| Theme | Newsbeat | War of the Worlds |
| Ownership | BBC, PSB, Government, BBC board of trustees ?? DG (Lord Reith), BBC multi-media / cross-media, transnational / transglobal, not a monopoly, concentration of ownership (ie 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 / transglobal (??), monopoly (???), it is an example of concentration of ownership ie just a few companies own everything (oligopoly ?? / cartel ??), vertical / horizontal integration ??? |
| Habermas | Transformation of the public sphere – media is constantly changing BBC keeping up. BBC intention enshrined in their ethos to inform, entertain and educate. Not to make money or profit – they put money back into programmes so Quality is important. I think this fits into Habermas notion of transforming the public Therefore the BBC is more paternalistic – what you need not what you want (this is tricky) | Most private business are aimed at making a profit – I think private business don’t care about the public, I think they care about profit. so they are more concerned with entertainment than education. Just for profit is a commercial ethos – not in the spirit of Habermas |
| 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 | some general ideas: 1. concerns about the commercial interest of big companies (prioritising profits over social concerns) 2. concentration of ownership – although not monopolies, the small number of big companies is not good for 3. competition 4. Diverse range of voices (plurality) 5. audience choices |
| 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 products NOT audiences to programmes (ie no adverts on BBC) therefore BBC not chasing big exaggerated stories Newsbeat seeking informed citizens who want knowledge accountability – ie who looks after the BBC and makes sure it does what it is supposed to do: Annan Report 1980 “on balance the chain of accountability is adequate” independence – ie keeping free from state control “without a commitment to public service, broadcasters are increasingly vulnerable to political interference” | Seaton talks about rise and inevitable need for competition with new technologies – which provides choice Provides more entertainment for wider audiences ??? WoW targets mainstream entertainment seeking audiences the allusion of Choice – “Choice, without positive direction is a myth, all too often the market will deliver more -but only more of the same” |
| 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 technologies mean BBC faced with more competition NO advertising! | Federal Communications Commission as regulator for private business ie not necessarily in the public interest |
| Chomsky | ||
| Audience (Lazerfield) | 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) | Orsen Welles unregulated opinion leader. If audience seeking facts / truth about space and war they would seek opinion leaders from govt or science. |
| Audience (Hall) | Preferred reading, young people will favour Newsbeat over alternatives as it is targeted more towards them. | Stuart Hall theorised how audiences decode messages, by accepting, negotiating or rejecting the sent message. This can be seen with ‘War of the Worlds’ as the people that listened to it decoded it and accepted it as being real, then ran outside of their houses in panic. |
| 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 the debate around audience as passive or active (ie Lasswell, linear model of communication like a hypodermic syringe) ie without thinking or reflecting on what we are told |
| New Technology | ||
| Specific Textual Examples | Prince William and Kate presenting a special newsbeat edition on mental health Kanye article | Blurred codes of drama and news. Programme starts with title music, announcer introduction ‘Mercury Theatre Company presents . . . ‘ followed by Orson Welles prologue to War of the Worlds .. . |
