Unit 3 Exam: 2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11565310/Police-investigate-construction-firm-after-complaints-from-passer-by-over-wolf-whistling.html

A building firm was investigated by police after a young woman complained about “lecherous” men wolf-whistling at her in the street. Poppy Smart, 23, said she was upset and humiliated by the builders’ behaviour and the “disrespectful comments” she endured every morning for a month as she walked past a construction site on her way to work. It is believed to be the first time police have ever investigated wolf whistling as a potential crime. Miss Smart, a digital marketing coordinator, secretly filmed the men whistling at her one morning after getting exasperated by their behaviour, which she said was akin to racism. She handed the video to police, warning that such taunts were “the tip of the iceberg” and indicative of a much wider problem. "People say it is only wolf-whistling but women shouldn't have to deal with it,” she said. "I think more women should speak out about this behaviour maybe it will make people think twice. "Imagine hearing someone speaking that way to your sister, mother, wife or daughter."

Sexism is still an ongoing problem in society. However, I believe with the help of campaigns to raise awareness for sexism such as Laura Bate's Everyday Sexism Project, less people will face sexism. Although, this is unlikely to eliminate sexism as a whole, but the aim is to reduce it so less people feel unsafe or uncomfortable walking past people of the opposite sex.

NDM Story #57 Ed Miliband’s Russell Brand interview is no joke for the Sun, Mail and Star

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/apr/29/ed-miliband-russell-brand-interview-sun-mail

The rightwing press is splashing on Ed Miliband, but it’s only because of his meeting with Russell Brand. After Tuesday’s front page on ‘White Van Dan’ Ware’s support for David Cameron, the Sun heads into full attack mode on Labour. Headlined “Monster Raving Labour Party”, its splash focuses on the Labour leader’s online interview with the comic. It claims Miliband was “ridiculed” over his “desperate attempts to cosy up to loony leftie Russell Brand”. It continues: “The Labour leader was accused of putting on a ‘mockney’ accent when interviewed at the anti-capitalist comedian’s £2m London home.” On pages 4 and 5, the paper unveils the “six Edded beast”, with an image of a hydra-style creature with the heads of Miliband, Brand, Gerry Adams, Nicola Sturgeon and Len McCluskey. It claims Miliband has added Brand to “his band of far-left allies in his desperate bid to become PM”.

Coming up to the elections, certain newspapers are doing what they can in order to influence audiences to vote for their party. They are therefore trying to make Ed Miliband look bad.

Section B practise

Most of the traditional media's attempts to compete with new and digital media have been too little and too late. Does your case study support this view? (48 marks)

Most of the traditional media's attempts to compete with new and digital media have been too late due to the fast moving technological society we live in. My case study is News, along with my independent case study of political activism and The Everyday Sexism Project in particular.

During the late 1990's, the internet was first introduced. Newspaper's therefore decided to put their content online for audiences to access as it helped reach a larger audience. Although newspaper institutions were able to conveniently reach audiences as they could access the news through their computer at home, they were also able to do so for free. This therefore encouraged the decline of traditional print news as the public were more likely to access news at home as oppose to going out their way to buy a traditional print newspaper which they would usually have to pay for.

In addition, some newspaper institutions often use Paywalls as a way of making profits such as The Sun and The Times. These newspapers often charge customers a subscription fee to have access to their online news content. However, it can be argued that they are too late in this as other newspaper institutions such as the BBC offer similar news for free. Audiences therefore have an alternative of using free news sites instead of paying.

Moreover, traditional record companies have also failed to see the online potential when it comes to music opportunities. Other companies such as iTunes, Soundcloud and Spotify have used their initiative to monitize the online music market. Whilst traditional ways of listening to music e.g. CD's and radios has declined, some music sites have used their initiative in providing audiences with music they can download, upload, purchase and share etc. Downloading music is far more convenient for audiences as they are able to transfer the same piece of music to their computer, phone, tablet etc.

Furthermore, the increase in globalisation has meant that news is spreading faster and places are able to know about events in another country almost immediately. For example, the recent earthquake in Nepal had reached the UK news a few hours after it happened. This has therefore lead to the decline in local news as large news institutions are providing their local area with news along with international news.

To continue, an example of the pace being too great for traditional news to keep up with new and digital media is the recent Russell Brand interview with Ed Milliband. Whilst a video was posted up on YouTube and social sites such as Twitter of this, The Sun criticised it by having it on their front page. The front page of The Sun was then retweeted on Twitter, however gained far less retweets than Russell Brand did when he retaliated The Sun's criticism. A Marxist view would argue that The Sun did this to try to keep their power, especially with the elections coming up soon. However, a Pluralist would say that the audience on Twitter were able to challenge The Sun only due to the opportunities that arise through new and digital media.

On the other hand, a recent article called News on the Tweet explained how Twitter needs legitimate newspaper brands in order to gain trust and newspapers institutions need Twitter to gain fans and increase their audience size. This would therefore go against the belief of traditional media being too little or too late as institutions are using their initiative to incorporate new and digital media to attract a wider audience.

The Everyday Sexism Project and political activism has also used new and digital media to heighten their audience and participant size. For example, Laura Bates the creator of The Everyday Sexism Project produced a website as well as Facebook and Twitter pages. This helped create awareness for her campaign, as well as encouraging people to share their stories and experiences. Without using new and digital media, less people would be aware of sexism and the project overall and less people would be fighting for their rights and beliefs.

To conclude, most of the traditional media's attempts to compete with new and digital media have been too little and too late. Institutions therefore have to ensure they are able to keep up with technology and the way society use new and digital media in order to gain recognition and retain an audience.

Monday 20 April 2015

Section B Exam question plan

New and Digital media offers media institutions different ways of reaching audiences. Consider how and why media institutions are using these techniques (48 marks)

1) Introduction:

The first industry that I have been investigating is news. Traditional print news has faced a decline in recent years, while new and digital media has allowed news cooperation's to remain successful through news online and paywalls. In addition, I have been researching political activism and focusing on 'The Everyday Sexism Project', founded by Laura Bates.

Technological convergence has allowed audiences to access the internet and several applications through one device. This includes smartphones, tablets and computers. Media institutions are using new and digital media to reach audiences as it has become easier to reach them due to technological convergence. It has increased convenience for audiences, as well as success and profits for institutions.

2) Social Media-Snapchat:

Social media sites allow audiences to access news as well as being able to view, comment, like pictures and interact with others through messages. Snapchat in particular has recently introduced a new page to the application where audiences are able to view the latest news of different companies. These include: Sky News, Yahoo News and Mail Online. The reason these News institutions use Snapchat as a platform to share their news on is because they are aware of the popularity of the social app and therefore helps them gain an audience. Moreover, Snapchat allow these companies to share their news with their users because it increases their profits.

3) Social Media-Twitter:

Other social media sites such as Twitter also work together with news institutions in order for both parties to gain publicity. For example, a recent 'News on the Tweet' article stated that Twitter and news companies must trust one another as news uses Twitters platform to reach audiences. Twitter is therefore good for news companies as they gain a larger audiences, as well as being beneficial for Twitter as people use the social site to read news.

4) Marxism and Pluralism

A Marxist view would argue that institutions are in power, have the control and it is all an illusion for Pluralists. Whereas, Pluralists would say that in fact audiences are even more empowered now as they can choose how to view media e.g. news, music, videos, programmes etc. For example, audiences can choose whether they want to support artists by watching their videos on YouTube, helping them gain views and contribute to their success by purchasing their music on iTunes.

5) Paywalls/Globalisation

Most online news companies such as The Times use paywalls in order to gain revenue, through audiences paying a subscription fee to access their content and news. It has proven successful with some institutions as audiences have been willing to pay for their news, however others have seen a fall in profits. The Guardian make revenue through advertising and sponsorship and have expanded into Australia and America. This can be linked to Globalisation. It has also meant that local areas are becoming the same as everywhere else and moreover, the local economy dies down. This is because audiences are able to access international news on a larger scale, therefore do not bother to purchase local newspapers.

6) Flip the question. It has also enabled audiences to reach institutions..

Feminist movements such as 'The Everyday Sexism Project' has allowed audiences to communicate via website and social media and protest together. It has also allowed them to share their issues and problems and gain advice from one another, using Twitter and Facebook as well as the Everyday Sexism website created by Laura Bates. Furthermore, citizen journalism has evolved and allowed audiences to challenge content created by news institutions. For example, a couple of weeks ago a boy was shot in South Carolina. Walter Scott had been murdered by a white police officer who killed the boy, then handcuffed him whilst he was dead and dropped a taser next to him. However, a man had videoed the event, therefore citizen journalism proved the police officer guilty so he was punished for murder. This may not have been possible without the footage as elite people such as the police officer would have made out that Walter did something wrong, therefore justifying his death.

7) Conclusion

Overall, I believe that new and digital media is used by institutions to reach audiences on a wider scale and gain a larger audience share. However, it also gives audiences a way to reach institutions e.g. through Twitter. This therefore allows audiences to challenge dominant forces and elite people/institutions as the Walter Scott shooting has shown, as well as cases in the past like the shooting of Ian Tomlinson.

Thursday 2 April 2015

NDM Story #56 Twitter's new quality filter removes abuse from your timeline

Abusive behavior being reported on Twitter

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/11491485/Twitters-new-quality-filter-removes-abuse-from-your-timeline.html

Twitter is rolling out a quality filter designed to remove threatening tweets alongside spam in the service's latest move to tackle online abuse. The filter aims to "remove all tweets from your notifications timeline that contain threats, offensive or abuse language, duplicate content, or are sent from suspicious accounts", and was first spotted by Twitter user Anil Dash. Twitter told the Verge that the filter was currently only applied to verified users, which tend to be high-profile individuals or those working for specific organisations. The new feature could result in celebrities and other public figures receiving significantly less abusive tweets than they are currently subjected to.

It is positive that Twitter are doing this as it will help prevent people from suffering from online abuse.

NDM Story #55 Sexting: Young girls and boys bullied for explicit sex videos

Young girls and boys are becoming victims of extortion for sex images and other pornography

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/child-protection/11503577/Sexting-Young-girls-and-boys-bullied-for-explicit-sex-videos.html

Increasing numbers of children are being bullied into taking explicit sexual pictures of themselves online, an expert has warned. More and more young girls and boys are becoming victims of “sextortion” cases in which they are lured into sharing naked photographs and then blackmailed into producing ever-more explicit material. The children are told if they do not co-operate their sexual images will be distributed to friends and to their parents – luring the frightened youngsters to produce highly sexual photographs and videos. Bob Lotter, the creator of online safety tool My Mobile Watchdog, said his company is dealing with growing numbers of sextortion cases, while other types of sexting have become an “epidemic” among young people. “We have seen children involved in revenge porn and sextortion, and this is on the increase,” said Mr Lotter.

It is sad that people have to use sexual images and content of children to threaten them into getting what they want. However, I do not believe that it is always completely innocent from the child's side as some people may choose to produce their own content in which they then get themselves in trouble with.

NDM Story #54 Instagram deletes woman's period photos - but her response is amazing

Rupi Kaur's photo was removed by Instagram

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11503621/Instagram-deletes-womans-period-photos-her-reply-is-great.html

Photographer Rupi Kaur has effectively made Instagram, one of the most popular photo-sharing websites in the world, accept that periods are not inappropriate. Last week she posted a photograph of a fully clothed woman lying in bed with a period stain on Instagram. It was deleted twice by the social media site because it didn’t “follow [their] Community Guidelines.” The guidelines prohibit sexual acts, violence and nudity, they do not mention anything about periods. Kaur took to Facebook to write: “Thank you Instagram for providing me with the exact response my work was created to critique. You deleted my photo twice stating that it goes against community guidelines.“I will not apologise for not feeding the ego and pride of misogynist society that will have my body in an underwear but not be ok with a small leak when your pages are filled with countless photos/accounts where women (so many who are underage) are objectified, pornified, and treated less than human.”
She explained that she created a series around menstruation to “demystify the period and make something that is innate ‘normal’ again.”

It is obvious that this image does not go against Instagram's guidelines as they quite clearly do not state anything about periods. Moreover, the woman in the image is fully dressed therefore there is no 'nudity' involved. I believe it was wrong of Instagram to take down this image twice as it shows something perfectly normal.

NDM Story #53 Teachers 'facing more abuse on social media'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-32145849

Sexist, racist and homophobic remarks were being used by pupils against school staff, as well as offensive comments about appearance, the NASUWT said. There were also examples of parents being abusive on social media, it added. About 60% of 1,500 teachers questioned in a poll said they had faced abuse, compared with 21% last year. In one case, a photograph of a teacher was posted online with an insulting word underneath. In another, pupils used the name of a heavily pregnant school worker to post insults, the teachers' union said. Of those who had been subjected to insults, nearly half (48%) said these remarks were posted by pupils, 40% said they were put up by parents, and 12% said both parents and pupils were responsible. Almost two-thirds (62%) said pupils had posted insulting comments, while just over a third (34%) said students had taken photos or videos without consent. A third (33%) received remarks about their performance as a teacher, 9% had faced allegations from pupils about inappropriate behaviour and 8% had been subjected to threatening behaviour. More than half (57%) of pupils responsible were aged between 14 and 16, and 38% were 11 to 14, the teachers' poll found, with a fifth aged 16 to 19 and 5% were seven to 11.

Although it is not right that pupils and teachers use social media to abuse teachers, I do not think that it is something that can be avoided either. Social media gives users the power to do anything online and this is one of them.

NDM Story #52 A third of young people think social media will influence their vote

More than a third of young people said that reading something on social media was likely to influence their vote, according to a poll by Ipsos Moris and King’s College London.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2015/mar/10/a-third-of-young-people-think-social-media-will-influence-their-vote?CMP=dis_2831

A third of young people think social media will influence their vote, according to research by Ipsos Mori and King’s College London. However, looking at the electorate as a whole the report finds that voters have a mixed attitude towards the impact of social media on the political debate. More than a third (34%) of those aged 18-24 said that reading something on social media was likely to influence their vote - second only to the TV debates. Across Britain as a whole, social media is listed fourth as a potential influence on voting - after the TV debates, newspapers and election broadcasts, and just ahead of leaflets through the letter box. Ipsos Mori’s results also show that while 71% believe that social media provides a platform and voice to people who wouldn’t normally take part in political debates, there is concern that social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, are making political debate more divisive and superficial. The feeling is shared both by those active on social media and by those that aren’t. Among social media users, 57% and 50% agreed that social media has made the debate more divisive and superficial that it used to be.

Young people are prone to being influenced by social media, whether it is about voting or anything else. However, with this particular topic not all young people are educated when it comes to political parties and voting, therefore have a higher chance of being influenced by others opinions and votes.

NDM Story #51 Knowing ploy or social media fail? Penguin Books runs #YourMum Mother’s Day Twitter campaign

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/03/09/knowing-ploy-or-social-media-fail-penguin-books-runs-yourmum-mother-s-day-twitter

To celebrate Mother’s Day this year, Penguin Books launched a dubious social media campaign asking users to tweet with the hashtag #YourMum. Predictably, the scheme was hijacked by social media users who repurposed Penguin’s well intentioned buy-a-book-for Mother’s Day brand proposition with crass ‘Your Mama’ jokes – the staple insult of playgrounds throughout the world. The hashtag, which somewhat clashed with the tone of Sunday’s top trending term ‘#InternationalWomensDay’, saw social media users spout filth about #YourMum. It took the publishing house some time to realise the error of its ways.

It is interesting and amusing to most audiences that Penguin Books decided to use a #YourMum hashtag in order to promote their books as gifts for mothers day. Whether it was intentional or not, it definitely caught attention and caused controversy on Twitter.

NDM Story #50 Apple Watch: are you feeling the terror?

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/11/apple-watch-are-you-feeling-the-terror

From the printing press to the telephone to the tablet computer, new technologies have usually passed through three stages. First, they are laughed off as stupid novelties with little use other than to entertain geeks. Then, as they begin to become popular, they are deplored as threats to civilisation which will turn into mindless, atomised narcissists. Finally, everyone uses them and we wonder what all the fuss was about.The launch of the Apple Watch heralds the arrival of stage two for the smartwatch. This time, however, I think it’s true both that we have good reasons to raise a few alarms and that in time they will come to be seen as perfectly harmless. That the smartwatch is going to normalise several things that should appal us is precisely what we should fear.

As technology increases and develops, so will companies products such as the Apple watch. It is not something to fear as audiences are excited about new releases and new products.

NDM Story #49 TripAdvisor removes 'feminist' review

Review posted by Christina Fowler, which was later deleted.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/12/tripadvisor-removes-feminist-review

A review in which a customer described seeing a manager biting a waitress and slapping her on the bottom has been removed by TripAdvisor for contravening its guidelines.A review in which a customer described seeing a manager biting a waitress and slapping her on the bottom has been removed by TripAdvisor for contravening its guidelines. Christina Fowler of Bedford left the review on TripAdvisor on 8 March, also International Women’s Day, after eating at The Bell at Westoning in Bedfordshire. In her original review, she wrote: "Today, on International Women’s Day, I saw the pub owner bite a young waitress on the shoulder, which she tried to shrug off but then appeared to complain to her fellow waitress. Five minutes later he slaps her on the bum and made kissy noises when she jumped. A huge reminder that we still need feminism, even in 2015". Fowler said: “I was quite surprised I don’t really understand what was wrong with it. I was allowed to repost it in the end removing the words ‘misogynist’ and ‘feminist’, but I don’t see that either of those words are particularly shocking.”

This comment was removed by TripAdvisor because it did not meet the the review guidelines. I do not think it was moved particularly because it is related to feminism, but possibly because of the image it creates for the pub and the people involved (management and staff).

MEST3 Independent case study: New and Digital Media

My chosen industry is: Political Activism

My case study is: The Everyday Sexism Project (http://everydaysexism.com/)

Audience

1) How has new and digital media changed the audience experience in your chosen industry?

New and digital media has given audiences a platform to conform together and fight for their rights and beliefs. This is done through social media and online websites, therefore has enhanced audience experiences.

2) Has new and digital media changed the way the audience consume your chosen product?

Audiences involved in political activism would have to find other ways to communicate e.g. phones, letters and face to face meetings. However, new and digital media now allows audiences to easily connect and communicate through the internet e.g. social media, forums, chat rooms etc.

3) Has the size of the audience changed as a result of new and digital media?

New and digital media has drastically increased the size of audiences involved in political activism. It allows people to get together and protest as a mass.

4) What are the positive changes new and digital media have brought to the audience of your case study? (E.g. greater choice, easier access etc.)

In particular, I will be looking at Everyday Sexism. This has bought positive changes to audiences through new and digital media as men and women all over the world are able to connect through the website and social media e.g. Twitter and share their stories/experiences. This has been a positive impact on others as they have found confidence to stand up for themselves and speak out against sexism.

5) What are the negative changes new and digital media have had on your chosen audience? (E.g. quality of product etc.)

Some people (particularly men) have been provoked through Everyday Sexism campaigns instead of enlightened. Therefore, have tried to blame women for their actions e.g. women dress in revealing ways to attract attention from men, whether it is positive or not it is the females fault. It has even encouraged men even more to be sexist against women as they do not like the fact that they are standing up for themselves.

6) What about audience pleasures - have these changed as a result of new and digital media?

Surveillance has increased as people are more aware about activist situations and sexism through social media e.g. Twitter and Facebook.

Personal Relationships have developed as people are able to get together through social media and stand up for their beliefs.

Personal Identity has improved as people involved in The Everyday Sexism Project for example were able to realise the situations they have been in are not right and they need to put a stop to it.

7) What is the target audience for your chosen case study? Write a demographic/psychographic profile.

Demographics:

A-E. The Everyday Sexism Project does not depend on a person's class or status. Everyone who has been involved in a situation where they have felt assaulted or abused by the opposite sex is able to take part in the project and share their story.

Psychographics:

I believe Strugglers and Reformers would be the audience for Everyday Sexism as they seek enlightenment and escape from their situations/past experiences.

Institution

1) How has new and digital media had an impact on ownership or control in your chosen industry?

New and digital media has lead to a greater ownership and control in political activism. By more people conforming together, control of situations has heightened.

2) What impact has new and digital media had on ownership in your chosen case study?

Laura Bates started and is the founder of The Everyday Sexism Project. New and digital media has not changed this, however more people are taking charge of their personal situations.

3) How has new and digital media changed the way institutions produce texts?

New and digital media has allowed Laura Bates to make pages on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, as oppose to having a website only. This has helped increase awareness of her project and sexism.

4) How has new and digital media changed the way institutions distribute their product?

Institutions are able to distribute their activism projects through a mass basis through social media and online sites.

5) How might new and digital media threaten your chosen industry?

Although new and digital media gives activists a voice to stand up for their beliefs, it also gives people a platform to criticise. This can be a threat to those who are fighting for their rights as others can easily put them down through social media and comments etc.

6) How has new and digital media changed the way your chosen industry is regulated?

New and digital media means that Laura Bates has to spend more time regulating content as it is on a wider scale such as social networking sites as oppose to just the project's website.

UGC

1)What examples of user-generated content can you find in your case study?

Social networking sites e.f. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, books, blogs, speaking out against sexism.

2) How has UGC changed things for audiences or institutions in your chosen case study?

User generated content has enabled audiences to share their thoughts and stories. It has also been beneficial for the original project as more people are aware of sexism issues happening in society today.

Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

1) What would be a Marxist perspective of the impact of new and digital media on your chosen case study?

Marxists believe that large cooperation's control online content in which new and digital media is shown through. Therefore, they would argue that they are able to control what generates through social media and what gets taken down.

2) How would a pluralist view the impact of new and digital media in your chosen industry?

Pluralists would argue they have power to leave comments and make social media pages in order to protest. Moreover, Twitter and Facebook has allowed people to plan protests, which has heightened their success. The Everyday Sexism Project has been shared virally, where people have come together to share their stories and personal experiences.

3) Are there any examples of hegemony in your chosen industry or case study?

An example of hegemony is male dominance over females as The Everyday Sexism Project fights against those who think it is okay to get away with sexually harassing or abusing women.

Globalisation

1) How has globalisation impacted on your chosen industry or case study?

Globalisation has helped raise awareness for sexism not only in the UK, but all over the world. For example, it has encouraged protests in other parts of the world such as India where a group of females carried out a protest for justice against a nun that was recently involved in a gang rape. By women all over the world sharing their experiences, they are also able to get together and fight for their rights as other women give them confidence.

2) In your opinion, has globalisation had a positive or negative impact on your chosen industry and case study? Why?

I believe globalisation has had a positive impact on my case study as it has given women all over the world confidence to stand up for themselves. Without this, women would be unaware of their rights and continue living lives where they feel at threat by men who are more dominant.

3) Can you find examples of cultural imperialism in your case study or industry? (The 'Americanisation' of the world)

The Everyday Sexism Project is an example of cultural imperialism. This is because it is carried out in countries such as India, where in the past protests carried out by women fighting for their rights never would have occurred. However, this project has given women from all over the globe confidence to stand up for their rights and speak out against sexism and put an end to it.

Social media

1) How has your industry or case study used social media to promote its products?

Pages have been created on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. These have been popular as the Twitter page @EverydaySexism has 197K followers. The Facebook page has 12,356 likes/supporters.

2) Provide examples of how your case study has used social media and explain the impact this would have on audiences.

As The Everyday Sexism Project has created online pages on social media, audiences have joined the pages, following them and liking content. They have also shared links with other people on social media therefore more awareness of the project and real life scenarios have been shared.

3) Is social media an opportunity or a threat to your industry and case study?

Both. Although social media allows activists to get together and cause debate. There are also threats as people who disagree with their beliefs will try to bring them down by leaving negative comments or even making their own pages going against their protests.

Statistics

1) What statistics can you find to illustrate the impact new and digital media has had on your industry or case study?

There are over 50,000 users of The Everyday Sexism Project
25,000 entries in over 15 countries
Twitter has 197k followers
Facebook has 12,356 likes/supporters

2) What impact have the statistics you have found had on institutions in your chosen industry?

The impact that The Everyday Sexism Project has had is that it has encouraged audiences to speak out in relation to other protests and subjects.

3) What has the impact been for audiences?

Audiences feel confident and have more encouragement than ever before to stand up for themselves and fight for their rights and against sexism.

Theories

1) What media theories can you apply to your chosen industry and case study?

Judith Butler-Gender roles: Judith Butler talks about the way males and females are bought up according to gender stereotypes. For example, girls play with pink feminine toys whereas boys are associated with blue, masculine activities. This relates to my case study as it reinforces the reasons for sexism, due to the male upbringing.

Levi Strauss-Binary opposites: Binary opposites can be related to my case study as sexism is about male vs females. It is about the domination of one gender over the other.

Hypodermic needle model: This theory can be linked to my case study as it can be argued that society inject values into women, that male abuse/domination is acceptable and normal. This could be the reason why women accept it and do not speak out because society has made them afraid and ashamed. However, The Everyday Sexism Project is created to banish these values.

Issues/debates

1) What media issues and debates can you apply to your chosen industry and case study?

Facebook and the misogynistic pages urging people to attack women: Facebook is in trouble this week for allowing people to set up groups about raping women. Lots of companies that advertise on Facebook are withdrawing their adverts after finding out that the ads for their products could appear down the sides of these pages. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2332028/FBRape-campaign-Companies-pull-adverts-Facebook-refuses-remove-anti-women-content.html)

American Apparel - Objectifying women? American Apparel branded 'sexist' over 'sleazy' ads for unisex shirt with half-naked women in g-strings... but fully-clothed men (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2325474/American-Apparel-branded-sexist-degrading-ads-unisex-shirt-featuring-half-naked-women-g-strings-fully-clothed-men.html)

New billboard campaign launched in Chicago features images of pregnant boys to remind them that a baby isn't just the girl's responsibility: This is a positive example as it reinforces values of men and women being equal, as a baby is equally a man's responsibility. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325100/New-billboard-campaign-launched-Chicago-features-images-pregnant-boys-remind-baby-isnt-just-girls-responsibility.html)

What other texts or institutions are also relevant to your case study? What would be good secondary texts or examples to use to support the findings of your independent case study?

101 Wankers (http://101wankers.tumblr.com/):

101 Wankers is a page where female cyclists share their experiences of incidents where they have been riding on their bike and have encountered sexual/sexist comments/abused by men. For example, one female cyclist stopped on the road at a traffic light and had a man pull down her top and ask her whether she put this much effort into the bedroom. Women cyclists use this page to expose sexist people on the road and share their experiences.

Catapult (http://catapult.org/fighting-everyday-sexism/):

Catapult is a website used to spread awareness on sexism. They deliver talks about sexism, gender stereotypes, body image, consent and many other issues in schools and universities across the UK. They also work closely with businesses, delivering talks on discrimination and harassment to make employees aware of their rights, and employers aware of their responsibilities.

Emma Watson's 11 best responses for fighting sexism (http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1071079/emma-watsons-best-responses-for-fighting-sexism):

Emma Watson recently spoke out about sexism and revealed experiences she faced as a young girl/teenager in which she felt sexually abused but did not say anything. On this website, she reveals her 11 best responses for fighting sexism during her #HeForShe Twitter Q&A.

#FBRape Campaign (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2332028/FBRape-campaign-Companies-pull-adverts-Facebook-refuses-remove-anti-women-content.html)

Laura bates, founder of The Everyday Sexism Project has started a #FBRape campaign. Companies pull adverts from Facebook as networking site refuses to remove 'anti-women' content: #FBRape campaign gets 50,000 tweets of support in just one week.

Wednesday 25 March 2015

NDM Story #48 Daily Star's Page 3 ads banned for being 'sexist' and 'offensive'

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/25/daily-stars-page-3-ads-banned-for-being-sexist-and-offensive

An advert by the Daily Star for a competition offering readers a chance to win a date with a Page 3 model has been banned by the Advertising Standards Agency after they found it to be “sexist, offensive and socially irresponsible”. The newspaper, which named itself the “official home of Page 3 babes” after the Sun stopped publishing photos of topless models in January, offered a prize of a visit from two “Star Babes” to the winner’s workplace. The ad said: “We’re all skint, shivering and face the prospect of politicians droning on for months ahead of this year’s general election, so we decided it was time to cheer up Britain. And what better way than with the help of our fantastic Page 3 girls?”

I believe The Daily Star are finding ways to keep their audiences as The Sun recently stopped publishing photos of topless models. They are trying to compete and keep the topic of women in newspapers as it is highly debatable in recent news.

NDM Story #47 Where will Fleet Street be in 2025? A long way further right

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/15/fleet-street-2025-further-right-newspaper-circulation-abcs

Statistics show The Sun ended February with an average print sale of 1,941,000 a day – some 9% down on the same six-month period last year. So if that rate of decline continues on trend, it will be selling just over 1.2m in five years and around 760,000 in 10. The Mirror had a 922,000 record in February and a percentage decline of 7%. Make that 640,000 in five years and 450,000 in 10. The Mail – with Paul Dacre retired at last, I guess – is sliding currently by only 5%. That gives it 1,280,000 or so in five years and a 990,000-ish figure in 10: add a few bulks to keep the million. Print may have less and less economic clout, but it will still have some headline salience as the ballot boxes open Upmarket a bit, the Telegraph has a 493,000 print figure and a 9% decline rate: so just over 307,000 in 2020 and 190,000 in 2025. The Guardian, on 179,000, posts a decline of 10%: so 105,000 in five years and 62,000 in 10. The Independent, at 61,103 now, can anticipate 38,000 and then 22,000. And the Times, with only a 2% decline record, will see its current 393,000 head towards 320,000 over a decade.

Statistics prove the decline of the newspaper industry is still taking place. Sales and figures for news cooperation's are down and I believe it will continue until traditional news is banished overall.

Friday 13 March 2015

Identities and the Media: index

1) Identities and the Media: Reading the riots

2) Post-colonialism: Destiny Ekaragwa film analysis

3) Post-colonialism: theory and clip task

4) Feminism: post-feminism article

5) No More Page 3 research

6) Feminism: waves and feminism and online activism

7) Collective identity and the media

NDM Story #46 Snapchat 'worth $15bn' after Alibaba invesment

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/12/snapchat-worth-15bn-after-alibaba-invesment

Alibaba is investing $200m in Snapchat, propelling the notional value of the photo-messaging app to a stellar $15bn (£10bn). The funding from the Chinese ecommerce company, first reported by Bloomberg, means that Snapchat’s worth has increased by $5bn in a matter of months. It dwarfs the $3bn offered by Facebook for the company in late 2013. It puts the four-year-old company into the top ranks of privately held startups. Evan Spiegel, Snapchat chief executive, declined to comment, but said: “We are famous for not talking about the future.” Snapchat adds entertainment and news with Discover More. With Snapchat blocked in China it is unclear what immediate value the startup would bring to Alibaba, which handles more online commerce than Amazon and eBay combined.

In my opinion, it is shocking that a social media app can be worth so much, considering it's lifetime has only been four years compared to other sites such as Amazon and EBay which have been running for much longer. However, social media is a big thing and is more powerful due to new and digital media. Therefore those who are able to invest in it are taking the opportunity.

Collective identity

Read the Media Magazine article on collective identity: Self-image and the Media (MM41 - page 6). Our Media Magazine archive.

1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'

Who are you: we are all involved in constructing an image to communicate our identity.

I think, therefore I am: how we perceived ourselves and how we presented ourselves was based on the social constructs.

From citizen to consumer: identity could be constructed in terms of an externalised image.

The rise of the individual: dominant values help shape how we see ourselves; and by the late 1960s and 1970s the notion of individualism began to take hold.

Branding and lifestyle: branding is the association of a ‘personality’with a product.

Who will be we: we have more control over our public image now than ever before.

2) List five brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.

New Look: most of my clothes are from this shop which I wear daily.

Vera Wang: Their 'Princess' is my favourite perfume, worn daily.

Samsung: My phone is a Samsung Alpha, which I use on a daily basis.

Skull candy: My headphones are this brand, which I use every day.

Ugg: My favourite boots which I wear to school due to the comfort.

3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?

Postmodern critics see the construction of identity through media representations as being shallow, leading to a culture that values ‘style over substance’. I do agree that this is taking place due to the media e.g. magazines putting so much importance on factors such as beauty over intelligence, which influences audiences and creates role models, especially for young people.

4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.

'Media saturation' looks at the fact that high cultural value being placed on external factors such as physical beauty and fashion sense over internal traits such as intelligence or compassion. This has been reinforced through the media. For example, magazines show skinny models and reality TV shows such as Keeping up with the Kardashians create role models for young people and girls in particular. Young people therefore look up to these celebrities and feel that they should look like them or be like them as that is societies 'norm'.

5) Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are?

I do not believe I have ever been such a keen social media user. I do have Instagram, however do not pay attention to Facebook and Twitter. I post pictures that I like and that I feel reflect me or an event that I have enjoyed.

6) What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy?

Data mining allows corporations to create products designed to meet the needs we reveal in our personal information. I do believe that data mining needs to take place to some extent in order for companies to find out what is trending and ways in which they can meet customer demands. However, companies should look at social media overall and not go onto peoples profiles in order to find out information. However, it can be argued that people choose whether they want to make their private or not. If it is not private then it gives an impression that people are happy with anyone to look at their profile, including companies.

Friday 6 March 2015

NDM Story #45 Why some Indians want to 'Ban BBC'

Indian students hold a demonstration in Hyderabad on 3 January 2013 against the gang rape and murder of a student in Delhi

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-31751035

The BBC Storyville film 'India's Daughter' focuses on the brutal gang rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi, an incident which reverberated around the world and led to widespread protests about the safety of women in India. A court in Delhi has blocked the broadcast of the film in India, and Indian home minister Rajnath Singh has promised an investigation into whether "norms have been violated" for the filming. Just like on mainstream media, the debate on social media is focused on an interview with one of the four rapists sentenced to death for the crime. In the interview, he expressed no remorse and blamed the victim for fighting back. On Twitter and Facebook, those opposing the documentary has been tweeting #banBBC the hashtag has been mentioned more than 13,000 times in the last 24 hours. A few others have been using the hashtags #boycottbbc, #banbbcasap and #banbbcinIndia.

This story being featured in a BBC documentary has caused much controversy and anger. I do not believe that it should be taken so far as to ban BBC, however I do not believe that the BBC should have been so explicit when revealing the facts about the gang rape.

NDM Story #44 Anger over new powers for Turkish authorities online

Protesters shout slogans and gesture during a protest against Turkish government's newly proposed restrictions on the use of internet, on Istiklal avenue in Istanbul, on February 8, 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-31665109

Last year Turkey entered the headlines for briefly blocking Twitter and YouTube. Now, with both unblocked, activists are using them to highlight a new set of concerns about internet freedom. Scan the world's most popular Twitter hashtags, and the chances are some of them will be in Turkish. Many of them will also have a political bent: social media is heavily used by all sides of the spectrum in Turkey to push their side of the argument. Many of those who participated in the Gezi Park protests in 2013 largely organised on social media are not happy. They don't buy the government's defence of the law, which is that courts need to approve any actions within 72 hours, and say Turkey's track record makes them weary. Twitter's recent Transparency Report disclosed that 90% of all the tweets taken down were in response to requests from the Turkish government (the US made the most requests for account information, mainly in relation to criminal investigations).

Twitter has massively become a trend in recent years, especially in the media. I believe that people should use the social networking site to their full advantage as it allows opinions and voices to be heard. Especially through the power of hashtags and the impact it can have. Many protesters have done this recently.

NDM Story #43 BBC licence fee good for at least another decade, says director general

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/02/bbc-licence-fee-10-years-director-general-tony-hall?CMP=share_btn_tw

The BBC director general has said the licence fee funding mechanism is good for at least another decade, while welcoming proposals that would modernise the universal levy for the internet age. After an important speech setting out ambitious plans for the “reinvention” of the BBC, Tony Hall welcomed last week’s report from the Commons culture, media and sport committee that said a universal household levy could replace a fee based on television ownership in the long term. “The most important thing is that the committee gave the licence fee at least 10 years. I think it will go beyond that but they said 10 years.”

In my opinion it is positive that the TV license fee is going to stay the same for the next 10 years. This gives people more security as they do not have to worry about the fee increasing.

NDM Story #42 PM faces being 'empty-chaired' as TV debates are expected to go ahead

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/05/pm-empty-chaired-broadcasters-set-to-go-ahead-debates

Broadcasters are expected to press ahead with the TV election debates and believe they have legal grounds to “empty-chair” the Tories on the basis that they turned down a reasonable invitation to attend. Channel 4, ITV, Sky and the BBC were discussing “a final offer” from No 10 on Thursday, under which David Cameron would attend one debate with the leaders of six other parties held the week before parliament’s dissolution. Cameron, criticised by other political parties for his reluctance, said he was only seeking to break the logjam created by the broadcasters’ handling of the debates.

This story is political and it is no surprise that there is a disagreement among the MP's.

NDM Story #41 Should Britain introduce electronic voting?

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/26/should-britain-introduce-electronic-voting

The problems with our current, resolutely 19th-century method of running elections should be obvious. Votes can be miscounted, misread, or even simply misplaced. Counts consist of thousands of people across the country, paid overtime to stay up all night manually sorting and counting those votes. When they go wrong as happened in Tower Hamlets during the 2014 local elections there’s no easy way to trace the problems back to their source, and no easy way to fix them other than simply restarting the count. Electronic voting machines are used in some of the world’s biggest democracies, including Brazil, India, and the Philippines, to get around some of these hurdles. The machines come in all shapes and sizes, from small touchscreen devices to larger units with physical buttons and a printed ballot paper on the front.

Although traditionally, votes are done through ballot boxes. I believe it would be a good idea to invest in electrical voting as it may even mean that more people get involved e.g. young adults who may not have been interested before. However, by using technology although the counts may be more accurate, there may be a way to manipulate the votes through the machines.

Feminism online: recent examples

Ched Evans: petition to prevent convicted rapist playing

1) Summarise this example for the rest of the class in one paragraph

Ched Evans is an ex footballer who used to play for Sheffield United and was convicted for rape three years ago. When he came out of jail he received the opportunity for a signing to Oldham Athletic. However, radical feminist Jean Hatchet created an online petition to stop the signing and received over 21,000 supporters within 24 hours.

2) What was the initial incident or situation that sparked this example?

The rape committed by Ched Evans and the fact that he was trying to go back into a high profile career.

3) In your opinion, is this an example of a valid campaign or something of a witchhunt against people who are not doing any serious harm?

I believe this is a valid campaign as Ched Evans committed a crime by raping a girl. By trying to go back into a high profile career, Ched Evans is reinforcing the fact the that you can go back into a good job regardless of what you have done as long as you have power. However, by creating the campaign, Jean Hatchet was able to challenge Ched Evans along with thousands of supporters.

3) Caitlin Moran: Twitter silence

1) Summarise this example for the rest of the class in one paragraph

The movement is a Twitter trend called #TwitterSilence, and it involves an ironic day of quiet in protest of women's inability to speak out on Twitter without incurring some form of abuse. The idea belongs to controversial feminist Caitlin Moran, who said "I just wanted to do a thing" on Twitter before going dark around midnight.

2) What was the initial incident or situation that sparked this example?

The organiser of a campaign that put Austen's picture on the latest British banknote.

3) In your opinion, is this an example of a valid campaign or something of a witchhunt against people who are not doing any serious harm?

I do not think that this is a valid campaign or something of a witch hunt in my opinion. I believe it was carried out more as an experiment to see how powerful Twitter can be and how it changes when females are not involved in commenting or uploading anything.

4) Emma Watson: HeForShe gender equality campaign

1) Summarise this example for the rest of the class in one paragraph

The HeForShe campaign fights for equality as Emma Watson stated ''I was appointed six months ago and the more I have spoken about feminism the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.''

2) What was the initial incident or situation that sparked this example?

Emma Watson faced experiences which made her feel unequal to men such as, ''at 14 she started being sexualised by certain elements of the press, at 15 her girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear “muscly” and at 18 her male friends were unable to express their feelings.'' At this moment, she decided she was a Feminist.

3) In your opinion, is this an example of a valid campaign or something of a witchhunt against people who are not doing any serious harm?

I believe it is positive that she is speaking out and fighting for gender equality. It is an issue that affects millions of people, not only in the US or UK but around the world. By speaking up, it encourages others to speak up as well and gives them confidence and will power that they may not have had before.

Wednesday 25 February 2015

NDM Story Summary

http://vandnaunit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/ndm-story-summary.html

NDM Story #40 Is Twitter bad for economic growth?

Bank of England Andy Haldane is worried about shorter attention spans damaging growth prospects.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2015/feb/18/is-twitter-bad-for-economic-growth-bank-of-england?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it

Technology has been our friend in the past but today the impact “may be less benign”, Haldane said in a speech to university students on Tuesday night. Reviewing the factors behind leaps forward in living standards over centuries, he highlighted how our information revolution may be changing our brains to think fast rather than deep. We are clearly in the midst of an information revolution, with close to 99% of the entire stock of information ever created having been generated this century. This has had real benefits. But it may also have had cognitive costs. One of those potential costs is shorter attention spans,” Haldane told the University of East Anglia. “Some societal trends are consistent with that. The tenure of jobs and relationships is declining. The average tenure of Premiership football managers has fallen by one month per year since 1994. On those trends, it will fall below one season by 2020. And what is true of football is true of finance. Average holding periods of assets have fallen tenfold since 1950. The rising incidence of attention deficit disorders, and the rising prominence of Twitter, may be further evidence of shortening attention spans.”

This article shows that Twitter can be a distraction for some and can therefore have an impact on their standards of living. However, i disagree with this viewpoint.

NDM Story #39 Mail Online soars past 200m monthly browsers as newspaper sites bounce back

Mail Online: broke the 200 million monthly uniques barrier in January

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/feb/20/mail-online-gains-17m-unique-browsers-as-newspaper-sites-bounce-back?CMP=share_btn_tw

The Daily Mail website’s monthly traffic increased to 224,934,062, an 18.7% increase on the previous month, according to the the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures published on Thursday. It remained comfortably the most popular UK newspaper website, with its daily traffic rising by 13.9% month on month to 13,949,793 daily unique browsers. All the other national newspaper websites recorded gains after the traditional December traffic lull, with stories such as the Charlie Hebdo attack helping drive traffic. theguardian.com also reported record monthly traffic, passing 120 million monthly unique browsers in January, the month it completed the switch to its redesigned website. It attracted 121,733,045 monthly uniques, a rise of 14% on the previous month.

This is positive for The Daily Mail as statistics show that the newspaper website remains the most popular in the UK. However, this also means that other online newspapers will feel threatened and would want to be more competitive.

NDM Story #38 Brian Williams has gone, but false news is bigger business than ever by Emily Bell

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/feb/15/brian-williams-false-news-untrue-stories-journalism

Brian Williams, the host of NBC’s Nightly News, was suspended last week for six months with no pay, after a military newspaper, Stars and Stripes, published a story where Williams admitted he had exaggerated a story about flying in a helicopter that came under fire in Iraq. The incident in 2003 happened when Williams was, in fact, following a helicopter that was struck by missile fire, but in retellings he shifted to a position where not only had his helicopter had been hit, but the US crew “figured out how to land safely”. It just wasn't true. To make matters worse for NBC news executives, Williams posted a rather mealy-mouthed apology on Facebook without any of them knowing.

I think this is a great example of how stories in the media can actually be exaggerated and those in power can get away with it. Sometimes it goes unnoticed, however in this case Brian Williams has been caught out about his exaggerated story which then gives him a bad representation in the media.

NDM Story #37 Brands must take advantage of Twitter's personal touch

http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/feb/24/brands-twitter-personal-touch-marketing

According to a study that used a new Twitter tracking service to assess the social media performance of top brands, some household names have a long way to go. The service, called Twystery, introduces the principles of mystery shopping into the world of social media, testing how effectively brands respond on their official Twitter feed. It works by assessing a brand’s social media response rate, speed and quality of response. Crucially, the brands in the study were compared to each other by sector and overall. Thirty brands were each sent 30 different tweets by 30 regular twitter users. Overall, the top performers (scored out of 100) were Lloyds, NatWest, Morrisons, Barclays and HSBC. Looking at a sector level, financial services (78) and supermarkets (72) scored most strongly. A surprising finding was that the telecoms sector, an industry one may expect to be very familiar with Twitter, performed poorly, with a score of only 51 and an average response time of 11hr 6 min, almost twice as long as the overall average.

In my opinion, it is very interesting that technology nowadays allows brands to link with other brands. In this case, the social networking site Twitter can track the popularity of other brands such as Lloyds and HSBC through its users.