Baudrillard’s theory – Baudrillard believed that society had become so saturated with these simulacra and our lives so saturated with the constructs of society that all meaning was becoming meaningless by being infinitely mutable; he called this phenomenon the “precession of simulacra”.
Simulation: “the action or practice of simulating, with an intent to deceive,” then as “a false assumption or display, a surface resemblance or imitation, of something,” and finally as “the technique of imitating the behavior of some situation or process
Hyper reality: Hyperreality is the inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced societies.
pastiche: is a work of art, drama, literature, music, or architecture that imitates the work of a previous artist
parody: is a work or performance that imitates another work or performance with ridicule or irony
INTERTEXTUALITY meaning in reference to other signs and that meaning is therefore a complex process of decoding/encoding with individuals both taking and creating meaning in the process of reading texts.
War of the Worlds, a science-fiction novel by author HG Wells, was first published in 1898. It is a story of alien invasion and war between mankind and an extra-terrestrial race from Mars.
In terms of historical context, War of the Worlds was broadcasted a year before the beginning of World War 2, In the same year, Nazi Germany invaded both Austria and Czechoslovakia sparking fear of Invasion and war. The majority of the public recieved information on current affairs through radio. At
At the time War of the Worlds was broadcasted, the public didn’t know much about the idea of hybrid genres and was unfamiliar with it especially with radio.
Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBC) , An American broadcasting television and radio company, still around in the present day.
Shirky, The public audience is changing over time, passive to act on areas as technology changes more people can participate.
Hesmondhalgh, the idea of a risky business within media, “the cultural industries constitute a particularly risky business“
LIFE HACKS
Audiences: Life hacksradio 1 product has a public service status as part of BBC
Industries: Life Hacks shows how industry targets niche audiences
Life Hacks reflects acceptance of diversity and degree of openness in contemporary culture around personal, social and identity issues
Identification of funding for Radio 1 through license fee, concept of hypothecated tax
How are the programmes constructed to appeal to a youth audience?
The content that is presented within the show is mainly focused on topics that are conflicted within a younger generation- such as: depression, anxiety, stress with exams as well as university and student life. Also, the presenters would allow the audience to gain a personal relationship with them due to the fact that the audience has an insight on their personal life which would allow them to respond in a positive and relatable way.
AUDIENCE:
1) What is the target audience for BBC Radio 1?The target audience is 15-29 year olds.
2) Who is the actual audience for BBC Radio 1?
Only 41% are in the target audience age range
their median age is 32.90% are white.
58% ABC1
Population average 55%
3) What audience pleasures are offered by Life Hacks? Apply Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory
Diversion: listening to different podcasts( reflecting what you are going through)- able to escape from what you are going through by seeking help and allowing yourself to listen to other people’s stories etc.
Personal identity: Being able to relate to stories being told and seeing your character reflected in the different topics mentioned.
Personal relationships: the feeling of support that is experienced as a result of knowing that there is an area/space for advice and help- knowing that people are going through the same thing as you.
Chicken is an example of a micro budget film making and raising issues around the role and future of national cinema as well as the viability of media products produced outside of the mainstream for niche audiences.
(Funding) Key Notes:
In order to fund the movie Stephenson raised $100,000 approx.
+ Raised investment by individuals (e.g. rich friends/contacts)
+ No funding body who was willing to fund chicken
+ Raises questions about whether film industry is accessible to lower-income film makers
(Production) Key Notes:
Key Points for making chicken
+ Filmed in 19 days, almost all external locations so victim to rain, issues with lighting etc.
+ Film produced and distributed by a new company set up by director Stephenson: B Good Picture Company.
Says What: The labour leader Corbyn Crony who thinks it’s a good idea to remove UK Road Signs
Channel: Daily Mail
Shannon and Weaver in 1949, what they did was develop and criticise the Lasswell’s Model. The model that is presented isn’t necessarily accurate.
Two Step Flow of Communication (active consumption)
At the same time Paul Lazarfeld recognised that a simple, linear model may not be sufficiently complex to understanding the relationship between message sent > message received. As such, in 1948 he developed the Two Step Flow model of communication, which took account of the way in which mediated messages are not directly injected into the audience, but while also subject to noise, error, feedback etc, they are also filtered through opinion leaders, those who interpret media messages first and then relay them back to a bigger audience.
Audience are ACTIVE NOT PASSIVE
Uses and Gratifications (active selection)
The distinction is this approach is rather than categorising the audience as passive consumers of messages, either directly from source, or from opinion leaders, this theory recognises the decision making process of the audience themselves.
n essence, they put forward research to show that individual audience members are more active than had previously been thought and were actually key to the processes of selection, interpretation and feedback. In essence, individuals sought particular pleasures, uses and gratifications from individual media texts, which can be categorised as:
information / education
empathy and identity
social interaction
entertainment
escapism
My newspaper story is about getting rid of UK road signs fits into the social needs section because this is able to give you a better understanding of what is happening in the world and around you.
Cultivation Theory – effects over time . . .
George Gerbner, Larry Gross and others worked on a large-scale, positivist, in-depth, longitudinal study into the effects of television, which started in 1975. Looking primarily at the relationship between violence on television and violence in society. They developed what is known as CULTIVATION THEORY, noting the distinct characteristics of television in relation to other media forms, they suggest that ‘television cultivates from infancy the very predispositions and preferences that used to be acquired from other primary sources‘ (Gerbner et al 1986). In other words, television shapes the way individuals within society think and relate to each other.
The Theory of Preferred Reading
At around the same time Stuart Hall, working at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS), at the University of Birmingham, was also developing a critical theory that looked to analyse mass media communication and popular culture as a way of both uncovering the invidious work of the State and Big Business, as well as looking for ways of subverting that process.
A dominant position accepts the dominant message
A negotiated position both accepts and rejects the dominant reading
An oppositional position rejects the dominant reading
Clay Shirky: The End of Audience
To bring this summary of different audience approaches towards a conclusion, would be to look at Clay Shirky‘s notion of the end of audience. Because what could happen if, instead of the choice of three subject positions as offered by the theory of preferred reading, there were limitless, individual subject positions available to all of us, at any time
“The more ideas there are in circulation, the more ideas there are to disagree with”
Are they part of a bigger organisational structure?
Daily Mail and the I are owned by DMG Media
Daily Mail and the I are owned by DMG Media
Are they known for a particular political perspective?
The Daily Mail is known to be a right winged newspaper
The I is known for being a liberalist and centralist newspaper
What kind of journalism do they produced?
The Daily Mail seem to focus on politics and sports
The I seems to focus more on celebrities, business, news and sport
What kind of people run the paper? Produce the stories?
Do they have a similar readership reach?
The Daily Mail is aimed at an older audience in society as they are normally the people most interested in politics. But also aimed at adults who are interested in sports.
The I is aimed at readers of all ages, this is because there are many sections that people in their late teens and late 30’s would be interested in.
Do they have a similar readership profile / target audience?
The daily mail have more of a political audience who want to listen to what is going on around the world and in their country.
The I’s audience are more concentrated on global news such as (Corona etc) and can also focus partially focus on sports and other subjects.
How are they currently doing? Increasing or decreasing sales and revenue?
It had a daily average circulation of 1,134,184 copies in February 2020
The I newspapers had a daily circulation of 302,757 in March 2013
How are they looking to embrace new media technologies?
“The advent of the internet has enhanced the freedom to publish by lowering entry costs”
“High entry costs were found to curtail the freedom to publish in other sectors of the press”
“It also noted that the national press was overwhelmingly right wing and manifestly unrepresentative”
“The first commission attached great importance to the role of competition in making the press responsive to the public”
(Broadcasting and The Theory Of Public Service) Seaton Quotes:
“The work of broadcasting should be regarded as a public service for a social purpose”
“We have no reason to suppose that, in practice, divergent views of public interest have been held by the Corporation and government departments”
“He suggests that the current interpretation of broadcasting independence has seriously damaged the political system”
“Thus, without a commitment of public service, broadcasters are increasingly vulnerable to detailed political interference in the content of programmes”
“Broadcasting needs to find a new relationship to the state – and a new form of commitment to public service, and indeed a new definition of public service that will work in the conditions of increased competition”
Capitalist Media – Bigger Corporation, bigger businesses trying to make a capital
Public Service Media – BBC, is in the public interest and don’t make money
Civil Society Media – Independent stations i.e (hospital radios, school or university radio)
Jurgen Habermas – defines the ‘public sphere’ as a realm of our social life in which something approaching the public opinion opinion can be formed.
James Curran & Jean Seaton – A political economy approach to media, arguing that patterns of ownership and control are the most significant factors is how the media operates.
Noam Chomsky – Chomsky based his theory on the idea that all languages contain similar structures and rules, so virtually what he means is a universal grammar, and the fact that children everywhere acquire language the same way and without much effort. He talks about manufacturing consent which is a way of them convincing us that the dominant ideology is the way we should go and that we should all agree with it, this is a way that more powerful leaders use in politics.
Louis Althusser – This is when the state uses sources such as the media, religion and school to convey and control the people in to believing what they want. Interpellation is the process of getting a population to believe that message and a formation of that belief.
Antonio Gramsci – Antonio Gramsci who developed the theory of hegemony, in which he states that highly political figures and people with vast amount of control over media are able to dictate and set values and morals within society. A cultural example of hegemony can be the United States of America, in which a group of ruling class people have authority and great influence over all of its citizens.
