The News Extended Learning Project: Week 5

What impact do you think social media has on the way news is gathered and reported?
I believe that a large proportion of news is now delivered online, as we can access news articles through websites or see stories when scrolling down our news feeds on social media. However, i also believe that this way of presenting news has led to there being a large amount of 'false news' online, with many articles being manipulated to gain online views which therefore produces a larger profits for news agencies. This also makes news more accessible and we could suggest that it makes young people more aware or current events given that this younger age group makes up a large proportion of social media users.

The News Extended Learning Project: Week 4

Do you agree that the media has tried to manipulate the public’s view of Jeremy Corbyn? What evidence is there to support your argument?
I do believe that the media is trying to present Jeremy Corbyn in a negative light, given that a large majority of articles failed to present his views and opinions accurately. As a result, this may have driven the opinion that "90 per cent of Mr Corbyn's supporters believed PR agencies were in some way involoved in orchestarting the coup of Labour MPs against him, while 55 per cent said it was likely that the intelligence services, including MI5,we were to undermine him."

The News Extended Learning Project: Week 3

What is a news agency, and what do they do and whom for?
A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters.

The News Extended Learning Project: Week 2

Label the cover of a tabloid or broadsheet newspaper in terms of layout codes and conventions:

The News Extended Learning Project: Week 1

According to Harriss, Leiter and Johnson, what are news values?
When people talk about ‘news values’ they are referring to the ideas or assumptions that form the ideological background to the work of the journalist and news editor. These values are not always clear to the casual observer; many of them remain hidden or implicit rather than being openly discussed. Harriss, Leiter and Johnson suggest that these news values are the most evident:

Through which different mediums/forms of media can we access news?
Radio, TV, Internet, Social Media, Newspaper.

Representation of Gender in the Media homework: Week 6

As the media industry plays such a significant role in shaping the dominant views of society, it also has a massive responsibility when it comes to the representation of men and women. What could media producers do to create a society where they is more equality (in terms of gender representation)?

Overall, the media can make the effort to better represent women and move on from the stereotypical image that they have created of them. Video games should start to encourage female protagonists and balance the strength that they represent in gender. Magazines should stop encouraging the 'perfect' image of a women and introduce stories about self acceptance and morality. As a whole, important figures in the media should start to use their voice in a positive way that will help to equalise men and women in the media. Actress Jennifer Lawrence is an example of a celebrity using their voice and becoming a spokesperson for change, writing an article about the gender pay gap after Sony's pay cheques for the actors of American Hustle were leaked and it was apparent that she was paid less than her male costars (http://www.lennyletter.com/work/a147/jennifer-lawrence-why-do-i-make-less-than-my-male-costars/). In general, the media should start to equalise men and women and present them as equal so that it will have the correct, positive influence on younger generations.

Representation of Gender in the Media homework: Week 5

Judith Butler (http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-butl.htm) believes that we are not born into a gender and that gender is different to sex (male/female).   She say that we ‘learn’ how to be a particular gender through adopting characteristics that we ‘learn’ from society (the media included). What evidence (from the media) could be used to suppourt her opinion?

The media can be seen to have a huge influence on gender, and how we 'adapt it', especially within women. Women in the media are often sexualised and presented with the ideal and perfect body images which overall can have a huge impact on young girls who view these images/videos. It can drive young girls to achieve this unrealistic representation of what is normal and acceptable, when often these images are photoshopped or edited. An article about women in the media highlights how we are manipulated to achieve the unimaginable and also how the media has driven "29% of 11-16 year old girls to be "not at all happy with the way they look"". Overall, the media can drive a huge influence in gender, especially young girls and how it 'teaches' them to learn to adapt the female gender from what is shown to them on TV, in magazines and films etc.
http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/policy-research/attitudes-media-culture/