Eleanor N - A level Media blog

Q: Watch at least one episode of "Press" and answer the following questions: What do you learn about the financial pressures facing newspapers today and how that might shape decisions about the stories covered? What do you learn about the legal and ethical regulations newspapers follow? What do you learn about how the ownership of newspapers can affect the stories covered? What do you learn about the role the internet plays in the life of the paper? What do you learn about the different news values of the red-top tabloid paper (The post- similar to the sun) and the broadsheet paper (similar to the guardian) Newspapers sometimes come across financial problems and it affects how decisions around what stories are conveyed. In press, it shows that when sales are down that they face pressures of having to sometimes play it safe with the stories they cover, which could lead to other undeveloped stories to be discarded of. These undeveloped stories could've sold the n...

Why do we need the press? we need to be informed about others opinions- news media provides a forum for this debate. If we only lived off our own opinions, it would be very one-sided The older generation are more interested It keeps us informed about what is happening in the world Along with information, Papers have an entertainment function such as celebrities/ sports/ TV and puzzles. The press are sometimes called the fourth estate- to reflect their important role in society. Why do people read the news? Blulmer and Katz theorised that people use media because it gratifies a particular need- they get something from it. This is called Uses and Gratification theory. They came up with 4 categories: Diversion- escape from routine and problems to take your mind off things. Personal Relationships- to be able to be part of conversations or conversely for companionship Personal Identity- for instance, to reinforce values or change the way you think about things. information...

In the lesson, we learnt the basics about the background, history and economics of the game Minecraft: -It's a sandbox game- this means that the gamer can roam a virtual world and change it to their preference and is created by Mojang. The game has 2 main modes- Survival and Creative. -At first, the advertising for Minecraft was made by word of mouth from gamers. This meant they didn't spend any money on advertising. - It was created by Markus "notch" Persson who started creating the game in May 2009. On its release, 16 million users bought it. - In 2011, Minecraft was released across multiple platforms and by 2012, it was available on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. - Creating Minecraft on Java, making it possible for it to be cross-platform, running on Windows 10, Mac OS X and Linux. -In 2014, Microsoft bought Minecraft for $2.5 Billion and currently over 176 million copies have been sold. Independent work    https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1745rc -In 2009, Per...

I am Eleanor Nixon, 16 years old For my A levels, I am studying Media Studies, Applied business and history at Whitley Bay High School. I have enjoyed my journey so far and can't wait for new experiences that sixth form will bring.I have a twin brother called Josh and a younger brother in year 10 called Luke. I have a black pug called Sid, hes 5 years old. My favourite subject is History because i find the content useful and interesting although it is quite difficult. My favourite TV series is Stranger things because its sci-fi which i find interesting and its binge-worthy  My favourite film is Mamma Mia: Here we go again because i like the background and the actors are well fitting for the roles. A newspaper i am most likely to read is the guardian- this is because i find the content easy to understand and i support the view

Writing Task- Media Language and Representation                   Q- Analyse how media language is used to build representations of gender in this still image. This photo enforces representations of gender stereotypes that men dominate women in this patriarchal society. This idea is given in the way the characters are portrayed. The camera is a wide shot meaning it shows its surroundings however, we are focused on the two characters. This is emphasised by the dark background, with main studio lights projected on the man and women. The man seems dominant in the still image, as he is looking directly in the camera, showing confidence, making the women seem less important and reliant with the way she leans onto him,  potentially looking for support. We can link this in with Van Zoomans feminist theory that women are portrayed as objects and accessories to men- they are dominating and that women's bodies are seen as a tool to men, ...

Representations work by enforcing or reinforcing stereotypes - A stereotype is a characterization of an individual or group that has certain features. They work as symbolic codes or signs. They can be positive or negative, but they're often generalized and inaccurate. They become accepted in society because of the frequency in which they are used. -Barthes, creater of semiology, suggests that the values associated with stereotypes are in fact myths. Representations can be made through: Class Age Gender          → CAGED Ethnicity Disability Often these CAGED representations are useful for starting points for analysing media messages. -When analysing texts, always consider; which stereotypes are positive which are negative what are the messages communicated as a result For example, Middle-class, educated white men will always be seen as positive in comparison to teenage boys, blonde woman and asylum seekers. -The ASA (Advertising...

Audience -How media forms target, reach and address audiences & how they respond. Target audience= is the intended audience of anything. Its a particular group of consumers within the predetermined target market. We organise them into different categories: age occupation gender  education Occupation groups: A- lawyers, doctors, well-paid professionals B- teacher, middle management, fairly paid C1-junior management, clerk, nurse C2- plumber, "blue collar" D- manual workers E- students, unemployed, pensioners A psychometric audience profile defines an audience by how they think and consider their values, attitudes and lifestyles(VAL's) : Aspirer - seeks status, wants status brands that know their place in society Explorer -seeks discovery, discover new things and are attracted to new brands Mainstreamer - seeks security, makes up 40% of the population, likes trusted brands Reformer -  seek enlightenment, defined by se...

   Media Language - With language, always consider the following: 1)Which modes are used in media texts? i.e print, moving image, words 2)Which tools are used within each mode? i.e camera angles, font, colour 3)What meanings and effects do they convey? i.e the connotations of the media language Camera Angles: High Angle - makes object seem small, insignificant or vulnerable Low Angle - makes the object seem powerful, threatening or dominant Birds Eye View -an unnatural angle which can make objects seem strange, also places the audience in a god like position, looking down on action. Canted Angle - an off killer shot which often suggests confusion, disorientation or drunkenness/ sleepiness Eye Level - neutral shot, gives the impression that we are watching action unfold. Mise-en-Scene (MES) - whats in the frame; broken into different categories: 1) Positioning and body language 2)Lighting 3)Hair, makeup and costume 4)setting and props    ...

In my first lesson about Industry, we looked at peoples viewpoints and what people own: Q: Does it matter if one person owns lots of news outlets? (sun/times/fox) A: Yes, as their own opinion will be portrayed quite frequently and will dominate other news outlets with a one-sided opinion which won't give readers/viewers a fair story or information. David Hesmondhagin- Cultural Industries: -suggests that companies cant estimate how much they will make for new films so they remake/reboot films. -Therefore, the industry will have a problem because creativity doesn't appear as people already are familiar with them e.g The Lion King -industries are using repetition- using the same actors who are successful which leads to the industry, not talent-spotting (forgetting other actors who aren't as successful) -Often  seen as uncreative and profit-driven -also suggests that social media separates people, not uniting them. Disney- research into the industry: -They're a...

Stranger Things research: ( season 1)  Stranger things is a sci-fi and horror fiction tv show which is shown on Netflix originals. The plot is set in the 1980s and follows 13-14 year olds trying to find their missing friend, Will Buyers. He is later discovered in the upside-down which is a new world with a mysterious creature called a Demogorgon. Variety reported in 2017 that the show's first  season budget  was $6 million per  episode. Available in over 20 languages in around 190 countries around the world.   Nielsen says   ' Stranger Things ' season 1  had a record 26.4 million US  viewers  in first four days. The series is directed by the Duffer brothers, Matt and Ross Duffer. At the start, they pitched their script to a number of different cable networks however they all rejected them. Its owned by Netflix Originals so it's only available on Netflix When writing, the Duffer brothers got ideas from the 2013 film, Prisinors...