Power and Media Industries

James Curran and Jean Seaton
'Diversity is in the public interest - but modern societies suffer from collective attention deficit disorders. The public have to work harder to be noticed and we need agile but resourceful media to do that' 

Monopoly = the exclusive ownership or control of something.
Rupert Murdoch:

• The Times
• The Sunday Times
• The Sun
• The Sun on Sunday

Trinity Mirror:

• Daily Mirror
• Sunday Mirror
• Sunday People

Scott Trust Limited:

• The Observer 
• The Guardian

Conglomerate: a larger corporation consisting of multiple smaller companies.

Subsidiary: a smaller company owned by a larger corporation.

Curran Seaton on Monopoly:

' it extends their range of business and political connections, increases their corporation's prestige and, through judicious editorial appointments, contributes to the maintenance of public opinion favourable to private enterprise"

'anti-monopoly media regulation is needed not only to maintain fair competition but also to prevent the distortion of democracy.'

Having a monopoly means domination of multiple media industries. If the focus is on creating profit, ...

Alternatives to conglomerate ownership:

'Media policy should seek to create the conditions of greatest possible competition, thus enabling consumers to exercise sovereign control. |This produces media that people want, a wide range of choice, and media independence from government.

Public Service Broadcasting: broadcasting intended for public intended for benefit rather than to serve purely commercial interest.

'British 

The BBC

• Set up in 1922
• Mission statement to 'inform, educate and entertain.'
• government owned payed by taxpayer

Independent Producer: free from outside control. eg. Channel 4

A diverse media landscape: produce content with out the sole intention of profit.varied range of content. Provides niche products that often act as alternative to mainstream. These socially diverse patterns of ownership support a more varied and adventurous media landscape. 

Creating a Newspaper

Big McDiscontinued.

Big Mac burger meal

BREAKING NEWS: The beloved Big Mac hamburger born and 'bread' in the US, has been found to contain some disturbing ingredients. A recent scandal discovered the burger included body parts from a rat, and has resulted in the discontinuing of the menu item. The fast-food restaurant publicised their actions early on Sunday morning after the vermin was discovered in a burger bought in the Central Cambridge branch.

The news has caused rage in the media. We interviewed a couple of individual citizens to report their reactions on the story. We asked the man who found the rodent species in his Big Mac what he thought about the events. He said he felt "disappointed and heartbroken" after McDonalds had "broken the trust" he had in the company. His daily visits to the restaurant will now be postponed until his trust is regained in the company.  

We asked some of the burger lovers what this shocking news meant to them. 2 in 3 of Big Mac fans stated they would still order the meal despite the scandal. This shows the dedication McDonalds fans show toward the brand, and how loyal they are to their favourite junk food.

What does mean for McDonalds? Can they regain the trust for their customers before it spreads worldwide? Or is it too late? We are still looking for more information on the subject so if anyone can come forward to let us know, it would be  a massive help in the investigation.

Independent Newspaper Analysis

DAILY MAIL ONLINE: Georgia middle school music teacher is suspended for assigning sixth-graders homework featuring rapper Kodak Black's explicit lyrics

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4903404/Teacher-suspended-homework-featuring-rap-lyrics.html#ixzz50020vjNZ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

1. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE - 
Focusing on the impacts of a celebrities work, and how it can be seen as 'harming' children. It is entertaining as people interested in the celebrity, or people interested in how music can affect children will be interested in the article. 

2. IDEOLOGICAL REASONS - 
The hypodermic syringe theory can be applied to this article as the ideologies that revolve around Kodak Black's brand and image may be seen as harmful towards innocent children. Swearing; drug and alcohol use; are things mentioned in the rappers lyrics which are widely frowned upon to reveal to young children, as these lyrics may have an influence on the children - especially if influenced by teachers in school.

3. FINANCIAL REASONS - 
The article attracts the artist's wide fanbase which will help to sell the article. Financially, the online site will receive lots of views as people interested in his music, or maybe people who disagree with his music will be attracted to read the article.

4. NARRATIVE - 
The article creates a narrative as Propps character types reveal Kodak as the villain of the story. As his lyrics harm the children(victims) of the class in Georgia, and the mother Crishana Wright is the hero who wants to interfere with this music and change what is happening in her daughter's school. The events result in suspension of the teacher's position showing audiences that actions can result in change, which is the main aim of the article.



'Jesus Christ I’m so emotional': Cardi B is engaged after boyfriend Offset proposes on stage during concert in Philadelphia

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-5026221/Cardi-B-says-yes-Migos-Offset-proposes-stage.html#ixzz500CjoMuM
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

1. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE - 
Weddings and engagements are a huge statement of romance, and are always newsworthy. Especially when talking about celebrities like Offset (from the group Migos) and Cardi B, whose music has been taking off(if you'll pardon the pun) recently.

2. IDEOLOGICAL REASONS - 
Typical genre stereotypes are presented in the article, as the man in the relationship gets down on one knee to propose to the female. However, besides this I feel there is a huge binary opposition presented between how Migos member's image and brand of a 'hard rapper' and his soft side of romance, shown by publicly proposing.

3. FINANCIAL REASONS - 
They have reported the article using lots of imagery and emotive language for fans to recognise the celebrities, and notice how great the news is. An image of the ring, captioned 8ct. (carat) represents and mirrors the kind of lifestyle that the celebrities are living which is obviously interesting to fans, and this specific news is commonly interesting for audiences of Daily Mail (young people).

4. NARRATIVE - 
The article creates a romantic love story of the two celebrities. Emotive yet informal language in the headline, "Jesus Christ I'm so emotional" evokes emotion for audiences, while it also represents the stars as human and normal, from experiencing the same feelings we all do. This way audiences feel closer to their idols and personally connected. 

Analysing reports

THE TIMES:
Headline lexis: Man held after baby dies 'in attack on twins'. Giving the title 'man' , makes the murderer anonymous and mysterious. It also creates enigma and makes audiences want to know who this 'man' is. The verb 'die' sounds cold and intrusive, as it is explaining the murder of a child. Attack on twins gives the story a narrative and sounds like a title to a story. This gives a basic idea on what the advert is based on.
Selection of Images:
The only image used includes a low angle shot of police entering the crime scene.

DAILY MIRROR:
Headline lexis: Man held after toddler dies in hammer attack
Use of 'toddler' makes the victim sound even more vulnerable and innocent, giving the story more tragedy. 'Hammer attack' sounds violent, and the producer has jumped to conclusions on how the murder happened just to make the story more tragic.
Selection of Images: The use of an image where the victim looks upset creates more emotion and sensationalistic characteristics to the news report. An image where the potential murderer looks content makes audiences think that murderers can look like an average person, and you can never know who can capable of doing such a thing.
Layout: This news story is considerably larger in size in comparison to the times report, maybe because the story evokes emotion, tragedy and scandal which is more common of a tabloid newspaper. 

In what ways can media products incorporate viewpoints and ideologies? (Talking only about these articles)
Media language can be used to incorporate viewpoints and ideologies. For example, in the Daily Mirror article, emotive language is used to describe the victim to enhance his vulnerability and innocence. This gives the story more tragedy, and consequently giving a viewpoint in which the children are in danger. This language creates ideologies based around the murderer. "Hammer attack" gives connotations of violence and makes the murderer sound more brutal as the murder weapon is mentioned. 
Barthes codes are also used to create enigma in the headline. The unidentified suspect makes audiences suspicious and want to know more. 

Feminist Theory - Lisbet Van Zoonen

• She believes in the idea that gender is constructed through discourse, and that its meaning varies according to cultural and historical content.
• The idea that the display of women's bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture.
• The idea that in mainstream culture the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body as spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body. 

Sexualisation vs. Objectification:

S - make something (person or object) exhibit sexual aspects. To define something purely by their perceived physical attractiveness.

O - present somebody as something inanimate or unfeeling. To define somebody purely by their use or function.

The article captions that rumours say, Kylie Jenner is pregnant. However, the photo that anchors the caption has no relevance to the subject, and instead objectifies the woman plainly for her physical attractiveness. It sends the message that her potential pregnancy may interfere with her attractive looks, and could ruin the image she has constructed for herself. This can have an impact on society, as following the theory of the hypodermic needle, people may take from this that it is unacceptable to become pregnant and still be beautiful afterwards. 

This article focuses entirely on objectifying women for their bodies. The article has no other purpose than looking at how the celebrity looks, and their physique. This sends the message that having a slim, toned body is attractive for women, and to men.

Introduction to the times and constructing representations

Tabloid vs. Broadsheet differences:

• Broadsheet uses smaller font, to fit more information on the page.
• The broadsheet uses more calming colours, whereas the tabloid uses alarming colours.
• The tabloid uses playful language, whereas the broadsheet uses formal language.
• Broadsheet uses a plainer layout, and the tabloid uses a bold layout.

Polysemy - not everything has a single meaning. In newspapers however producers typically try to avoid polysemic readings. 

Anchoring - the fixing of a particular meaning to a media text, often through the use of captions. The process of forcing an audience in to a particular reading.

Bias - inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair.

Agenda - a list of items to be discussed at a formal meeting. 

The STUDY OF REPRESENTATION looks at:

1. The group, place or issue on which a media text is focusing.

2. The technical devices the media text uses in order to present these groups or issues.

3. The message about the group or issue in the text being created.

4. The impact of this message on the target audience.

Component 1 - Media Products, Industries and Audiences (Newspapers)

Institution - the values and ideology of a media product.
Importance of Institution:
It is a way to differentiate between products, and can give the consumer some idea of 'quality', which may influence a decision.

Example: Long Road Sixth Form (as a media product)
Differentiation - Long Road needs to prove that it is different from other colleges, like Hill's Road.
Competition - Long Road is a business like any other, and it needs to enrol a certain number of student to remain economically viable. The same principal can be applied to any media/ non-media industry.
Identification - I go to Long Road, rather than the building next to the hospital.
Ideology - Long Road has a very clear message and values; 'move on up' from secondary education, studying here will be challenging yet awarding.

Logo Analysis:

• Intricate detail, represents quality clothing.
• Bold yet simple typeface almost shows the brand doesn't need a specific typeface, as the name is so well known.
• Greek imagery used to show how long the brand has been around, giving it an almost ancient characteristic, as if the brand is everlasting.
• The beauty and perfection of the face mirrors the high quality and beauty of their product, a product of high fashion. 
• The way the symbol is constructed creates an emblem-like shield, as if the brand is a constitution of importance, almost royalty.

First Impressions: Daily Mirror

Layout and design - busy and colourful.

Composition - The brand logo takes up a significant amount of the page.

Elements of narrative - 'Strictly's Tameka 'gutted at axe''.

Point of View - Appeals to audiences interested in celebrity lives, reality TV, and scandal.

Copy - Short and punctual yet dramatic language to get across message, using puns to create a playful approach on maybe very serious matters.