Industries: Ownership and control blog task

Media conglomerate research

1) Type up your research notes from the lesson - what did you find out about your allocated media conglomerate? Selection of companies: Alphabet, The Walt Disney Company, Comcast, 21st Century Fox, Meta, Viacom, News Corp, Time Warner. If you were absent or didn't have time in the lesson to make these notes, research any one of the companies above and find examples of all the terminology outlined in the notes at the start of this blogpost.

Disney-

• Disney studios -disney pictures, animations and pixars
• Disney channel and national geographic
• Hulu and disney plus
• Books, recording, theme parks - resort themes
• Horizontal- Abc network = sports and news
• Vertical -distribution and exhibition through hulu- how they will distribute their products  and production part of the progress
• Synergy - everything disney
• Diversification - continuous movies, animation and high quality movies.

Media Magazine reading and questions

Media Magazine 52 has a good feature on the changing relationship between audiences and institutions in the digital age. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM52 and scroll to page 9 to read the article 'Two Key Concepts: The Relationship Between Audience and Institution'.

1) Briefly describe the production, promotion and distribution process for media companies.

The production process provides audiences with the media products they want. It needs to consider

the audience’s desires and should provide the gratifications the audience expects.

The promotion process researches and identifies the target audience for the product, and uses advertising

and marketing strategies to inform and persuade them of the value of the media product.

The distribution process uses the most appropriate methods for getting the product to the audience

and making it as easy as possible for them to access it.

2) What are the different funding models for media institutions?

The BBC is funded by a licence fee and it has a public service remit, it is more likely to screen programmes with a regional interest than other broadcasters.

TV relies on income generated by advertisers. This means that appeal to a large audience are seen as more valuable than ones with smaller niche audiences.

Sky One needs an income from subscribers and may well invest in programming that attracts a loyal

audience, who are more likely to invest in a long term subscription to guarantee early access to the

shows they enjoy.

The MailOnline receives more income the longer a reader stays on the site, so stories will feature

lots of images and videos, and sensationalised or controversial headlines will be constructed to ‘tempt’ readers to ‘click through’.

3) The article gives a lot of examples of major media brands and companies. Choose three examples from the article and summarise what the writer is saying about each of them. 

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4) What examples are provided of the new business models media companies have had to adopt due to changes in technology and distribution?

The movie industry has invested enormous sums of money into 3D technology, in order to encourage

audiences into cinemas.

The BBC is reconsidering its funding structure now on-demand viewing is becoming more popular.

Some online newspapers now require audiences to subscribe to access their content or provide premium content to those who pay for mobile apps.

Advertisers find it harder to target audiences via traditional media (TV and magazines, for example) and

alternative strategies are employed, for instance, using targeted marketing based on social media

data-mining (see Nick Lacey’s article in this issue), or sponsoring YouTube stars to include their products in their lifestyle blogs.

5) Re-read the section on 'The Future'. What examples are discussed of technology companies becoming major media institutions?

Google now owns YouTube, and has revolutionised the way we access music and moving-image entertainment and information.

Amazon, Netflix and Yahoo now create, produce and ‘broadcast’ their own TV shows, such as

Transparent, Orange is the New Black and Community.

Facebook has bought the virtual reality technology Oculus Rift; one potential benefit for audiences is that it allows users to ‘attend’ and ‘experience’ events without leaving their own homes.

6) Do you agree with the view that traditional media institutions are struggling to survive?

Traditional media institutions are having to adapt to survive. It is clear that not all traditional media

forms, outlets or institutions will be able to maintain their place in the media marketplace. 

7) How might diversification or vertical integration help companies to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing media landscape? 

Audiences reject traditional TV programming, newspapers and cinema exhibition, the only thing we know for sure about the future is that institutions will continue to come up with increasingly sophisticated and creative ways to try to find and attract an audience.

8) How do YOU see the relationship between audience and institution in the future? Will audiences gain increasing power or will the major global media conglomerates maintain their control?

I believe the major global media conglomerates will maintain control since they are the one who manage the type of content the audience likes and majority of the time the audiences are more than satisfied with the content they receive.

Audience theory 2: blog tasks

 Theory questions and your opinion

1) Social learning theory has been criticised for simplifying the causes of violence in society. Do you think the media is responsible for anti-social behaviour and violence?

The media has always been a huge part of everyday life, be it with communication and finding about information. Depending upon how the individual mind is constructed they will respond as such. Media can be responsible since all the advocating of war and violent video games can have an affect on young minds more than older.

2) How is social learning theory relevant in the digital age? Are young people now learning behaviour from social media and the internet? Give examples.

Andrew Tate is a prime example on how his views have impacted a lot on the male audience. The views and opinions he put out on different social media impacts males to think like that as well. This can be a negative effect since some of his opinions have led to him being 'cancelled' and banned on social media platforms.

3) Research three examples of moral panic from the last 50 years. To what extent was the media responsible for these moral panics? Was the concern in society justified? How have things changed as a result of these moral panics?

• Islamic Terrorists- Society believes that all terrorist are Muslim meaning racism has increased over the years causing issues all around the wold, be it a workplace or simply just in public.

Inner city mugging by black youths- Many black youths have been accused of mugging, this causes a lot of speculations in terms of that they just do it for fun when in fact they do it because they have no other choice.

Goths- They are seen to be excluded on the basis what is normal and what is abnormal.

4) Read this introduction to an academic paper on technopanics. What examples are given of technopanics that create fear in society? If the link is blocked in school, you can access the text here.

 These panics are intense public, political, and academic responses to the emergence oruse of media or technologies, especially by the young. 

5) Do you think the internet should be regulated? Should the government try and control what we can access online?

I feel as if it would be a good idea but i fear the outcome of it will be worse meaning individuals would rebel against the government by stating it is restricting their right of freedom of speech.

6) Apply Gerbner's cultivation theory to new and digital media. Is the internet creating a fearful population? Are we becoming desensitised to online threats, trolling and abuse? Is heavy internet use something we should be worried about in society? Write a paragraph discussing these ideas.

The internet is in fact creating a fearful population in terms of how people are replicating certain issues seen all over the internet everyday such as gun violence in schools, since its almost become a trend.The more knowledge we receive on how it is so easy to know a persons information through social media allows strangers to track you down, so because of that people are more aware on what they post on the internet and what they don't.The usage of internet has increased drastically over the years, in some ways its been a positive impacts in regarding what is going on around the world. However, on the other hand its also been negative, meaning the posts released by celebrities and influencer's has influenced negative changes regarding with their body as harmful.

The effects debate: Media Factsheet

Complete the following tasks using Media Factsheet 030 - The Effects Debate available on the Media Shared drive. You'll find it in our Media Factsheet archive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. You can also access it via your school Google login here.

Read Media Factsheet 030 - Media and Audiences -The Effects Debate and answer the following questions:

1) Complete the questions in the first activity box (beginning with 'Do you play violent games? Are you violent in real life?')

Whilst some people do act violently, many do not and in today’s culture it is almost impossible to avoid violent representations. This seems to support the view that the media does not directly cause people to act a certain way.

Advertisers spend millions of pounds promoting their products. The Marks and Spencer’s food adverts have increased the grocery sales for the high street shop and encouraged customers to indulge themselves with the luxury items they sell.

Viewing a documentary can provide access to information that may change the way you feel about an issue. It may even make you want to act differently, eat more healthily, join a political group or simply tell your friends about what you have learnt. This seems to support the view that the media does have the potential to influence people. MacDonalds began offering ‘healthy options’ after concerns raised in this documentary appeared to have impacted on sales.

2) What are the four categories for different effects theories?

• Direct Effect Theories

• Diffusion Theories

• Indirect Effect Theories

• The Pluralist Approach

3) What are the examples provided for the hypodermic needle theory - where media texts have been blamed for certain events? 

• Child’s Play – The murder of Jamie Bulger

• Marilyn Manson – The Columbine High School shootings

• Natural Born Killers – a number of murders committed by romantically linked couples. in one case, the director was sued for inciting violence although the court case was later dismissed

4) What was the 1999 Columbine massacre? You may need to research this online in addition to the information on the factsheet.

On April 20, 1999, a school shooting and attempted bombing occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States.

5) What are the reasons listed on the factsheet to possibly explain the Columbine High School massacre?

The Columbine High School shootings occurred due to a complex relationship between:*

o The ease of access to firearms and the social acceptance of gun ownership

o The alienation felt by teenagers who felt as though they did not fit in

o The hopelessness caused by living in an area where unemployment was high and was economically disadvantaged

o The general desensitisation caused by access to a range of violent images: film, TV, the news, the internet

6) How does the factsheet describe Gerbner's Cultivation theory?

This theory considers the way the media affects attitudes rather than behaviour. The media is seen as part of our socialisation process, communicating ‘appropriate’ attitudes and the norms and values of the culture. According to this theory, while any one media text does not have too much effect, repeated exposure to certain ideas and values may make the audience less critical of the ideas presented as they appear ‘normal’.

7) What does the factsheet suggest about action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence?

Things get more complicated when you consider this is all down to perspective. Is it good if a villain kills someone to protect his family? Is it acceptable to act violently if someone threatens a state they think is corrupt? Is it alright to steal from someone who has been violent towards you? The repetition of the simple values above makes them appear natural and the texts do not always encourage the audience to question the values presented. Essentially violence is supported in action films as a method for the hero to reach his goal. The only difference between him and the villain is that we agree with the hero’s motivations.

8) What criticisms of direct effect theories are suggested in the factsheet?

Diffusion Theories

These ideas focus on the influence media may have but concentrate on the personalised way audiences access texts and consider the influence other people may have.

9) Why might the 1970s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour be considered so controversial today? What does this tell us about Reception theory and how audiences create meanings?

Some texts from the past seem very strange to us. A very popular sit-com in the 1970s called Love Thy Neighbour appears to many modern viewers, racist and offensive. Times have changed and so have people’s attitudes and values. What was acceptable as the topic for comedy some decades ago, no longer is.

10) What examples are provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings?

• the dominant reading

 an acceptance of the intended meaning

• a negotiated reading

 a broad acceptance of the intended meaning but with some personal modification

• an oppositional reading

 an understanding of the intended meaning but a rejection

MIGRAIN assessment 1 - learner response

 Learner Response:

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

WWW-Detailed and comprehensive answers throughout.

EBI- Ensure you include more comparison when there are two texts and for Q2 consider class, gender and ethnicity.

2) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify at least one potential point that you missed out on for each question in the assessment.

For question 1 I could've used: Todorov: disequilibrium suggested by gun; character eyeline looking off-screen suggests danger or threat; tagline references ‘survival’; no hint of new equilibrium.

For question 2 I could've used: Both products hint at the role society can play in shaping people’s lives which reflects a key theme of British media and culture. In the Ill Manors poster, the tagline for the film literally alludes to this (“Some environments...”)

For question 3 I could've used: Genre important for producers/industries: ‘template’ for producers; attracting audiences; economic reassurance (certain TV/film genres reliably popular); marketing purposes;

For question 4 I could've used: Oppositional or counter-hegemonic readings: reinforcement of negative black stereotypes (‘Sex, drugs and R&B’); central image aggressive or challenging; informal language (‘Bada$$’) could suggest embracing ‘street’ culture or a lack of education; jewellery could reinforce ‘bling’ stereotype of modern urban music; ‘Who is music’s number one genius?’ could be open to very different interpretations depending on audience demographics.

3) Read this exemplar response from a previous Year 12 (an A grade) - note this was a slightly different paper in terms of the question wording (we've updated it to better reflect recent exams). Identify at least one potential point for each question from this student's paper that you could have mentioned in your assessment. 

For question 1 I could've analysed the figure in more detail, going through the specifications of each aspect of the image.

For question 2 I could've compared the images in terms of social differences.

For question 3 I could've added examples to further explain my analysis.

For question 4 I could've analysed the image in more detail by highlighting all the readings in more detail and using some sort of statistics to back up my analysis making it look through.

4) Did you get any media terminology or theory wrong in the assessment? Make a note of it here for future revision, including theories/terminology that you could have used but didn't.

I feel like I did not use enough media terminology but when i did use it it was correct in term of the theorists and not the what they said.For example, for Abercrombie i jumbled his saying which made me loose marks due to it.

5) Identify your weakest question and write five bullet points that would improve on your original response. Use the mark scheme and exemplar paper to identify these points - particularly focusing on the anticipated content and the top level descriptors.

My weakest question from the assessment was the 20 marker, even thought I explained it to my fullest potential, there were a lot of lacking in the knowledge department such as:

-more than one theorist.

-talking about stereotypes.

-how the media wants us to read the image.

-keeping it limited yet through response.

-going through each media terminology I have learnt.

Audience theory 1: blog tasks

 Hypodermic needle model

1) Read this Mail Online article about the effects of videogames. How does this article link to the hypodermic needle model?

It proves to the fact that the video games create a negative impact to those who play and harms many others by the outbreaks that occur from it.

2) How does coverage of the Talk Talk hacking case (see Daily Mail front page below) link to the hypodermic needle model? Why might someone criticise this front page? 

It shows how children at a very young age are easily influenced to propose such violent actions without acknowledging the consequences of their action and how those consequences can have  large impact on others. 'Son of a single mother' can imply that its the mother's fault and because he has no male figure in his life, that is why he addicted to the game in the first place.

3) What do you think of the hypodermic needle theory? Do audiences believe everything they see in the media?

I believe that even though the media doesn't have the goal of creating a dangerous effect on the audience, any media product can relate to it being harmful .For example, models and celebrities posting about their lean figures can cause young girls to starve themselves in order to look a certain way even if that was not the intention in the first place.

Two-step flow model

1) Summarise the two-step flow model. What is an opinion leader?

The two-step flow model  suggests the audience are influenced by ‘opinion leaders’ in the media who mediate how the audience react to media texts. Opinions leaders can be specified as broadcasters, influencers and celebrities.

2) How do influencers like Zendaya fit into the two-step flow model? 

Zendaya is known for her feminist enterprise, advocating the black lives matter movement. This creates a calm and peaceful atmosphere on the audience since it educates them to do the same and influences to look further into key events happening around the world.

3) In your opinion, is the two-step flow theory still relevant today?

I believe it is still relevant since the media industry has expanded a lot over the years, labelling it the most powerful way to spread a message all over the world.

Uses and Gratifications theory

1) For each of the four categories, write about one media text (e.g. film, TV programme, newspaper etc.) that fits that particular audience use or pleasure. Make sure you explain WHY it fits the category and use images or clips to illustrate your points. The first one is done for you.

Diversion: Film - Blinded By The Light. Entertaining and offering escapism for fans of Bruce Springsteen or anyone that enjoys coming of age films or culture-clash comedies.

Personal Relationships: Ant and Dec. Loved by all British watchers.

Personal Identity: Educating Yorkshire. Presents different values and customs in the show.

Surveillance: Weather. Quick access and know the type of clothing to wear beforehand depending on the weather.

Dependency theory

1) Do you agree that audiences have become dependent on the media? What evidence or examples can you provide to support your view?

I believe in some ways it has. For example, influencers such as Andrew Tate have infested their own opinions out for the world to see and for young children mainly boys to have the same ideology causing massive controversy between the genders.

2) How has the growth of new and digital technology in the last 15 years changed people's dependency on the media? Is this a new problem?

Phones being given to the younger generation at a young age has impacted on how they constructed their own values and beliefs which in a way can cause major setback in how society has developed over the years.

3) Reflecting on your own media use, how does your media consumption impact on your emotions? Does the media have an overall positive or negative impact on your health and wellbeing? Why?

If my media consumption consists of anything related to mental health it can cause me to really think about my own, questioning if I am in the right mindset when acting on my own actions which makes me rethink all the things I have done in the past and whether it was a positive or a negative choice.

Audience classification blog task

 Psychographics: pair presentations

Structure

Who you are working with:

Laith

The psychographic group you are researching: 

Resigned

Introduce your example couple that represents your group:

1) Make up their names:

Margaret and Edward

2) Where do they work/study?

Margaret -Teaching assistant 

Edward -Works at a supermarket 

3) What do they do in their spare time?

Margaret -Sewing and gardening

Edward -Fishing

Now suggest their media consumption

Print: What newspapers/magazines does your group read (if any)? Is this on paper or tablet? 

Mainly look through The Guardian since it is a daily up to date newspaper which is familiarised to them since it is quick access to them and generates towards their age group as their target audience.

Broadcast: What TV programmes/channels do your group watch? Radio stations? TV package – Freeview or Sky? Films?

Edward would mainly go through sport related channels and Margaret would listen to the radio regarding music or any podcast whilst doing her spare time activities.

Online: What technology do they own? What websites do they visit (if any)? What social media do they use?

They most definitely have mobile phones since both their jobs require them in some sort of way. In regards to social media they use Facebook or Twitter as their main source of online news.

Which psychographic group do you feel best fits YOUR lifestyle and personality? Explain how and why you made your decision and provide evidence justifying this.

I feel my personality and lifestyle best fits between the succeeder and aspirer in the psychographic groups. This is because I have always been attracted to flashy and unique contents in means of fashion. I regard myself as someone who is goal orientated, for example if there is something i need to finish off despite having other work to do i simply ind a balance and make a system out of it to ensure my workload is steady and nothing is unfinished. In fact all my subjects require a heavy workload but there has not been a day where i have not completed something or have not completed to my fullest potential.