THEME | NEWSBEAT | WAR OF THE WORLDS |
Curran | James Curran writes about the ideas that underpin The Liberal Free Press, but much can apply to transformation of Public Sphere (Habermas) which in turn connects to ethos of PSB | James Curran writes about the ideas that underpin The Liberal Free Press, but much can apply to transformation of Public Sphere (Habermas) which in turn connects to ethos of PSB |
OWNERSHIP | BBC, (PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING) GOVERNMENT, BBC BOARD (TRUSTEES) DIRECT GENERAL , FIRST BEING (LORD RITHE),MULTIMEDIA, CROSS MEDIA, TRANSNATIONAL TRANSGLOBAL, NOT A MONOPOLY, THERE IS A CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP SMALL NUMBER OF FANS WHO OWN TV AND RADIO EVEN THOUGH THEIR ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT STATIONS. I THINK THE BBC COMES FROM A LEFT WING LIBERTARIAN IDEOLOGY. | PRIVATE COMPANY, TRANSNATIONAL, IT IS AN EXAMPLE OF CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP E.G. A COUPLE OF COMPANYS THAN OWN A COUPLE OF CARTERS. VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL INTERGRATION |
HABERMAS | TRANFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC SPHERE, MEDIA IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING WITH THE BBC KEEPING UP. BBC INTENTIONS TO ENSHRINED IN THEIR ETHOS TO INFORM, ENTERTAIN AND EDUCATE. DOESN’T MAKE A PROFIT. THEY PUT SOME MONEY BACK INTO THE PROGRAMME AS HABERMAS EXPLAINS THE NOTION OF TRANSFORMING THE PUBLIC. IT IS PATERNALISTIC. | PRIVATE BUSINESS’S ARE AIMED AT MAKING A PROFIT. THEY TEND TO CARE MORE ABOUT PROFIT RATHER THAN THE PUBLIC SO THEY ARE MORE CONCERNED WITH ENTERTAINMENT THAN EDUCATION. COMMERCIAL ETHOS IS NOT IN THE SPIRIT OF HABERMAS. |
CHOMSKY | CHOMSKY TEACHES THE CAPACITY TO LEARN AND USE LANGAUGES AS THEIR ARE STRENGTHS AS HUMANS GROW AND DEVELEOP WHICH LINKS WITH NEWSBEAT AS THEY ARE TRYING TO ENTERTAIN BUT INFORMING THE AUDIENCE FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT. | FOR THE WAR OF THE WORLDS THEY ARE INFORMING THE AUDIENCE TO MUCH WITH KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING RATHER THAN ENTERTAINING THEM. THIS IS BECAUSE DIFFERENT PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT LANGUAGE UPON OTHERS AND FIND IT EASIER TO REACT CALMLY AND DISTUINGISH WHAT IS TRUE OR NOT. THIS IS KNOWN AS UNIVERSAL GRAMMER. |
REGULATION | OFCOM, BBC CHARTER GOVERNED BY PARLIAMENT , LICENSE FEE REGULATES BBC AS WELL. BBC/PSB ETHOS TO ENTERTAIN, TO INFORM AND TO EDUCATE (REITH), NEW TECHNOLOGY MEANS BBC FACES MORE COMPETETION. | FEDREAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION AS REGULATOR FOR PRIAVTE BUSINESS WHICH IS NOT REALLY IN THE PUBLIC INTERESTS. |
AUDIENCE (ACTIVE/PASSIVE) | Lasswell hyperdermic model, how messages are encoded. People getting increasingly passive and lack of reading amounts to newsbeat using specific methods to cater towards a younger audience/lesser intelligence; ie star guests and games- no complicated words Newsbeat encouraging active ‘uses and gratification’ model personal needs escapism, entertainment, self esteem and social needs. information, knowledge about the world, connecting with family, friends and community | Newspaper and Radio in direct competition for the decade, panic is suggested to have been caused by the newspapers rather than the actual radio broadcast showing the passiveness on media consumption ie; 98% were on different station while other 2% knew it wasn’t real- source from RadioLab war of the world broadcast. No accurate answer to weather panic was caused or not- diminishment of habermasses public sphere. The hypodermic needle theory suggests a media text can have a powerful and immediate effect on the passive audience. It would seem “The War of the Worlds” production supports this argument because so many terrified listeners, for example, “rushed out of their houses” to escape the “gas raid”.4 |
AUDIENCE (LAZARSFELD) | 2 step flow / opinion leaders how we gravitate to people who share the same ideas as ourselves. So the BBC is an unbiased, informed opinion leader (ie BBC Charter focus on impartiality, accurate, true) | opiniion leaders- auson wells, brought on the show to compete with the newspapers, but unlike the bbc who used will and kate to share mental heath issues for the good of the people and society, CBS used this strategy to generate income rather than benifit the public but themselves. |
AUDIENCE (GUERBNER) | Gerbners cultivation theory more specifically in the sub section called mean world index describes the more consumption of negative media we consume the more negative we see the world- therefore through cultural setting we can use this as an argument to suggest their was panic as the negative in the world such as war and discrimination could’ve manifested and reinforced their belief of something catastrophic actually occurring during the time. | |
NEW TECHNOLOGY | New technology poses a threat for the bbc as through time and newer technology us as a society is becoming increasingly passive, emergence of short videos have lowered our attention span and therefore the younger emerging audience is too uninterested to listen to a longer news production or story- therefore bbc newsbeat produces cross media available at any time catering towards a younger mind to draw in viewers at any time. | New technology at the tame was the emergence of radio, newspapers and radio were in direct competition for the decade during the gloden age of radio- therefore suggesting as to why newspaper could’ve created panic to almost try and sabotage radio by creating a negative reaction. Radio transformed space as provided news and live audios from all around the world, which also started diminishing habermases public sphere theory as people started writing less and having more trust in a broadcast service- overtrusting for reliability in media products could’ve lead to the increasingly passive audience we have become today, however during the time since it was so new we can associate with Lasswell and Shannon and weaver, how noise and disruption from still a relatively active audience can create a difference encoding from the desired one. |
CROSS MEDIA CONVERGENCE |
Monthly Archives: November 2022
Filters
CSP – WOTW + NEWSBEAT
COMPARISION | WOTW | NEWSBEAT |
OWNERSHIP (INSTITUTIONS) | – CBS (Columbia Broadcasting Service) – Owned by Paramount Global (“multinational mass media conglomerate”) – Funded mostly through advertising time on air – War of the Worlds episode was the 17th in ‘The Mercury Theatre on the Air’ series in 1938. – Key terms: Globalization, conglomerate, multinational, vertical integration, ‘risky business’ | – BBC (British Broadcasting Corperation) -Owned publicly by the general public of the UK – Funded through TV Licenses (paid annually – £159 per year) – Paternalist approach (giving audiences what they should have/ need) – First Director General was Lord Reith (he created original ethos) – “provide impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain“ – Key Terms: Populist VS Paternalist, public service broadcasting, funded publicly |
AUDIENCE (Demographic) | – Listeners of CBS Radio Network. Those in the USA. | – Young people – Listeners of BBC Radio 1, 1 Extra and Asian Network. – Ages 15-29 |
HABERMAS | – Commercial broadcasting goes against Habermas’ ideas. – Commercial broadcasting focuses on profit and entertainment rather than audience. | Transformation of the public sphere. – The BBC values transforming knowledge through entertainment. They provide a paternalistic approach as a way of informing their range of audience on diverse, current and important issues. (quality programming) – Cecil Lewis said that the BBC “opens up new worlds to people”. Discussion VS Directorial – “arena of public debate” |
HESMONDHALGH | – “the creative industries are a risky business” | |
CURRAN – The role of public service broadcasting is to ‘diversify voices’ – Plurality | “profit -driven motives take precedence over creativity in the world of commercial media” – Perhaps CBS used the notion of a “moral panic” across the USA as a marketing approach following the broadcast. Commercial broadcasting (especially CBS lacks a public service remit – it can slightly subvert regulation/ enforcement) – Taking a risk | – Media of the “Victorian era” were “engines for social and political change” (linking to Habermas’ ideas on the transformation of the public sphere) – “peak-time television schedules are dominated by lighter entertainment formats” – The BBC is now being overthrown by the rise of social media/ commercial broadcasting due to profit. |
SEATON | – Power of the media “commercial broadcasting is based on the sale of audiences to advertisers” – CBS were selling ‘War of the Worlds’ to listeners | “the work of broadcasting should be regarded as a public service for a social purpose” – BBC has a remit to inform, entertain and educate (a social purpose). “public service” – Something to serve the public, “social purpose” – Something to help transform our society for the better – Her ideas imply that commercial broadcasting is more of a money making product rather than important to making a change. – “to lead public opinion” “catering for all sections of the community, reaching all parts of the country” – Linking to their Royal Charter: ACCOUNTABILITY |
REGULATION | Federal Communications Commission regulates privately. Not for interest of the public | – The BBC is overseen by the government through the ‘Royal Charter’. This agreement is proposed in parliament and is reviewed annually. First established in 1927, the Charter provides a remit that the BBC must accustom to. – As well as their charter, The BBC is regulated externally by Ofcom. Ofcom closely monitor the BBC through their Broadcasting Code. They provide a yearly report on their findings. – The emergence of new technologies/ generations today means that the BBC is challenged. Perhaps, the BBC is struggling to keep up with the needs of a changing society. |
CHOMSKY – Manufacturing consent. | ||
TEXTUAL EVIDENCE | War of the Worlds: – “We know now that in the early years of the 20th century, this world was being watched closely by intelligences greater than man’s” – “out of character” – “the war of the worlds has no further significance” | – Inclusion of relevant news stories, similar to ones featured on BBC News but delivered in a way that is easy to follow/ is more engaging and interactive. – Stories very much focused on ‘young people’ and how current issues are affect the youth: – ‘Young people face surge in homelessness’ – ‘The young NHS workers who voted yes to striking’ A range of articles focus on celebrities/ pop culture. A way of providing entertainment through a multi-media form that also informs. Debbie Ramsay (Newsbeat editor) said that reporters do not “dumb down” a story. They summarise it without any “airs or graces” |
EVIDENCE (EXTERNAL QUOTES) | “Radio 1 is about giving young people a voice” – |
public service broadcasting
Press
acting- good
storyline- strong, good, surprises, suspense
sound- good
educational, highlights social issues
diversity within the show- representation.
broad/narrow casting
narrowcasting – targets a niche audience
broadcasting- larger target audience.
BBC
1922- radio
director general – lord john wreath
ethos- educate, inform, entertain
BBC charter- set of rules which makes sure the BBC does what its meant to do.
paternalism- giving people what some people think they need
popularise- giving people what they want
BBC- Paternal approach
grace wyndham Goldie- the most significant thing about broadcasting is that it changes time and space. 100 years ago lives in the present.
fear people had- doubting its gonna be important
BBC became social cement. brought people together, British culture centred around the BBC.
Newsbeat & WOTW
THEME | NEWSBEAT | WOTW |
OWNERSHIP | BBC, Public Service Broadcasting, Government, BBC Board of Trustees (??), DG (Lord Reith), Multimedia, transnational, not a monopoly, concentration of ownership | CBS, Private Company, Multimedia conglomerate, transnational(??), monopoly(??), example of concentration of ownership i.e. a few companies own everything – oligopoly / cartel (??), vertical & horizontal integration (??) |
HABERMAS | Transformation of the public sphere, media is constantly changing – BBC is adapting, BBC intention enshrined in their ethos, profit is not a priority – they put money back into programmes so Quality is important. Fits notion of transforming the public. Therefore more paternalistic, give you what you need instead of what you want. | Private business, likely to prioritise making profit. Quality is not as important as long as a profit is made. This profit will not go back into programmes. Does not fit the notion of transforming the public. Less paternalistic, gives you what you want if it makes them money. |
CHOMSKY | Second filter (advertising) The BBC does not run ads in the UK | Second filter (advertising) CBS runs ads which helps them accrue profit |
REGULATION | OFCOM, BBC Charter governed by parliament, license fee regulates BBC, BBC Ethos – educate, inform and entertain (Reith) BBC has a left wing, libertarian ideology (??) | Federal Communications Commission regulates private businesses i.e. not necessarily in public interest |
AUDIENCE (ACTIVE/PASSIVE) | Audiences are more active, they are not just given programmes that they want but are given what they need (Paternalism) | Audiences are more passive, they are only shown the programmes that they want to allow CBS to make a profit. Hypodermic needle suggests that media can have a powerful and immediate effect on passive audiences. WOTW supports this because so many listeners became terrified of an alien invasion. |
AUDIENCE (LAZARSFELD) | Two-step flow, people get their ideologies from opinion leaders. Newsbeat brings opinion leaders onto the show as guests. | |
AUDIENCE (HALL) | ||
NEW TECHNOLOGY | New Technologies mean that the BBC is faced with more competition | |
GERBNER | Cultivation theory suggests that the more people take in media the more susceptible they become to it’s messages. This could explain why some people believed that the broadcast was real. | |
CURRAN | Concerns about the interests of big companies – profit over social concerns | |
SEATON |
compare ‘newsbeat’ and ‘war of the worlds’
Comparative Table
THEME | NEWSBEAT | WAR OF THE WORLDS |
OWNERSHIP | BBC – PSB, government, director general in charge – 1st one – Lord Baron Reath, trans-national, multi-media company, not a monopoly – more of an oligopoly, concentration of ownership. BBC has a slightly left- leaning ideology. | CBS – private company, conglomerate, cross-media conglomerate, trans-national? example of concentration of ownership – just a few companies own everything – oligopoly? cartel? Vertical integration |
HABERMAS | Transformation of the public sphere – BBC intention is to inform, educate, and entertain. BBC is public + non-profit, all money is put back into shows. This supports Habermas’ theory that the BBC is paternalistic, providing what you need rather than what you want. | Commerical profit is a poor ethos – not in the spirit of Habermas’. There is an idea that private organisations do not care about viewers, and instead only care about profit. |
CHOMSKY | Chomsky talks about how adults are more impressionable to believing falsities, whereas young people are more aware of the truth. | Some people can’t distinguish truth from fiction – universal grammar |
REGULATION | Ofcom, BBC charter governed by parliament. New technologies mean BBC is faced with more competition | Federal communications department, not necessarily in the public interest |
AUDIENCE (ACTIVE / PASSIVE) | active (Audience participation – online accessibility) | passive (Audience were passive in the way they received the information) |
AUDIENCE (LAZARSFELD – two-step flow theory) | Getting popular guests on the show who bring in viewers | Orson Welles – opinion leaders |
AUDIENCE (HALL) Stuart Hall – theory of preferred reading. suggested that media texts contain a variety of messages that are encoded (made/inserted) by producers and then decoded (understood) by audiences. | Encoded message – of the broadcast being a joke, was not taken on, and instead, peoplemtook it seriously. | |
NEW TECHNOLOGY | ||
CROSS MEDIA CONVERGENCE | ||
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Comparison between ‘war of the worlds’ and ‘newsbeat’
THEME | NEWSBEAT | WAR OF THE WORLDS |
OWNERSHIP | BBC, (PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING) GOVERNMENT, BBC BOARD (TRUSTEES) DIRECT GENERAL , FIRST BEING (LORD RITHE),MULTIMEDIA, CROSS MEDIA, TRANSNATIONAL TRANSGLOBAL, NOT A MONOPOLY, THERE IS A CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP SMALL NUMBER OF FANS WHO OWN TV AND RADIO EVEN THOUGH THEIR ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT STATIONS. I THINK THE BBC COMES FROM A LEFT WING LIBERTARIAN IDEOLOGY. | PRIVATE COMPANY, TRANSNATIONAL, IT IS AN EXAMPLE OF CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP E.G. A COUPLE OF COMPANYS THAN OWN A COUPLE OF CARTERS. VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL INTERGRATION. |
HABERMAS | TRANFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC SPHERE, MEDIA IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING WITH THE BBC KEEPING UP. BBC INTWENTIONS TO ENSHRINED IN THEIR ETHOS TO INFORM, ENTERTAIN AND EDUCATE. DOESN’T MAKE A PROFIT. THEY PUT SOME MONEY BACK INTO THE PROGRAMME AS HABERMAS EXPLAINS THE NOTION OF TRANSFORMING THE PUBLIC. IT IS PATERNALISTIC. | PRIVATE BUSINESS’S ARE AIMED AT MAKING A PROFIT. THEY TEND TO CARE MORE ABOUT PROFIT RATHER THAN THE PUBLIC SO THEY ARE MORE CONCERNED WITH ENTERTAINMENT THAN EDUCATION. COMMERCIAL ETHOS IS NOT IN THE SPIRIT OF HABERMAS. |
CHOMSKY | CHOMSKY TEACHES THE CAPACITY TO LEARN AND USE LANGAUGES AS THEIR ARE STRENGTHS AS HUMANS GROW AND DEVELEOP WHICH LINKS WITH NEWSBEAT AS THEY ARE TRYING TO ENTERTAIN BUT INFORMING THE AUDIENCE FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT. | FOR THE WAR OF THE WORLDS THEY ARE INFORMING THE AUDIENCE TO MUCH WITH KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING RATHER THAN ENTERTAINING THEM. THIS IS BECAUSE DIFFERENT PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT LANGUAGE UPON OTHERS AND FIND IT EASIER TO REACT CALMLY AND DISTUINGISH WHAT IS TRUE OR NOT. THIS IS KNOWN AS UNIVERSAL GRAMMER. |
REGULATION | OFCOM, BBC CHARTER GOVERNED BY PARLIAMENT , LICENSE FEE REGULATES BBC AS WELL. BBC/PSB ETHOS TO ENTERTAIN, TO INFORM AND TO EDUCATE (REITH), NEW TECHNOLOGY MEANS BBC FACES MORE COMPETETION. | FEDREAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION AS REGULATOR FOR PRIAVTE BUSINESS WHICH IS NOT REALLY IN THE PUBLIC INTERESTS. |
AUDIENCE (ACTIVE/PASSIVE) | NEWSBEAT ENCOURAGING ACTIVE ‘USES AND GRATIFICATION’ MODEL PERSONAL NEEDS ESCAPISM, ENTERTAINMENT, SELF ESTEEM AND SOCIAL NEEDS. INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE WORLD, CONNECTING WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS AND COMMUNITY. | WAR OF THE WORLDS RAISES DEBATE AROUND AUDIENCE AS PASSIVE OR ACTIVE ( E.G. LASSWELL, LINEAR MODEL OF COMMUNICATION LIKE A HYPODERMIC SYRINGE) E.G. WITHOUT THINKING OR REFLECTING ON WHAT WE ARE TOLD. |
AUDIENCE (LAZARSFELD) | THE 2 STEP FLOW / OPINION LEADERS HOW WE GRAVITATE TO PEOPLE WHO SHARE THE SAME IDEAS AS OURSELVES. SO THE BBC IS AN UNBIASED, INFORMED OPINION LEADERR ( E.G. BBC CHARTER FOCUS ON IMPARTIALITY, ACCURATE, TRUE. | ORSEN WELLS UNREGULATED OPINION LEADER. IF AUDIENCE SEEKING FACTS OR TRUTH ABOUT SPACE AND WAR THEY WOULD SEEK OPINION LEADERS FROM GOVERNMENT OR SCIENCE. |
AUDIENCE (HALL) | THE BBES IS ALSO THE WORLD’S LARGEST NATIONAL BROADCASTER WITH A HUGE INFRASTUCTURE, SUCH AS CAMERAS, STUDIO SPACE, LIGHTING RIGS AND PORTABLE PRODUCTION UNITS SITUATED ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IT IS CERTAINLY HAS THE NECESSARY MEANS OF PRODUCTION TO INVESTIGATE THE ISSUES AND DEBATES HITTING THE HEADLINES SO EDITORIAL DECISIONS HAVE TO BE MADE ON WHICH STORIES SHOULD FEATURE IN THE NEWS PROGRAMME. THE RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION REFER TO DIFFERENT CREWS INVOLVED IN THE PROGRAMME. HALL IS DRAWING ATTENTION TO HOW MESSAGES ARE ENCODED BY THE PRODUCER, NEWSCASTER, CONTENT EDITOR, CAMERA OPERATOR AND OTHER TECHNICIANS WHO HELP BROADCAST THE NEWS. ACCORDING TO HALL’S RECEPTION THEORY, THE MESSAGES BEING ENCODED AND THE SIGNS USED TO DELIVER THIS INFORMATION WILL BE INFLUENCED BY THE PRODUCTION PROCESS. | PREFERRED READING: AUDIENCES UNDERSTAND THAT THIS BROADCAST IS CONSTRUCTED AND IS AN ADAPTATION FROM THE BOOK. OPPOSITIONAL READING: AUDIENCES BELIEVED THE PODCAST WAS REAL AND THEREFORE REACTED NEGATIVELY. |
SEATON | SEATON MAKES US AWARE OF THE POWER OF THE MEDIA IN TERMS OF BIG COMPANIES WHO OWN TOO MUCH. COMMERCIAL SEATON ALSO MAKES CLEAR THAT BROADCASTERS SELLING AUDIENCES TO PRODCUTS NOT AUDIENCES TO PROGRAMMES ( E.G. NO ADVERTS ON BBC) THEREFORE BBC NOT CHASING BIG EXAGGERATED STORIES. NEWSBEATS SEEKING INFORMED CITIZENS WHO WANT KNOWLEDGE. | SEATON TALKS ABOUT RISE AND INEVITABLE NEED FOR COMPETETION WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES WHICH PROVIDES MORE ENTERTAINMENT FOR WIDER AUDIENCES. TARGETS MAINSTREAM SEEKING AUDIENCES. THE ALLUSION OF CHOICE – “CHOICE, WITHOUT POSITIVE DIRECTION IS MYTH, ALL TOO OFTEN THE MARKET WILL DELIVER MORE – BUT ONLY MORE OF THE SAME. “ |
CURRAN | JAMES CURRAN WRITES ABOUT THE IDEAS THAT UNDERPIN THE LIBERAL FREE PRESS, BUT MUCH CAN APPLY TO TRANSFORMATION OF PUBLIC SPHERE (HABERMAN) WHICH IN TURN CONNECTS TO ETHOS TO PSB. | CONECERNS ABOUT COMMERCIAL INTEREST OF BIG COMPANIES (PRIORITISING PROFITS OVER SOCIAL CONERNS), CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP ALTHOUGH NOT MONOPOLIES, THE SMALL NUMBER OF BIG COMPANIES IS NOT GOOD FOR COMPETITION, DIVERSE RANGE OF VOICES (PLURALITY) AND AUDIENCE CHOICES. |
GERBNER | CULTIVATION THEOYR SUGGESTS TELEVISION INFLUENCES ITS AUDIENCE TO THE EXTENT THAT THEIR WORLD VIEW AND PERCEPTIONS START REFLECTING WHAT THEY REPEATEDLY SEE MEANING TV IS CONSIDERED INDEPEDENTLY TO THE WAY PEOPLE PERCEIVE SOCIAL REALITY AND WILL HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE AUDIENCES ATTITUDES AND VALUES. | GERBNER WOULD STATE THAT THE AUD8ENCES THAT BELIEVED THE BROADCAST ARE LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN FREQUENT LISTENERS OF THE RADIO. THIS IS BECAUSE HIGH – FREQUENCY VIEWERS OF TELEVISION ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO MEDIA MESSAGEES AND THE BELIEF THAT THEY ARE REAL AND VALID. |
compare
THEME | NEWSBEAT | WAR OF THE WORLDS |
OWNERSHIP | BBC which is a public service broadcast owned by government and BBC board of trust feeds, DG (lord Reith) Transnational Not a monopoly Concentration of ownership ie small number of firms to own tv and radio Seems as if it is under a left wing authoritarian viewpoint | CBS which is private company conglomerate, multi or cross media conglomerate. Transnational/ Transglobal ?? It is an example of concentration of ownership, ie: just a few companies own everything Integration horizontal or vertical?? |
HABERMAS | Transformation of the public sphere- media is constantly changing, In bbc to fulfil its ethos. | The new technology of radio was in direct competition to newspapers and as radio discovered how influence its broadcasts can be over an audience- radio became more exciting and used and signifying the public sphere ending. |
CHOMSKY | Jean seaton explains how through time public service broadcasts have learnt to hate the government for regulating their freedom of media production however must rely on them for legitimacy and to stay running; Chomsky’s 5 filters of mass media can explains the flack- therefore fear of the government flacking and labelling sources as unreliable if they don’t stick to the regulators political compass, | |
REGULATION | Ofcom, BBC charter governed by Parliament. License fee regulates BBC ethos- educate, entertain and inform (made by Reith) New technology faces complications as bbc faces higher amount of compition | Federal communication commissions FCC, regulates for private business ie not in the public interest |
AUDIENCE (ACTIVE / PASSIVE) | Lasswell hyperdermic model, how messages are encoded. People getting increasingly passive and lack of reading amounts to newsbeat using specific methods to cater towards a younger audience/lesser intelligence; ie star guests and games- no complicated words | Newspaper and Radio in direct competition for the decade, panic is suggested to have been caused by the newspapers rather than the actual radio broadcast showing the passiveness on media consumption ie; 98% were on different station while other 2% knew it wasn’t real- source from RadioLab war of the world broadcast. No accurate answer to weather panic was caused or not- diminishment of habermasses public sphere. |
AUDIENCE (LAZARSFELD) | Lazarsfeld two-step flow analysis builds on Lasswell passive consumption idea, he explains that through sending the message that is wanted to be encoded through an opinion leader like a celeb, the passive audience are more likely to agree to it. In terms of the Newsbeat, they want to show support when dealing with obstacles and mental health, and therefore had prince William and Kate send the message to the audience instead, as they’re influential and very well known. | When this theory comes to War of the World, Lazarsfeld and Cantril researches the PRP (Princeton radio research project) which explains how radio affects social opinions and how changes in content, patterns of reception will alter as well. This research links the reception of war of the worlds reaction presented by it and how propaganda and politics on radio can also be presented in an affective way via radio. Research such as “4 out of 30 listeners only understood the story line, the others thought maybe rabid animal attacks” and that panic was through different codes such as the abrupt start of the program interrupting a dance break and naming government officials. |
Audience theory (hall) | Dominant reading negotiated reading Opposition reading | |
AUDIENCE (Gerbner) | Gerbners cultivation theory more specifically in the sub section called mean world index describes the more consumption of negative media we consume the more negative we see the world- therefore through cultural setting we can use this as an argument to suggest their was panic as the negative in the world such as war and discrimination could’ve manifested and reinforced their belief of something catastrophic actually occurring during the time. | |
NEW TECHNOLOGY | New technology poses a threat for the bbc as through time and newer technology us as a society is becoming increasingly passive, emergence of short videos have lowered our attention span and therefore the younger emerging audience is too uninterested to listen to a longer news production or story- therefore bbc newsbeat produces cross media available at any time catering towards a younger mind to draw in viewers at any time. | New technology at the tame was the emergence of radio, newspapers and radio were in direct competition for the decade during the gloden age of radio- therefore suggesting as to why newspaper could’ve created panic to almost try and sabotage radio by creating a negative reaction. Radio transformed space as provided news and live audios from all around the world, which also started diminishing habermases public sphere theory as people started writing less and having more trust in a broadcast service- overtrusting for reliability in media products could’ve lead to the increasingly passive audience we have become today, however during the time since it was so new we can associate with Lasswell and Shannon and weaver, how noise and disruption from still a relatively active audience can create a difference encoding from the desired one. |
CROSS MEDIA CONVERGENCE | Multi-media/cross-media platform | During the time it was only available on a private radio and therefore was not able to hear for everyone |
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Comparative Table
THEME | NEWSBEAT | WAR OF THE WORLDS |
OWNERSHIP | BBC, PSB, Government, BBC board of trustees, DG (Lord Reith) BBC/PSB ethos- to inform educate and entertain, BBC multimedia / Cross media, transnational / trans global, not a monopoly, concentration of media (ie small, even though there are many channels its all by the BBC overall) I think the BBC is left wing libertarian ideology. | CBS, private limited company, Mutli or cross media conglomerate, transnationtal?? trans global?? monopoly?? it is an example of concentration of ownership ie just a few companies own everything oligopoly / cartel. vertical / horizontal integration? I thank that war of the worlds is right wing due to not caring about audience but money. |
HABERMAS | Transformation of the public sphere, media is constantly changing the BBC need to keep up, intention to inform educate and entertain their viewers, BBC is a non profitable company. Put money back into programs so quality is important, Habermas notion of transforming the public. Therefore the BBC are more paternalistic what you need not what you want. | Most private businesses are aimed at making a profit. private businesses don’t care about their viewers they care about money therefore they’ll prioritize money over entertaining their audience, just for profit is a commercial ethos not in the understanding of Habermas. |
CHOMSKY | ||
REGULATION | Ofcom, BBC charter, governed by parliament. License free regulates BBC as well. BBC/PSB ethos to inform entertain and educate (Reith) New technologies suggest that the BBC has more competition. | Federal communication commission as regulator for private business i.e. not necessarily in the publics interest. |
AUDIENCE (ACTIVE / PASSIVE) | Passive audience As the audience listen to Newsbeat and accept what is going on the audience is suggested to be passive. An audience that is exposed to media/marketing material but doesn’t actively engage with the content or messaging. Therefore the audience is suggested to be passive as they don’t have much engagement within the broadcasts. | Active audience The audience for War of the worlds took the broadcast in a different way than intended suggesting them to be active. As they actively thought for themselves and what they were going to-do about the situation For example people committed suicide and threatened to shoot Orson Wells. when an audience is engaging, interpreting, and responding to media messages and are able to question the message. |
AUDIENCE (LAZARSFELD) | two step media theory. The flow of communication comes from a news presenter to the audience in regards to News beat. | two step media theory the flow of communication came from Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre Company to a wild scale audience who consumed the idea that aliens had invaded earth. As it came from a well known and respected radio broadcaster (CBS) in 1938 it was more believable. |
AUDIENCE (HALL) | encoding/decoding Encoding information about what’s going on across the world in a short amount of time to keep the attention of the audience who also decode the information. | encoding/decoding encoded the idea of an alien invasion which the audience decoded to be true. Dominant ideology of Martians coming to attack earth. |
NEW TECHNOLOGY | In regards to listening to broadcasts, you can listen on catch-up by logging in the BBC can collect that data of who’s listening when and what to then produce more shows similar as they can gather an understanding of what their audience like. Radio is more competitive now so broadcasters want to play the newest well known songs for their audience to listen to which is also used to entice more listeners. | Radio was fairly new in 1938, More than 40% of American households now had a radio so there were more listeners especially when War of the Worlds was broadcasted that’s why is is suggested to have caused mass panic. |
CROSS MEDIA CONVERGENCE | Many different platforms for example, Tik tok, Twitter, YouTube, Live radio, Catch up and Facebook etc therefore reaching a wider audience and gaining more of a media presence within the digital world. | The novel of war of the worlds was broadcasted across the radio there is a physical book of it and also a online book available to be listened to of the actual broadcast of war of the worlds in 1938. |
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Comparative Table
THEME | NEWSBEAT | WAR OF THE WORLDS |
OWNERSHIP | BBC [British Broadcasting Company] public service broadcast, government, BBC board of trustees, first Director-General (DG) – Lord Reith, BBC multi-media/cross-media, transnational/transglobal, not a monopoly, concentration of ownership i.e. small number of firms who own TV and radio even though there are lots of different stations, left-wing libertarian ideology | CBS [Columbia Broadcasting System] private company, cross-media conglomerate, an example of concentration of ownership i.e. just a few companies own everything – oligopoly/cartel |
HABERMAS | Transformation of the Public Sphere media is constantly changing, BBC keeping up, intention enshrined in their ethos – “to inform, educate, and entertain“, not to make money or profit – they put money back into programmes so quality is important, this fits into Habermas’ notion of transforming the public, the BBC is more paternalistic – what you need not what you want | most private businesses are aimed at making money – caring more about the profit than the public, populistic – more concerned with entertainment than education, commercial ethos – not in the ethos of Habermas |
CHOMSKY | entertaining | some people can’t distinguish truth from fiction – universal grammar |
CURRAN | ||
SEATON | ||
REGULATION | Ofcom [Office of Communications] BBC Charter governed by Parliament, license fee regulates BBC as well, BBC ethos – “to inform, educate, and entertain“, new technologies mean BBC faced with more competition | FCC [Federal Communications Commission] regulator for private business i.e. not necessarily in the public interest |
AUDIENCE | Active audience participation, online accessibility | Passive The hypodermic needle theory suggests a media text can have a powerful and immediate effect on the passive audience. It would seem The War of the Worlds production supports this argument because so many terrified listeners, for example, “rushed out of their houses” to escape the “gas raid” |
AUDIENCE (LAZARSFELD) | Two-Step Flow of Mass Communication | |
AUDIENCE (HALL) | Theory of Preferred Reading | |
NEW TECHNOLOGY | Newsbeat is on social media, internet radio and apps. | |
CROSS MEDIA CONVERGENCE | ||
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Newsbeat and War of the worlds
THEME | NEWSBEAT | WAR OF THE WORLDS |
OWNERSHIP | BBC, PSB, Government, BBC board of trustees ?? DG (Lord Reith), BBC multi-media / cross media, transnational / trans global, not a monopoly, concentration of ownership i.e. small number of firms who own tv and radio even though there are lots of different stations. I think the BBC has a left wing libertarian ideology ?? | CBS, Private company, multi or cross media conglomerate, transnational / trans global ??, it is an example of the concentration of ownership i.e. just a few companies own everything (oligopoly / cartel?) vertical / horizontal integration ?? |
HABERMAS | Transformation of the public sphere – media is constantly changing with the BBC keeping up. BBC intention to enshrined in their ethos to inform, entertain and educate. Not to make a profit or money. They put money back into programs(quality is important). This fits into Habermas notion of transforming the public. Therefore the BBC is more paternalistic – what you need not what you want. | Most private business are aimed at making a profit. They care about profit so they are more concerned with entertainment than education. Commercial ethos not in the spirit of Habermas. |
CHOMSKY | 1 of the five filters is advertising, they don’t include any advertisements within the BBC. | They only show the programs people want to see in order to make money and profit. They most likely include advertisements with the radio broadcast as well. |
REGULATION | Ofcom, BBC charter governed by parliament, license fee regulates BBC as well. BBC / PSB ethos ‘to entertain, inform and educate'(Reith) | Federal Communications Commission as regulator for private business i.e. not necessarily in the public interest. |
AUDIENCE (ACTIVE / PASSIVE) | active, The audience look for the newsbeat broadcast that last 15 mins. However the bulletins throughout the radio broadcast would be passive as your listening to radio music, when bulletins pop up hourly or so. | passive, your not actively looking for media or information, as people turn this radio on to hear anything, and nothing specific like newsbeat. |
AUDIENCE (LAZARSFELD) | Audiences opinions can be based on opinion leaders or famous people that are brought onto the show for a interview etc. The BBC is unbiased informed opinion leader . | |
AUDIENCE (HALL) | ||
NEW TECHNOLOGY | New technology could give more competition to the BBC in terms of equipment. | |
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