Thursday, March 15, 2007
News Values"Quizzed.. The chef & nurse" - The Sun
Police are investigating seven suspicious deaths at an old people's home.
Meaningfulness: Treatment ofthe eldery is an important topic to many as a number of people have elderly relatives in homes etc.
Continuity: This is a subject that has been in and out of the news over a long period of time. The article also refers to six other suspicious deaths in July 2004.
Composition: The term 'suspicious deaths' points towards mistreatment and the article features photographs of two people who have 'been arrested on suspicion of administering a poisonous substance'. However to balance this there is also a quote from a glowing report for the home.
"Al Qaeda chief admits plot to blow up Big Ben" - The Daily Mail
A terrorist has confessed to plots to blow up London landmarks.
Frequency: Obviously terrorism has been a big issue in the news for years and the man who is behind this 'masterminded the September 11 atrocities'.
Threshold: Londoners are always alert to the threat of terrorism and this is globally big news.
Negativity: In recent years there have been several news stories of both failed and successful terrorist plots and obviously it's always bad news to know that we're under threat.
"Tsvangirai tries to inspire opposition with his injuries" - The Independent
Zimbabwe's opposition leader speaks of being beaten by Robert Mugabe's police, and tries to inspire other's to join his struggle against the regime.
Frequency: The wider context of this specific story has been in the news for many years as in recent times Mugabe has attracted much criticism for alleged corruption.
Consonance: Due to this representation of Robert Mugabe this story would be likely to fit with the audiences expectations of what he is capable of
Reference to elite persons: Robert Mugabe is a well-known figure worldwide and stories of his actions would therefore be of interest due to his reputation for corruption
"95 Labour MPs say no. But Blair gets his missile" - The Guardian
The story of Parliements vote on sending billions to update nuclear armaments and Blair's Labour rebellion but Tory support
Threshold: This story is important not only in terms of the fact that incredible amounts of money are being spent on WMDs but also because Blair found support from the Tories, not his own party.
Meaningfulness: This lack of support from Labour suggests a weakness in government and that Blair is losing Labour support with this being the biggest Labour rebellion since 1997.
Reference to elite persons: Primeminister Tony Blair always makes big news with his descisions and conflicts within the government.
"COUNCIL TAX TO ROCKET" - Daily Express
Secret plans for rises in council taxes will be revealed next week.
Meaningfulness: This is important to peple across the nation due to everyone having to pay council tax.
Composition: This particular article in the Daily Express uses a number of emotive words such as 'plans to hammer millions of families with bigger council tax bills' and 'rattled ministers' which suggests that the intended meaning and stance of this text is clear.
Reference to elite persons: Gordon Brown is mentioned within the article. Supposedly the next Primeminister.
a_moran at 9:32 am
Monday, November 20, 2006
Uses and Gratifications Theory
The idea that people are free to choose what they get from the media and use it to fulfill their needs. Gratification in the media fulfills personal needs for the audience including personal identity with characters, (catharsis), escapism and the texts can even be part of a regular routine, for example soaps. This relates to pluralistic views and ideas and assumes an active audience.
Reception Theory
This theory looks at how the audience reads the text, rather than why they do. Everyone gets something different from the text depending on who they are. There are three types of reading for any media text: dominant, negotiated and oppositional.
Effects Theory
Started by the Frankfurt school this theory assumes a passive audience. Part of this is the hypodermic needle model which states that the media inject the audience with values and ideologies. Also, the cultivation theory which says that repeated exposure to something will desensitise the audience.
a_moran at 10:12 pm
Friday, November 17, 2006
Laura Mulvey & the Male Gaze
'Gaze' is used in feminist theory with regards to a man looking at a woman, male gaze. Feminist theories say that since it is always the male looking at the female it shows the male as having power over the woman. Laura Mulvey says that possessing the gaze is intrinsically male and relates to the binaries of female/passive, male/active.
Some advertising presents women in a sexual manner, and it is argued that this degrades women because of the power that the gaze provides for heterosexual men viewing these advertisements.
a_moran at 8:35 am
Thursday, November 16, 2006
PluralismLook at the TV schedules this week. How might a pluralist interpret the range of programmes on offer? What evidence is there of the media acting as the fourth estate during this week?
Have I got News For You- a news quiz which contains a lot of political satire and comment on British politics which could therefore show it as acting as the fourth estate. However many of the contestants are politicians so this could be disputed
Newsnight- Programmes such as Newsnight and Question Time show the media as the fourth estate as it allows the audience an insight into politics and Question Time allows the audience to ask questions
The Culture Show- This programme shows the range of shows on television and in a pluralist sense proves that the audience has a range to choose from and they do so
I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here- This reality TV programme would be called low culture by Marxists but in terms of pluralism it shows the variety on television
The X Factor- This shows a choice between reality TV programmes and therefore the active audience can make a decision on what to watch
These five programmes from throughout the week show that there is a range of different programmes for the audience to choose from and programmes such as Newsnight allow the BBC to act as the Fourth Estate so that the audience can see everything in the other three estates.
a_moran at 10:07 am
Monday, November 06, 2006
Marxism!
Karl Marx's social theory which states that in capitalism the bourgeoisie (upper classes) exploit the proletariat (workers). In terms of the media, media texts produced within the capitalist society maintain social divides between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. 'Culture Industries' want to attract large audiences due to the profit motive and therefore dumb down their output. Mass media is seen to entertain the masses whilst subconciously enforcing ideologies of the hegemony.
In terms of the general theory I wouldn't consider myself to be a Marxist. The idea of a utopian society created by equality doesn't appeal to me. This is because no matter how hard you worked you couldn't be any better off then you are already- there'd nothing to aspire to. Everyone would be the same. I suppose what comes into it is greed in a way, I just wouldn't be content with getting the same as everyone else.
However in terms of Marxism and media I think that most of the points have an element of truth in them, especially the idea of the audience being entertained whilst being 'drip fed' ideologies.
a_moran at 9:06 pm
Thursday, October 19, 2006
How much of the media you consume is global? Do you watch US TV programmes or visit US websites, for example? Do you consume media from other cultures as well or does the US dominate?
Although a lot of the media is dominated by the USA I try to make sure I watch British films and films from other cultures, not just US blockbusters. They are usually much more interesting and original. Sky movies occasionally show European and Asian films which I try to watch but even Filmfour is dissapointing in it's variety. I do watch a lot of US TV programmes especially sitcoms but probably far more British stuff. In terms of music the majority of what I listen to is British. Really it's a shame that US media is dominant because we're missing out on outlooks from other cultures and talented British writers/ directors/ artists.
a_moran at 7:40 pm
Monday, October 09, 2006
MTV (Music Television)
- A cable television network headquartered in New York City.
- Originally devoted to music videos.
- Now shows almost no music oriented programming.
- Has become an outlet for a variety of different television shows aimed at adolescents and young adults.
- Broadcast began on 1st August 1981 as an operation of Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment Company, a joint venture of Warner Communications and American Express known as WASEC.
- In 1984, Warner and Amex attempted to take some cash out of their WASEC investment. The companies divested (reduced the asset) WASEC and it was renamed MTV Networks Inc.
- The parent companies registered for a stock IPO( first sale of a corporation's common shares to public investors), which eventually went public at $15.00 per share.
- 1985: MTV saw the introduction of a sister channel, VH1, short for Video Hits One.
- 1986: MTV Networks Inc. was acquired by Viacom Inc., and was renamed MTV Networks, still a division of Viacom today.
- 1987: Viacom itself was the target of a successful hostile takeover by National Amusements.
- Viacom is an American Media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks (MTV Networks and BET- Black Entertainment Television), and movie production and distribution (the Paramount Pictures movie studio and DreamWorks).
a_moran at 9:33 pm