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NEA, Regulation, Theory

Regulation NEA

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Abortion.

My campaign poster is going to be on the regulation of pro-life supporters using the media to shame those who are pro-choice. Shaming is a negative side to the internet and it is not fair that women who want to have a choice over their body are constantly being shamed.

I am going to use photoshop to create my campaign posters. My first poster will be more plain with colours and text but not too much. It will be going against people shaming those who choose to go through with abortions, on the internet. My second poster will also be plain, this is because if the poster is too busy it is likely it would not be seen. Campaign posters are made to grab the audiences attention. The poster will be

Notes, Regulation, Theory

REGULATION

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Key QuestionFocusSpecifics
Why Regulate?– Truth
– Child protection
– Political bias
– To abide by law
– Criminal activity
– Health and safety
– Ownership
– Privacy
– Slander
– Reputation
– Morals/Ethics		– War in Ukraine
– COVID
– Johnny Depp VS Amber Heard Court trial
– Elon Musk buying out twitter – Power of status

Who regulates what?– Government
– Individuals
– Specialist bodies (eg. Ofcom)
– Internal regulation within companies (Code of Conduct, HR)
– Self regulation
– Key individuals (eg. celebrities, influencers, opinion leaders)		– IPSO (Newspaper and Magazine )
– ITU (Radio)
– Ofcom (Complaints for broadcasting)
– BBDC (Cinema)
– PEGI (Video games/ Games in general)
– PRS (Music)





How will regulation be put in place?– Privacy
– Data protection
– Copyright
What gets regulated?– Radio
– Newspaper
– TV/Film
– Games
– Magazine
– Social Media
– The News
– The internet
– Books

Libertarianism = The idea of being free from control and regulation. The freedom of expression without being told what to do by authority.

Authoritarianism = Society in which people are oppressed by the state and are told what to do/ regulated.

Epicurus

  • 3 ways of finding happiness: Friends, Family and an analysed life.
  • He studied happiness and revealed that money isn’t a way to finding happiness
  • Hedonism =  The word is derived from the Greek ‘hedone’ (“pleasure”). The idea that human behaviour seeks increase of pleasure and a decrease of pain, pleasure should be the ultimate goal.

The Frankfurt School

The Frankfurt School was a school of social theory and critical philosophy associated with the Institute for Social Research, at Goethe University Frankfurt in 1929.

Key Ideas, they theorized that …

  • Pleasure was commodified in the media and in popular culture. The idea that the media sells a perfect idea that money can buy happiness.

Mary Whitehouse and Media Watch UK

  • Mary Whitehouse (1910-2001) was a British school teacher who left her job to become a conservative activist
  • She campaigned for less social liberalism and against the British media which she thought promoted a ‘permissive society’ in the 1960’s. She was against the society of the time which saw the rise in the civil rights and gay rights movements, 2nd wave feminism and the right to contraception and abortion.
  • She based her ideas of off traditional Christian teachings
  • Founded the ‘National Viewer’s And Listener’s Association’ (now known as Media Watch UK).
  • As the president of the group, she used the organization as a way to criticize the BBC for their portrayals of sex, violence and use of bad language.

Political Compass

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Regulation, Theory

media regulation

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The Aim of this post is to provide an introduction to the topic of REGULATION 🤗

STARTER

Republicans predict Elon Musk will unleash ‘free speech’ on Twitter while Democrats panic over misinformation

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter-purchase-political-reaction-2022-4

ACTIVITY 1

Get students to express their own ideas in relation to Musk’s take-over bid for Twitter. Ask students to simply state their own case for regulation, censorship and control – or lack of it. Get students to sit in a horseshoe that indicates: FOR v AGAINST CENSORHSIP, REGULATION AND CONTROL. This will indicate either a LIBERTARIAN or AUTHORITARIAN PERSPECTIVE. This is a key conceptual approach that can be revisited by completing the Political Bias activity on the next page.

Hopefully the discussion will focus on the need to speak-up. Make a clear link between the benefits and drawbacks of saying what you think. Underline the role of the (mass) media in SELECTING, GATE-KEEPING & AMPLIFYING particular conversations and ideas.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5
Exam Prep, Notes, Theory

media theorists

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Barthes

Signifiers and signified. Denotation and connotations. Barthes five code symphony: hermeneutic code (enigmas)- construct moments of mystery, proairetic code (actions)- meaning is conveyed through action which provides explanation or excitement, semantic code (connotative elements) any element that produces a single connotative effect eg. lighting/ mise-en-scene. Media as a myth, naturalizes events.

Strauss

Binary oppositions of polarised themes eg. character, narrative, stylistic and genre-driven oppositions. Function of oppositions eg. create identifiable character types or clearly explain ideas.

Propp

8 stock characters; hero, villain, princess, donor, helper, dispatcher, false hero.

Todorov

Media narratives are created using moments of action (propositions). 3 act narrative of equilibrium, disruption and new equilibrium.

Neale

Genre repetition and difference. Sub-genres and hybrid genres. Levels of verisimilitude (extent product references to the real world,narrative similarities, character-driven motifs and audience targeting are important to repetition. Repertoire of elements and predictable expectations.

Hall

There isn’t a true representation of people or events in a text, but there are lots of ways these can be represented. Culture is defined as a space of interpretative struggle

Curran and Seaton

most films are made by conglomerates and that they care mostly about profit and power. This can be done through things such as vertical and horizontal integration, this can result in a lack of diversity and innovation. If we had more of a variety of media companies, we’d have more of a variety of better quality media texts.

Butler

Gender as performative it is created through a series of actions. Gender is not an attribution of male or female.

Katz & Gurevitch & Hass

Uses and gratifications- surveillance, identity, personal relationships and diversion

Livingstone and lunt

Regulation of films- the principle function of the independent bodies that regulate the UK’s media is to protect children and other vulnerable groups from the harmful affects of media content.

Chatman

Use of satellites to develop character, emotion, location, time

Lazarfeld

Two step flow of communication, active consumers, receive information from opinion leaders

Lasswell

Hypodermic needle theory- media propaganda performs three social functions: surveillance, correlation, transmission. Lasswell believed the media could impact what viewers believed about the information presented. Audience are passive consumers.

Audience, Notes, Theory

Audience Notes

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Hypodermic model (passive consumption)

Harold Lasswell was the person behind the hypodermic needle theory, which was a model that breaks down the line of communication from point A to point B, in which the SENDER is transferring a MESSAGE, through a MEDIUM (eg Print, radio, TV, etc) that has a direct effect on the RECEIVER. 

 Two Step Flow of Communication (active consumption)

Paul Lazarfelt developed the Two Step Flow model of communication in 1948, 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. What is significant here is that this theory suggests that the audience are ACTIVE NOT PASSIVE, in that audience consumption is based on consideration of what others think not a PASSIVE process of unthinking.

Uses and Gratifications (active selection)

Exam Prep, Notes, Television, Theory

television exam prep

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KEY THEORISTS

  • Hesmondhalgh (The Creative Industries)
  • Curran and Seaton (Ownership)
  • Livingstone and Lunt (Regulation)

The Culture Industries: similarities and differences to other industries

  • Cultural industries are for entertainment more than they are functional. They are not a necessity to someone’s everyday life.
  • Just like any other industry, cultural industries have a main focus or earning money.
  • Cultural industries have the power to inform and provoke/influence beliefs/opinions which also helps to provoke popular culture – popular doesn’t always mean good.
  • There is more freedom involved within media – versatile and unpredictable
  • golding and murdoch- ” (media) plays a pivotal role in organizing the images and discourse through which people make sense of the world.”

Capitalist media – corporations content that address humans in various social roles and results in meaning-making.

  • Funded through advertisements.
  • No state obligations, private
  • Audiences don’t have to pay

Public Service media – state-related institutions content that addresses humans in various social roles and results in meaning-making. (e.g BBC)

  • Government is at an ‘arms length’ from the media, they don’t control it but advise and ‘look after’ the content, public.
  • Funded by the public/ tax payer. Through TV License for BBC in the UK.
  • No advertisements shown.
  • Examples = BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation – Regional), Channel 4

Civil society media – citizen-control content that addresses humans in various social role and results in meaning-making.

  • Has aspects of the company worldwide
  • Examples = Netflix, Sony, Apple, Disney

Public service Broadcasting:

Q1) what is it?

– Broadcasting on electronic media outlets (radio, television) with the aim of serving the public.

– Funding usually comes from the government through tax payed by the receivers.

Q2) what’s good about it?

– No ads

– The bedrock is inform, educate and entertain.

– Its very diverse and caters to everyone.

– easily accessible

– its not biased

Q3) is it unique?

– familiar – part of national identity to the UK – trusted and supported by many and is a very unique form of PSB along with channel 4

Curran and Seaton:

  • Commercial broadcasting is based on the sale of audiences to advertisers” – Commercial broadcasters (such as ITV) need to secure long term advertising revenue to survive programming. – Jean Seaton. – need for an active audience. – money wins (profit-driven)
  • ”profit-driven motives take precedence over creativity in the world of commercial media”.
  • “power without responsibility” – book by Curran and Seaton – first published in 1981- explores themes of how the media landscape has fallen under the control of the few global conglomerates.
  • Benefits of Horizontal integration: Production costs can be minimised/ Sharing resources/ controlling the market (influential as they own most of the resources)
  • Benefits of Vertical Integration: production divisions/distribution services/subsidiary support – finance and promotional services. control over all aspects of the production chain/restricting access to competitors/cross-media ownership synergies.
  • Curran suggests that the relationships between big businesses and government – suggesting power of concentrated media ownership has forced political parties and form cosy relationships with the media. in order to get favourable press charge.

Notes, Theory

THEORIST RECAP

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Institution

KEY THEORISTS :

  • Hesmondhalgh (The Creative Industries)
  • Curran and Seaton (Ownership)
  • Livingstone and Lunt (Regulation)

What is the difference between the culture industries and other industries?

The cultural industries “play a pivotal role in organising images and discourses through which people make sense of the world” (Golding and Murdock). The creative industries influence the way we think and look at the world around us.

There are similar processes in which creative industries and other industries work through production, distribution and consumption.

The creative/media industry is a risky business, meaning it is unpredictable. Creativity is not essential to life however there are necessities which are. All industries try to make a profit, this is the primary purpose so if this doesn’t happen, it won’t carry on.

The creative industries are versatile, diverse and don’t always follow a linear process of creativity – Unpredictability.

Media Ownership

Public Service Media/Broadcasting = State-related institutions.

  • Government is at an ‘arms length’ from the media, they don’t control it but advise and ‘look after’ the content. It is critical of the government. –
  • Funded by the public/ tax payer. Through TV License for BBC in the UK.
  • No advertisements shown.
  • Examples = BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation – Regional)
  • Public Service provides impartial news (equal), high programming standards, no need to make a profit so, they can tailor to many different interests with their different channels (Diversity, provide for everyone)
  • What is it? – Broadcasting that involves television, radio, film which is funded publicly (by the government via the general public). Its purpose is to cater to many different people, therefore providing a wide range of different programming. It needs to inform, entertain and educate whilst living up to high standards.

Commercial Media = Corporations

  • Funded through advertisements.
  • No state obligations, privately owned.
  • Audiences don’t have to pay.
  • Examples = ITV (Multi regional)

Transnational Media = Global control

  • “communication, information or entertainment that crosses international borders without the regulatory constrains normally associated with electronic media”
  • Has aspects of the company worldwide.
  • Examples = Netflix, Sony, Apple, Disney

Curran and Seaton

  • “Commercial broadcasting is based on the sale of audiences to advertisers” —-> Commercial broadcasters (such as ITV) need to secure long term advertising revenue to survive programming. – Jean Seaton.
  • ”profit-driven motives take precedence over creativity in the world of commercial media”. – The business function of the media industries take importance over its creative expression.
  • Due to risk, the production of media products has resulted in the organisation of a small number of global players (conglomerates) who use vertical and horizontal integration to control all of the worlds commercial production.

Conglomerate =  A company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises.

Horizontal Integration = When a conglomerate acquires media companies of the same media type.

  • Production costs reduced, sharing of resources, controlling the market.

Vertical Integration = Ownerships that allow a media company to produce and distribute products. Monopolies (companies that produce, distribute and consume) are illegal —-> Companies get around this by controlling the majority and giving an aspect over to another company to control.

  • Production devisions, distribution services (without the need to employ externally, allowing full control)

Curran and Seaton suggest that ‘Culture is controlled by social elites’ who work for the benefit of themselves. They perpetuate the idea of ‘media pluralism’ which argues that the media industry should be populated by a range of companies (commercial and public).

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Institution, Television, Theory

recap: media institutions

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Hesmondhalgh- it’s difficult for media companies to make every product successful however they rely on a few main products to get revenue by using star names and easy to follow narrative. Companies have to make a lot of money out of their products initially, because they don’t often resell the same product repeatedly. 

  1. Products exist as a result of their economic context
  2. The media industry is a high risk business- only a few products are successful and take all the money in the business

Ways media companies expand:

  • Horizontal integration- acquiring media companies that operate in similar sectors (achieves scale-based cost savings and maximise profits)
  • Vertical integration- one company takes control over one or more stages in the production or distribution of a product (achieves significant cost-saving efficiencies)
  • Multi-sector integration- buying companies across the culture industry (allows for further cross-promotion and employment of brand across media platforms

Primary audiences are those who receive the communication directly. Secondary audiences is anyone who may indirectly receive a copy of the communication. Tertiary audiences are audience is almost unaware they are consuming for example adverts in a magazine they are reading or on a billboard they walk past

Link to CSP’s

  • No Offence is produced by Abbottvision and broadcast on Channel 4. Abbottvision is a production company
  • Channel 4’s commitment to be innovative and distinctive.
  • Prior to No Offence, Abbott’s most successful programme had been Shameless which was a realistic representation of the lives of people at the lowest end of the socio-economic scale
  • Channel 4 buys programming from production companies
  • Having a distinctive production background and being a ‘Channel 4 programme’ adds to the branding of No Offence itself and helps audiences know what to expect from the programme
  • Channel 4 uses series such as No Offence to add value to the channel through the availability of the ‘box set’ on All4

  • The Killing was the catalyst for the wider distribution of foreign language crime programming on UK television
  • was produced the Danish national public service broadcaster DR
  • specialised nature of media production, distribution and circulation within a transnational and global context
  • it was broadcast in the UK nearly five years after its success in Denmark (doesn’t follow Hesmondhalgh’s theory that media companies make products as a one time thing)
  • Produced by DR and German company ZDF, the police drama was created and written by Søren Sveistrup. – This allowed more opportunity for global networking and international release, bringing more viewers and therefore, money.
  • The character of Sarah Lund is a familiar detective stereotype
Notes, Postcolonialism, Representation, Theory

POSTCOLONIALISM

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Postcolonialism is about where does our identity come from? How is our identity formed? How do we understand our own identity and how is our identity represented in the local, national and global media? 

The slave trade; started in the mid 1400’s as Americans needed workers for the agricultural industry so Africans were sold over to by their own kings. They were brought over by ship and deprived of any legal rights and slave owner had complete power over the blacks. Importation of people ended in the 1800’s but enslavement continued.

postcolonial criticism challenges the assumption of a universal claim

Edward Said

Showed how the West painted a picture of the East

Orientalism is the Link between culture, imperial power & colonialism

“the power to narrate, or to block other narratives from forming or emerging, is very important to culture and imperialism“- Edward Said Culture and Imperialism, 1993: xiii

‘the East becomes the repository or projection of those aspects of themselves which Westerners do not choose to acknowledge (cruelty, sensuality, decadence, lazine)’

POSTCOLONIALISM operates a series of signs maintaining the European-Atlantic power over the Orient by creating ‘an accepted grid for filtering through the Orient into Western consciousness‘.

Jacques Lacan- The “other”

we cannot actually see ourselves as whole, we use a reflection to understand who we are / who we are not

Lacan proposed that in infancy this first recognition occurs when we see ourselves in a mirror in media, why we are so obsessed with reading magazines, listening to music, watching films, videos and television because, essentially, we are exploring ‘The Other’ as a way of exploring ourselves.

The West uses the East / the Orient / the ‘Other’, to identify and construct itself. 

REPRESENTATIONS of – the East /the Orient / the ‘Other’ – are CONSTRUCTED through the lens of WESTERN COLONIAL POWER.