose reasons for installing character limits of up till 10,000 characters. One of the predominant arguments for this debate insist on the power given to users if they can publish more text. 

BBC condemned by Liddle and MacKenzie over reporting of mass German sex attacks which did not mention ethnicity

Sensitivity of content control is prevalent once again as the BBC receive criticisms regarding the classification of ethnicity in the mass sex attacks of Germany - associated to 'predatory Muslim gangs'.

Weekly New/Digital Media Homework 14

South Korea resumes propaganda broadcasts to North over tests

This news story explores the idea of foreign broadcasting in marxist nations - power of propaganda countering censorship laws. Demonstrates the power of news reporting for a political agenda - impact as severe as nuclear bombing. 

Make or break for the Sun and more consolidation

The chase for the 'digital catchup' continues as The Sun's new editor launches strategies to suffice for the dismantling of the paywall - which evidently did not work. 

NDM 48 Marker - Practice/LR

Feedback

Fantastic essay – feedback as promised:

PANDYA, Kishan

Mark: 39

Grade: A

WWW: Fundamentally, this is a superb essay. Your engagement with the issues and debates raised is genuine and you offer depth and insight throughout. You have some superb quotes in there and a wide variety of examples. Above all, there is a high degree of critical autonomy and I genuinely enjoyed reading it – the classic signifier of an A grade essay!

EBI: There are certainly a few area we can look to improve:

I’m not convinced you always show ‘sharp focus on the question’ – a key signifier for the top level. The wording in the question is ‘consumption and production’ and while you clearly use these words in several places perhaps not throughout.

Similarly, you could make your case study clearer in the opening and in fact I think your second paragraph actually lays out the argument much more effectively than the first. For the exam in the summer you’ll also have to add your independent case study to the mix too.

One key area I notice you are missing is statistics – you reference decline and growth but don’t have the statistics to support this. I think this is a relatively easy thing to add and yet would give the essay a lot more weight to the argument.

I think you could make more of the section on paywalls and the potential dangers of journalism as a force for good (‘holding truth to power’) declining permanently.

One error: smartphones weren’t around for Rodney King – it was an old camcorder! Don’t make this mistake in future assessments (and perhaps use some more relevant examples – Eric Garner ‘I can’t breathe’ etc.)

LR: Research the statistics you need to show the decline in the newspaper industry (and any other relevant stats such as the amount of classified advertising revenue newspapers have lost) so you can add this to future assessments. Document them in a new blogpost along with this feedback.

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Circulation

After posting slight gains last year, both weekday and Sunday circulation fell around 3% from 2013 to 2014, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) data. The decline in weekday circulation fell almost equally across all categories. This includes top tier newspapers (those with average weekday circulation of 500,000 or more) whose weekday circulation fell 4% in 2014 after seeing a 22% spike from 2012 to 2013. In Sunday circulation, top-tier papers felt less of a blow than others in 2014.

Readership

Although the public conversation about newspapers focuses on the shift to digital, most newspaper reading still happens in print. According to readership data from Nielsen Scarborough’s 2014 Newspaper Penetration Report, 56% of those who consume a newspaper read it exclusively in print, while 11% also read it on desktop or laptop computers; 5% also read it on mobile; and another 11% read it in print, on desktop and on mobile. In total, more than eight-in-ten of those who read a newspaper do so in print, at least sometimes. Only 5% read newspapers exclusively on mobile devices.

The general demographics of newspaper readers remain consistent as well. The most likely to read newspapers are those with more education or more income, and who are white.

Economics

For the past five years, newspaper ad revenue has maintained a consistent trajectory: Print ads have produced less revenue (down 5%), while digital ads have produced more revenue (up 3%) – but not enough to make up for the fall in print revenue. Overall ad revenue fell 4%, to just $19.9 billion.

Total employment in newspaper publishing has dropped by more than 40 percent in the last 10 years. In 2001, the industry had employed 414,000 people, but that number fell to 246,020 people by 2011. What’s more, much of that decline has taken place in just the last three years, suggesting that the industry is growing increasingly unstable even as the economy as a whole makes modest gains.