2 articles

#15 New wave of podcasts aimed at younger, wider audience

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/25/podcasts-aim-for-younger-wider-audience

As listeners look forward to the return of hit US true-crime podcast Serial, audio producers are hoping to recreate its success with a new wave of podcasts aimed at the reality TV generation. An audio diary by teenage cancer survivors and subjects as diverse as life in an inner-city gang and on a remote farm are among the projects planned by Acast. “The traditional podcast audience in the UK is in their mid-30s to 40s and a bit geeky. Serial has brought in a much larger female audience, but there’s not a lot being created in the UK for that new market,” said Adam Martin, Acast’s director of content. “[We want to] move beyond the familiar public radio or interview podcast and bring to life new stories rooted in reality.” In the first of its projects, three teenagers will use their phones to record their everyday experiences in what Martin calls the “hellish limbo land” of cancer remission. These clips will then be edited together into a series, due to launch early next year.

• A Swedish podcast platform that received investment of £3.2m in May to develop internationally.

• Podcasts are booming on both sides of the Atlantic: on-demand audio grew by 34% in the UK in 2014, while 46 million Americans – 17% of the population – listen to at least one podcast a month.

#16 BuzzFeed journalist attacked by far-right Jewish extremists in Paris

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/23/buzzfeed-journalist-attacked-paris-david-perrotin-ldj-afp

A leading French journalist working for BuzzFeed was attacked by far-right Jewish extremists as a mob tried to storm the offices of the country’s national news agency in Paris on Thursday. David Perrotin was protected by police after being surrounded by a dozen masked men brandishing batons. The Ligue de Défense Juive was protesting against Agence France Presse’s coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Trouble broke out soon after 8pm when about 100 people brandishing flags and letting off flares tried to storm AFP’s offices. As the crowd approached the entrance to the building, opposite the Paris stock exchange, tear gas was sprayed in their faces, and skirmishes with CRS riot police broke out. Some of the demonstrators were shouting “We’re coming to get you!” at journalists, while others screamed: “Islamic terrorists!!

In my opinion, i think that the jewish extremists were being racists towards different religions which is so wrong and unacceptable. 

2 articles

#13 Moshi Monsters in 'name and shame' campaign by UK ad regulator
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/27/moshi-monsters-in-name-and-shame-campaign-by-uk-ad-regulator

The UK advertising regulator has begun a “name and shame” campaign against Moshi Monsters after the hugely popular children’s website failed to abide by a ruling that it must stop promoting paid subscriptions to kids. Mind Candy, the parent of the Moshi Monsters game, said it took its responsibilities toward children very seriously and would look to drop phrases such as “join now”, “members are going to be super popular” and pushing “all sorts of cool extras”. However, on Tuesday the ASA said Moshi Monsters had not stopped its marketing tactics aimed at children and had not engaged with the regulator. The ASA can also run an “anti-Moshi Monsters” campaign targeted around the company’s presence in digital media to make consumers aware of it transgressions against the UK advertising code.

In my opinion, i think that what the parent of Moshi Monsters is doing is unacceptable, as why should children pay to just play an online village?


#14 Viral video: Star Wars, Drake dancing and Britney's broken zip
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/23/star-wars-drake-dancing-britneys-broken-zip

This article talks about how firstly during Britney Spear's performance in Las Vegas, she had a wardrobe malfunction. The zip at the back of her outfit had come loose and all her male back up dancers were trying to fix it, whilst she still carried on with her lip-singing performance and rocking at the same time - the video had gone viral. Also, it spoke about how drake has been under fire for the last week for his poor unusual weird dancing in his new song, hotline bling. Lastly, the Stars Wars trailer went viral too, even the tickets for the first movie showing had sold out within minutes.

• The official trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens has cranked up the excitement for the film’s release on 18 December
• The singer’s zip broke on the back of her costume during a lip-synching performance

Galtung and Ruge

Galtung and Ruge (1981) defined a set of news values to explain how journalists and editors decided that certain stories and photographs were accepted as newsworthy, while others were not. 

The following list is adapted from their work:
Immediacy: has it happened recently?
Familiarity: is it culturally close to us in Britain?
Amplitude: is it a big event or one which involves large numbers of people?Frequency: does the event happen fairly regularly?
Unambiguity: is it clear and definite?
Predictability: did we expect it to happen?
Surprise: is it a rare or unexpected event?
Continuity: has this story already been defined as news?
Elite nations and people: which country has the event happened in? Does the story concern well-known people? Negativity: is it bad news?

Immediacy is more important because news is more breaking on sites like twitter than anywhere else. If it happens recently there is likely to a conversation and global talking point on social media and other online websites. Immediacy has become much more important as we are more likely to see more opinions and comments of the story now than before.

Familiarity has changed because news that is close to us is more important. We want to know what is going on around us in our country and if it is culturally close to us then we are likely to want to know more about it.


Amplitude has also become much more important because news that involves larger groups of people are likely to be more reported. It seems like a bigger impact because theres a larger group of people. NDM means that more people are likely to be involved with a big event or one that involves large numbers of people. This includes social media and networking sites.


Frequency has changed throughout the years. More frequent events are talked about in the news. If it relates to someone specific who is powerful then it is likely to be frequently on the news or on any NDM.


Unambiguity has been changed by NDM because newspaper articles are much more clear with videos and other stories, they use much more information in videos. If information on a news cooperation website doesn't make sense, someone's comments and other editing options are allowed to change it.


Predictability has been changed by NDM because news stories a lot more predictable as they tend to post similar stories to the past. It is predictable that Google will take over advertising as they are such a huge institution however it is much easier to piece parts of this story together using different news providers than it would be by using a physical newspaper.

Surprise is it a rare or unexpected event?Most of the information that we get can be a surprise but if we already know about it or heard about it then it wouldn't be. Sometimes news stories continue so that they make a story.

Continuity: has this story already been defined as news?Most stories do carry on as they need to make sure that the story gets heard. They would normally have stories that are matching with it and connect with it, so that it builds up.Most  stories would be shown on TV, websites, youtube etc so that people can access it everywhere.

Elite nations and people: which country has the event happened in? Does the story concern well-known people? Having this lets everyone access any story they want to. In the UK we get stories about america, Europe etc. We get informed of the stories that happen in other parts of the country that let us know what's happening. Having this is good as we get know what happening and how it could effect us if it does.

Negativity: is it bad news?Most stories show bad news and you get to hear about it. Most stories than show different versions of it and you get to know it.

Balance: the story may be selected to balance other news, such as a human survival story to balance a number of stories concerning death.

There will always be a balance of the stories as they show the most bad ones first then mainly dies it down and show the good ones last. This is to give a balance of the different stories as not all stories can be depressing and sad, they have to have something that changes the topic completely.

How has new and digital media technology changed Galtung and Ruge’s news values?

In my opinion, i think that new and digital media hasn't changed Galtung and Ruge's values as in most news stories, we see immediacy, familiarity, amplitude, frequencey, unambiguity, predictability, surprise, continuity, elite nations and people, negativity and balance.

2 article summaries

Google launches €150m fund for publishers' digital news projects

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/22/google-fund-publishers-digital-news-projects

Google has launched its €150m (£109m) fund for European publishers to tap to develop new digital news projects. Google announced its intention to launch the innovation fund in April as part of its Digital News Initiative that aims to support and improve historically often fractious relations with European publishers. Google stressed that there would be tight governance and no conflict of interest having executives from potential rival organisations assess funding for projects.

• The internet giant promises that the €50m annually it will award to projects over three years will come with “no strings attached” and that “there is no requirement to use any Google products”.
• Google has divided application criteria for funding into three pools: “early stage” prototype projects that Google will fully fund to “fast track” with up to €50,000.
• Medium-sized projects are defined as those that require up to €300,000 in funds, of which Google will award up to 70%.
• Google will also fund up to 70% of proposals defined as large projects, those up to €1m.
• Google said that there can be exceptions to its €1m per project funding cap if there is an idea that is collaborative.

in my opinion I agree with this article as it says funding will have 'no strings attached' with larger grants needing approval from a council including the Telegraph’s Murdoch MacLennan.

Why the future of newspapers is not all doom and gloom

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/20/why-the-future-of-newspapers-is-not-all-doom-and-gloom

This article is about newspapers and how they are not likely to decline as 46m people read newspapers each month. Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, the world’s biggest advertising group, said at the Society of Editors’ conference that more and more people are recognising the value of the engaged audiences that newspaper brands provide.  there is a growing recognition that Google, Facebook, Snapchat and others benefit significantly from the value that news brands like the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Mail provide. The relationship is not dependent. It is interdependent. 

• Tesco, as you point out, has reduced its print spend, but you fail to mention it has also cut its overall spend by 31%. 

•  If you look at HSBC, it has increased its print advertising budget by no less than 73%.

• The media industry says it wants more video ads, but 12 million people use ad-blocking online.

• 46 million people read newspaper brands each month

In my opinion I agree with the article as newspapers will not go into decline as millions of people depend on it for their news and prefer it over using the internet.

10 examples of citizen journalism

 1) Rodney King, an African-American, after a high speed chase, the officers surrounded him, tasered him and beat him with clubs. The event was filmed by an onlooker from his apartment window
This is important as its telling the public what police officers are actually doing to citizens, which can cause a huge protest against them so they can change the way they act.

2) Asian Tsunami on December 26th 2004 was another turning point for UGC. Much of the early footage of events was provided from citizen journalists, or ‘accidental journalists.
This is important as it shows the world the disasters that the tsunami caused and what people were up against.

3) The London bombings on July 5th 2005, provided another hard-hitting and emotive. An audience used to relatively unmediated reality through the prevalence of reality TV can now see similarly unmediated footage on the news.
This is important as it shows the audience the devastating attack London faced and also by letting them know that the people in the bombings are in need of help and so the public are able to do so.

4) Video footage that 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho,an undergraduate at Virginia Tech, mailed into NBC News. Between his first attack, when he shot two people, he sent the package from a local post office, before going on to kill a further 30 people.
This is important as it shows the public what people can be like nowadays - cruel and evil. It also lets them know to be aware of that man and to warn others about him.

5) Mumbai bombings
This is important as it was able to people all over the world the devastating things happening occur, which can tell others that they are in need of help and so members of the public can help raise money for them e.g re-build.

6) Do you know who my uncle is - road rage after caught on her phone
I think this is important as it lets people know what some drivers can be like. It alerts them of the rude road rages and to keep away from them

7) Pool party turns violent when police show up
In my opinion, i would say this is just for entertainment purposes really. Teenagers record it to show other teens what they're missing out on as well as showing the public what goes on at house party's - extreme partying.

8) Vandals caught cutting down CCTV
This is important as it shows the audiences what people are like nowadays. It shows how nothing is being respected anymore etc

9) Hudson river plane crash
This is important as it shows the audience exactly what was happening at their point of view, which makes the public feel like as if the're in the same postion with them, causing them to take action and help them out.

10) Shocking police brutally caught on CCTV
This is important as it shows the public the negative side of police and that they feel as they have power that they are able to do anything at anytime, which can cause protests.

2 article summary

#9 USA today's Facebook - inspired use of emojis gets thumbs down
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/12/us-todays-facebook-emojis-twitter

This article talks about how emojis are a common feature of online messaging on smartphones and computers and is extremely popular with the public. It also says how 'USA today's' have started using them with each article they produce e.g an article about Russian bombing of Syria was illustrated with an angry red face, while a story about the stabbing of a US citizen - who had recently helped stop a terrorist attack in France - carried a sad face with a tear emerging from one eye.  It was noted that the more digital people are, the more the seemed to like them.

• The stunt received a mixed reaction on twitter, with some pointing out that it jarred with the serious nature of the stories being covered and others questioning whether emojis had a place in print

In my opinion, i think that having emojis in print work is actually a good idea as it adds to the depth and emotions of the article. Also, as it is very common on phones and the public nowadays to show emotion, the public would  more likely read the article as they want to know the story behind that emoji.

#10 Tech companies urged to protect young from dangers of excessive screen time
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/10/tech-companies-young-dangers-excessive-screen-time

The article talks about how children have become way to addicted to gadgets and smartphones and how it is affecting them severely and has an affect on their well-being. It says they need to protect these children form becoming psychologically damaged before its to late.

• "New technologies, smartphones, tablets and social networking sites have brough great benefits to millions of people, including children"

• Lloyd said the government needed to “empower young people through education in the classroom to understand how usage of social networking sites and screen-based media can influence their wellbeing, for example, by making them feel inadequate next to the online lives presented by peers”.

• The SSC also floated ideas that could help children when using electronic media. These include encouraging them to keep social media diaries to help them “balance” their online and offline lives and for social networking sites to install “virtual” usage meters as default settings for all users who are under 18, so that they are made aware of how long they are spending online.

In my opinion, i think that children should be kept away from all these new gadgets and phones as its destroying them psychically and mentally. When i was younger, i did not have any of this, all i had was toys and dolls for me to play with - i had a childhood. These children don't. They have become too addicted to these gadgets, its come to a point where children cry just to play on their parents phones rather than play with toys.

NDM news: Citizen journalism

Read the article from Media Magazine: The Rise and Rise of UGC (Dec 2009). Use our Media Magazine archive, click on MM30 and go to page 55.
Examples

1. Caught Rodney King, an African-American, after a high speed chase, the officers surrounded him, tasered him and beat him with clubs. The event was filmed by an onlooker from his apartment window. The home-video footage made prime-time news and became an international media sensation, and a focus for complaints about police racism towards African-Americans.
2. Asian Tsunami on December 26th 2004 was another turning point for UGC. Much of the early footage of events was provided from citizen journalists, or ‘accidental journalists,’ providing on-the-spot witness accounts of events as they unfolded. Tourists who would otherwise have been happily filming holiday moments were suddenly recording one of the worst natural disasters in recent times.
3. The London bombings on July 5th 2005, provided another hard-hitting and emotive. An audience used to relatively unmediated reality through the prevalence of reality TV can now see similarly unmediated footage on the news.
4. Video footage that 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho,an undergraduate at Virginia Tech, mailed into NBC News. Between his first attack, when he shot two people, he sent the package from a local post office, before going on to kill a further 30 people. 
5. Mumbai bombings
6. Hudson river plane crash

Theory (audience reception etc.) 

Benefits to institutions 

• Citizen journalism benefits institutions as it makes their company more known; they're gaining more views from the public.
• Also, huge companies such as Google have brought social networking sites such as YouTube to become more known and popular.
• Flickr is now owned by Yahoo, Microsoft invested in Facebook, and News Corporation, is owned by Murdoch, bought MySpace.

Benefits to audience 

• It has benefited audiences dramatically as they are able to see the true original story of what had actually happened, without anything being manipulated by the editors.

Wider issues and debates 

• However, audiences may misinterpret the footage in another way as the quality maybe be poor e.g too shaky and blurry. 
• Also, editors may not use the whole footage, they may cut some things out of it to make it seem less damaging
• Creates moral panics

SHEP

Social

• Creates moral panics
• Causes the public to take action e.g protests by the majority - which could lead to destruction and chaos
• Fear of unemployment by journalists

Historical

• The only way for news to get around was by listening to the radio or by word of mouth as advances technology e.g phones with cameras, were not invented then

Economical

• Moral panics, which turns into chaos, leads to billions of pounds to make everything back to the way it was
• However, as everyone is producing new content, journalist fear of losing their jobs as no one would turn to them, because it is better to look at things in a video rather than reading it

Political

• Causes chaos with politics if riots occur

1) What is meant by the term ‘citizen journalist’?

The term citizen journalism, is where the public record footage themselves and publish it on social networking sites such as YouTube for everyone to watch globally e.g A man recorded police officers strangling his friend to death and posted it online for everyone to see

2) What was one of the first examples of news being generated by ‘ordinary people’?
Rodney King, an African-American, after a high speed chase, the officers surrounded him, tasered him and beat him with clubs. The event was filmed by an onlooker from his apartment window. The home-video footage made prime-time news and became an international media sensation, and a focus for complaints about police racism towards African-Americans.

3) List some of the formats for participation that are now offered by news organisations.

4) What is one of the main differences between professionally shot footage and that taken first-hand (UGC)?
Professional footage is shown after the incident has happened - its not live. However, it may have been edited to make the scenario seem not so damaging. Also footage is clear. Whereas, with first-hand footage, it is shown there and then; at the time the incident had occurred, it shows the audience everything that occurred, although the footage is unclear and blurry.

5) What is a gatekeeper?
Gatekeepers are people who are an attendant employed to control what goes through a gate e.g footage that can be published on YouTube.

6) How has the role of a gatekeeper changed?
The role of the gatekeepers have changed dramatically as they allow sensitive topics/footage to be publish on social networking sites. They are not as harsh as they used to be e.g pornography is accessible for everyone of all ages.

7) What is one of the primary concerns held by journalists over the rise of UGC?
They fear that due to all the content produced by citizens, they will become unemployed as the public are more likely to watch what they have recorded, which is all legit, rather than read something which may have been twisted by journalists - not the full story. 

What impact is new/digital media having on the following:

• News stories - The public are less likely to read these stories as they'd prefer to watch the real thing
• The news agenda - More exciting and interesting stories are shown on new and digital media, which, could lead to a decline in news stories - they would need to produce better stories than others to still exist
• The role of professionals in news - their jobs could go into a decline as the public would watch footage that hasn't been manipulated with than footage that has.

Newspapers - The effect of online technology

1) Do you agree with James Murdoch that the BBC should not be allowed to provide free news online? Why?
In my opinion, i do not agree with Rupert Murdoch's statement. This is due to the fact that information produced in newspapers lays a huge role in generating critical autonomy to the public. I believe that free newspapers is something we are entitled to and should not pay to read them. Also, a small percentage of the population have a low salary - they wont be able to afford this as they spend their money on the necessities, meaning they wont know about what is happening in their city, county and the world.

2) Read this blog on the Times paywall three years on.

3) Was Rupert Murdoch right to put his news content (The Times, The Sun) behind a paywall?
No, i don't think it was right for Rupert Murdoch to put his news content behind a paywall. This is because as information should not be restricted to the public, it should be open.

4) Choose two comments from below the Times paywall article - one that argues in favour of the paywall and one that argues against. Copy a quote from each and explain which YOU agree with and why.

1) 'Maybe a locked-down paywall is the answer after all, to preserve a newspaper as an institution'


I agree with this comment as it will help newspapers institutions to gain money and help them keep their roles of what they are in society currently, however the effect on the audience is more detrimental as they would have to pay to read the newspaper and some may not be able to afford it. It may be considered as unethical. 

2) 'It is so ridiculous if these mainstream newspapers believe that they can force readership of fee-based news. One can the same news for free almost anywhere on the internet'

I do agree with this comment as i believe that the public are most likely to turn to the free articles rather than pay money to read something they can get somewhere else for free. 

5) Read this article from the Media Briefing on the continuing decline of the newspaper industry. 

6) Why do you think the Evening Standard has bucked the trend and increased circulation and profit in the last two years?

This is because, if the newspapers are free the public are more likely to buy it, increasing the institutions reading numbers. 

7) Is there any hope for the newspaper industry or will it eventually die out? Provide a detailed response to this question explaining and justifying your opinion.

In my opinion, i think that it would depend on the content produced. It has to be interesting and significant in order for the public to carry on buying newspapers. However, if the newspapers carry on with the way they are going such as producing unnecessary stories then it may go into a decline, as there may be no need to for it anymore due to new and digital media - readers can read it online for free rather than pay to read it. Also, the digital media, people are allowed to share their own views and values of what their opinions are about the article, whereas this cannot happen with newspapers. Online media is more effective for readers.

2 article summary

#7 Watch out instagram users- the mums, dads and racists are coming 

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/25/instagram-users-minion-memes-baby-photos

The article talks about converting transition of apps from when they start and how they progress given their fast growth rate. However, looking at instagram, it's been  revealed that they have not hit the most users they have ever had, of 400 million active users. This gives an insight of the mass market being targeted and getting involved. Instagram is the place to be able to capture special moments and make people jealous' Therefore, this article covers change that took place on Facebook which is also predicted to eventually have on instagram as the parents kick in as well as the racists. The revolution of social media is also discusses as its stated that overtime the users may become so into it that it simply checking their social pages. 

• Instagram has passed 400 million users
• Snapchat has 100/200 million uses

In my opinion, i do believe that there will be a time where instagram will need to up there game as audiences will want more from them as they may become boring overtime. 

#8 Jon Steinberg  to leave Daily Mail's US digital operation

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/06/jon-steinberg-to-leave-daily-mail-us

Jon Steinberg, 30 years old, is said to leave the Daily Mail's US digital programme at the end of the year for an 'orderly transition' of management responsibilities. He also led on investments in content discovery firm Taboola etc, the media and e-commerce business targeting the craft community and teen magazine Tiger Beat.

• In the last year, the daily mail has struck deals including acquiring cultures news website Elite Daily, for about 50 million dollars

In my opionion,  i think that if Jon wants to leave the Daily Mail's US digital operation then let him be. I do believe that there will be a time where instagram will need to up there game as audiences will want more from them as they may become boring overtime.

Learner response

Feedback: Promising first essay, sophia
www: you've revised some very details well; decent structure.
LR: You need to question the congromeratics and consider how they're promoting dominant ideologies profiting most - consider Paretos law. Write a paragraph on this.
Grade: C- 27/48
LR -
Contromatics are promoting dominant ideologies as for example, these can be things such as apps, news online, music/movies online, games and many more. Due to these audiences have access have a greater variety of views and values. The internet is consulted mainly by the younger generation as they have more access to it via schools and mobile phones. Although, access to it for adults is increasing. For example, 18.3 million households in the UK has access in 2009 compared to 2 million in 2006, however has risen to 33% in 2013. The internet is used for a variety of things, such as looking up information, playing music and many more. Also, Paretos law says that.

2 article summary

#5 Muslim Gang violence

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/sep/20/mail-on-sunday-apologises-for-muslim-gangs-attack-immigration-van-story

This article is about a misunderstood statement against a group of Muslim boys in hoodies, that vandalised an immigration enforcement car. It was said that 'Muslim gang slashes tyres of immigration-raid can before officers were showered with eggs from high rise'. This caused great controversy as the audience believed that the articles was negatively targeting the Muslim community, instead of the individuals. 

• An article on July 26th said a gang of Muslim youths was responsible for damaging Home Office immigration enforcement vehicles in Shadwell, east London, in the week the prime minister appealed Muslims to help combat extremism.
• The mail on Sunday agrees to rewrite the story to remove the references to Muslims
• The coverage of Muslims in mainstream media continues to be very negative and there are too many sensationalist headlines that generalise about Muslims. 

In my opinion, i would argue that this is just practically racism as they have targeted all the Muslims rather than just the individuals who had vandalised the immigration officers car. They emphasising the fact that all Muslims are bad, which makes me so annoyed. 

#6 Virgin media focuses on female role models in TV add campaign
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/02/virgin-media-focuses-on-female-role-models-in-tv-ad-campaign

The article is about virgin media launching a multi-million pound TV campaign featuring female figures icluding famous people to mark the launch of its new ultrafast broadband services. The campaign starts during Englands Rugby world cup match againsts Australia on Saturday, which features a young girl and her mother using Virgin broadband to look at faous women from the past and present. They say 200mb service means customers can download a tow hour HD movie in just over three minutes and a music album in three seconds.

• The campaign unveils the new brand vivid which will be uses to market the companys new 100mb and 200mb ultra fast broadband options

In my opinion, i think that the campaign will be extremely successful to the female population as its promoting both female independence and dominance, which helps virgin themselves as they will be an increase in buyers.