Wednesday 6 May 2015

NDM 50

Social media – a shining light in F1 amid the darkness



For all its problems however, F1 has got one thing right at least - embracing social media has saved the sport from further penury. Bernie Ecclestone has always been vocal in downplaying the importance of social media, but the 85-year-old has had to finally give in and grudgingly start to use the medium to reach out to fans.
The teams and drivers already use social media widely, and fans have flocked in numbers. The platform certainly has its pros and cons, but the onus is on the user to make the best use of it.
For the teams and drivers, social media became an easy way to not only promote themselves but also reward the average fans for their continued support. And for the fans, the medium has given them a chance to voice their love for the sport and get recognised for their involvement.

NDM 49

Will Baltimore Use Social Media to Prosecute Rioters?

"I don't think that there is a strong popular push in Baltimore for further rioting arrests," says David Jaros, an assistant law professor at the University of Baltimore. "I have a very strong suspicion that the mayor's comments about using social media to arrest more rioters is something that is going to quickly fall by the wayside as not necessarily the most effective use of resources."
Baltimore police wouldn't need to rely solely on tips from the community and have previously used facial recognition software to identify suspects by comparing online images to more than 2.1 million pictures on law enforcement databases. 
Services such as NetClean are also developing ways to help police track down offenders by helping identify connections between crimes and media posted on social networks. NetClean product manager Johann Hofmann says metadata from images and video can show the exact GPS coordinates of where an image was taken, the serial number of the camera being used, and the exact time the shot was taken. The service also uses a Microsoft facial recognition tool called PhotoDNA, which can help match faces in social media postings to images in a large database. The service, according to Hofmann, is already being used in Baltimore and other jurisdictions around the world in child abuse investigations involving online images.

NDM 48

IS SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE DECLINE? TWITTER, YELP, AND LINKEDIN REPORT STAGNANT USER BASES



Last week saw Twitter and LinkedIn come out with earnings. Yelp — which isn’t traditionally regarded as a social media site, per se — was among those companies that issued reports. The common trend among all three major names was that data on their respective user numbers was disappointing. Accordingly, investors punished the companies’ stocks with strong selloffs after the earnings were released. Only Facebook, which released its earnings back in April, seemed to be doing well.

NDM 47

How social media hijacked the Met Ball

People on Social Media, went crazy after seeing the outfits of a few celebs. Beyonce (pictured) received a good reception from twitter users, however, Rihanna didn't get a good a good reception as they said her dress looked like a condom, pizza and even an omelet.




Tuesday 14 April 2015

NDM 46

Conservatives give BBC warning of licence fee freeze


The Conservatives are looking to freeze the prices of TV licence, which will save the consumer money. TV Licence cost about £145 a year, and the conservatives vow to keep that price the same, giving the consumer more money to spend on other things. Also, this will affect the BBC because they may have less money in real terms because of inflation and may not be able to give services the same services that they did before. 

By doing this, local newspapers will benefit as BBC news may have to go because it does not generate any money. This is a strategy to get news corp back more money, which they can intern invest in the conservative government.“Local newspapers are an important source of information for local communities and a vital part of a healthy democracy. To support them as they adapt to new technology and changing circumstances, we will consult on the introduction of a business rates relief for local newspapers in England.”


NDM 45

#NotSilent: join the social media campaign to remember Anne Frank

Article

As today marks the 70th anniversary of Anne Frank, instead of having a minutes silence for it, the Anne Frank's trust thought it would be fitting for them to read out sections from her book and post to on social media with the hashtag 'Not Silent.' This seemed very fitting as Anne Frank had to be silent, when in hiding, but used writing as her way to let things out. 

Wineman stressed the importance of Frank’s testimony: “At her age, she was absolutely brilliant: to speak the way she spoke about everything, and to keep her courage the way she did … she would have gone on to be a great fighter and a great human being.”

NDM 44

Labour vows to protect media plurality and implement Leveson proposals


If Ed Milliband gets elected, he will but a stop to large business owning the media. The labour part do not want people like Rupret Murdoch and News Corp to own most of the media, giving them an advantage of getting their views across and making the most profit from the media. They will be setting a cap of 34% This means that News Corp will have to get rid of one of their products. This challenges Pareto's law as it now can mean that more companies can make more profit and it leads to more competition in the media industry. 

“We made a promise to victims of the phone-hacking scandal. We stand by that promise and will keep it.” Due to the phone hacking scandal, labour wants to protect people from that happening again, and in order for them to do so, they think they should cut out the monopolies in the media. 

NDM 43

Cate Blanchett attacks media over awards ceremony frock coverage


Cate Blanchett believes the media are not asking the correct questions when females are on the red carpet. She believes they need to ask more questions about the film and less questions on the dress and the appearance of the woman. This seems like a case of the female gaze, because the media is just looking at women in a physical aspect, and not looking at them in the way they should be looked at in that period of time. 

Blanchett’s comments come after the US-based Representation Project launched a campaign utilising the hashtag #askhermore during the recent awards season. The project aimed to highlight the unwillingness of red-carpet reporters to delve beyond the sartorial surface when interviewing female actors.




NDM 42

If you're a social media user with clout, US politicians have you in their sights

In the US, people will be targeted regarding their political beliefs they have, via social media. Like cookies on the internet, people and companies look at your history and what you regularly go on and can see your political beliefs and they can target the audience in America and find ways to either cement your trust in a particular group, or waver your choice to another political party. This means, more people may vote for a particular party if they use social media cookies to find out what you have been searching. 

"But, by combining this with social media information, campaigns now target specific kinds of supporters; for example, they could ask only supporters with more than 500 Facebook friends to host fundraisers, or identify swing voters with more than 1,000 Twitter followers."



NDM 41

Journalism and public shaming: Some guidelines

People use journalism and social media to publicly humiliate people when they have something bad or controversial. This article talks about the guidelines, whether it is right or wrong and way to shame someone without bullying them. 

According to the writer of this article shaming for the good of the world as a whole is classed as "good shaming," but shaming for the sake of it is classed as bad shaming, and should not be done.

"And earlier this month, Jon Ronson published a piece in the New York Times Magazine on the aftermath of people who found themselves caught up in a public shaming. His story starts and ends with Justine Sacco, the woman who last year tweeted, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” to her 170 Twitter followers before a flight out of London, only to arrive in Cape Town 11 hours later to discover the Internet hated her, her extended family was humiliated and she’d been fired."


NDM 40

Why Should Advertisers Care About Great Journalism?


This article believes advertisers should still use journalism to advertise products instead of web based sites. This is because the web based sights are for trends and 'memes' that are meant to be funny. But for a product, the audience believes in the product more if it was journalised, because it adds to the legitimacy of the product. 

The fact that great journalism leads to great advertising impact is a win-win for all involved. Readers get access to the stories that keep politicians honest, sports stars clean and society a better place to live whilst advertisers reach consumers that they understand better and who trust their brands more.

NDM 39

How eBay and Gumtree are strangling journalism

Ebay and Gumtree are making it difficult for newspapers to function, as they are specialised advertising companies meaning companies and people who need to advertise, will go to specialist websites such as gumtree and ebay to sell products, leaving the newspapers to only make profit and revenue on newspaper sales. Also, with the decline of newspaper sales, newspapers are loosing money, and in order to cut cost, they will have to get rid of journalist in order to cut labour costs.

NDM 38

HERE’S HOW THE US SHOULD FIGHT ISIS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

So far, the government’s social media campaign against ISIS has been, like most governmental campaigns, long on bureaucracy and short on details. The State Department’s chief of “public diplomacy,” former Time managing editor Rick Stengel, oversees aCenter for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, whose portfolio includes social media culture-jamming. Its tasks include “creating communities of interest, supporting positive voices, narrowing the space violent extremists have to work in, repeatedly and aggressively presenting the reality of what is going on on the ground,” according to former CSCC head Alberto Fernandez.


Wednesday 25 March 2015

NDM 37

Jeremy Clarkson suspension leaves BBC facing multimillion-pound bill.

Article 


“I’ve been suspended, haven’t I? I’m just off to the jobcentre.” He added: “At least I’m going to be able to get to the Chelsea match tonight.”

The BBC was understood to be keen to resolve the issue as soon as possible, with Clarkson consulting his lawyer, Mark Devereux, a senior partner at the legal firm Olswang. Any meeting with Clarkson is likely to include BBCdirector general Tony Hall and the corporation’s director of television Danny Cohen.
Hall confirmed in an appearance before parliament’s European scrutiny committee on Wednesday that he was involved in the BBC inquiry into the latest Clarkson controversy.The BBC was understood to be keen to resolve the issue as soon as possible, with Clarkson consulting his lawyer, Mark Devereux, a senior partner at the legal firm Olswang. Any meeting with Clarkson is likely to include BBCdirector general Tony Hall and the corporation’s director of television Danny Cohen.
Hall confirmed in an appearance before parliament’s European scrutiny committee on Wednesday that he was involved in the BBC inquiry into the latest Clarkson controversy.

Wednesday 18 March 2015

NDM 36

Jeremy Clarkson's popularity on social media plummets after BBC 'fracas'

Article

Jeremy Clarkson punched his Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon in the face following a 40-minute rant in which he swore at him and referred to him as a “lazy Irish”, eyewitnesses have claimed.The presenter of Top Gear, who has been suspended pending an internal BBC investigation into his conduct at a hotel in Yorkshire during filming of the show, is said to have threatened to have Tymon sacked during the heated row over food.
As this is a story where higher powers are involved like the BBC, it is hard to really understand what is going on, because the BBC are not going to say everything that happened, in order to keep their credibility intact.

Tuesday 17 March 2015

Media and Collective Identity

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

"Who are you?" 
This section is about, the different things we do, either fit in or not, and the things and people we follow in order to become like. 

"I think therefore I am"
We are now in an age where we are now groups instead of individuals, and we do not take up the normal role of either men or women.

"From citizen to consumer"
Before, we only consumed the things we needed, now, its more about our wants, anything to look good.

"The rise of the individual"
We now are our own people, and want to be different, we do not want to conform to traditional values.

"Branding and lifestyle"
A product that is created, can be sold on the identity it creates, and if the consumer is in touch with that identity.

"Who will we be?"
Due to social media, people are hiding behind avatars.


2) List five brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.
Nike 
Tropicana
Liverpool Football Club
The Blind side movie 
GridIron Gang 

3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean? 
I think the media is now mostly about 'style over substance' this is because different things like the news, would put stories in particular order, of how much views they would get, and not relevance to the nation. Style over substance is an imitation of something, as it is nice looking on the outside, but has nothing in the middle.

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

 Media saturation is a sort of cleanse we get by the media, as they bombard our lives. We now use media for everything, meaning there is a lack of normal conversation and contact with people due to a persona put on by people online, meaning that there is some things said online that would not be said in person, and people think that is fine due to media saturation.

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 think my presence on social media is a reflection of who i am, this is because i tweet about football, and occasionally lyrics of songs, and as someone who is a football fan and like listening to music, i think that is a valid representation. I have removed a picture, because i have realised it is not the image of me that i am trying to portray.

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?

I think data mining is fine, but to a certain extent. This is because somethings should be kept private, so having things like an in private browser when products that are similar to the thing you search doesn't come up all the time. It can be classed as an invasion of your privacy, but it also gives you a chance to see other deals that you may be interested in.

Monday 16 March 2015

Feminism Online

Ched Evans

Jean Hackett, a radical feminist has used twitter to try and stop Ched Evans from playing football again. She has used twitter to get people to sign petitions to stop Oldham and Sheffield United from signing him. The petitions got hundreds of thousands of signatures from people who believed the same thing. Due to those petitions, and other factors, both clubs chose not to sign him.


Evans and another footballer, was tried at the Crown Court at Caernarfon after being charged of the rape of a 19-year-old woman, "who was deemed too drunk to consent," at a hotel near Rhyl in May 2011. Evans was convicted on 20 April 2012 and was sentenced to five years imprisonment. He was eligible for release after serving half of that sentence. During his incarceration, Evans worked as a painter and decorator in the prison in order to afford a healthy diet. In August 2012, Evans was refused leave to appeal against the conviction by a single Court of Appeal of England and Wales judge and the full court upheld the decision in November. Evans continues to maintain his innocence and in November 2013 recruited a new legal team to attempt to clear his name.
In my opinion, I think there are elements of witch hunt in the Ched Evans case. There were many things that were said and done that may have been a little too public, like Jessica Ennis' comments saying she will want her name to be taken off the stand of Sheffield United if Ched Evans plays for them. The public comment was uncalled for, as it made more people condemn Ched Evans not because of what he did, but because they are fans of Jessica Ennis and take everything she says as gospel.

Caroline Criado-Perez

Caroline Criado-Perez used twitter to protest, the male oriented pictures on money (Notes), as she believed it showed inequality. Mervyn King the Bank of England governor refused her request, but when he was succeeded by Mark Carney, the view went into straight contemplation. She was then asked to come into the Bank of England  and was asked if she would accept Jane Austen on the back of a £10 note.

This got a mixed reception on twitter, as the women on twitter congratulated her, but there were a lot of men giving her abuse and threatening her with comments of rape and death. The comments on twitter that she received was uncalled for and it should not have came to that. However, I don't believe that a women felt that strongly about having a women on some money. For me, there are many things going on in the world, and a women, is caused drama on twitter for a female person to be on money. If it was an ethnic minority who attempted to do that, they would have been shut down, and that question never asked or publicised because it is an ethnic minority.

Emma Barnett

Emma Barnett, is a female journalist for the Telegraph and she among other women journalists are subject to trolling via twitter. This is a serious concern, because women journalist are trolled more than men journalist. The abuse they receive on twitter is normally sexual or threats. There have been a lot of rape tweets, and tweets, about the women's lack of sex life, causing them to be ranting needlessly. 

Emma Barnett, was sent a shocking tweet, saying there was a bomb in her house that will be going off at a certain time, to wreck everything. This caused her to be scared and she ran to the pub.I think tweets like that are very disrespectful, and should not be tolerated, but on the other hand, men get trolled also, in different fields, and the only field women get trolled more is the filed that is talked about, I think this is very biased and misleading. 

Friday 13 March 2015

NDM 35

Social media 'at heart of 2015 general election campaign'


Article

Political advertising on television and radio is banned in the UK. But parties are able to use social media as propaganda which allows them to get  more votes The videos - some of which have been attacked for their negative campaign messages - are not regulated by the broadcast regulators Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority. 

This will be a good way to get more people interested in the election debates and process, but a social media campaign targets youth, which is ironic as the age for voting is 18, and not 16, the sort of age that people who are on social media start from.

NDM 33

ITV buys The Voice producer Talpa Media for £355m




ITV has bought the makers of BBC1’s The Voice, Dutch production company Talpa Media, for £355m in a deal that could end up costing more than double that.Established by the creator of Big Brother, John de Mol, Talpa Media’s other shows include panel game I Love My Country and reality show Dating in the Dark.It has created 75 shows in more than 180 countries but is best known for “spinning chair” talent show The Voice, currently in its fourth series on BBC1 featuring Rita Ora and Will.i.am.
“When it comes to the importance of content, the strategy of both successful companies is exactly the same and for Talpa this represents a fantastic opportunity for strong further growth.“It also enables me personally to concentrate and focus even more on creating new, groundbreaking content.”

Thursday 12 March 2015

Feminism

What are the two texts the article focuses on?

This article focuses on a TV show called "Pan Am" and a music video by Beyonce called "Why don't you love me."  

What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)?

One example from the two text of the male gaze is in Beyonce's music video as she says "I got beauty I got class, I got style and I got ass." This quote shows that Beyonce has sexualilsed her self in order to be loved, as she know men objectify women. Another quote is "with a face like that you will find a husband in a couple of months" it again shows that it is about how the woman looks and not her intelligence or how she is as a person, this shows even women believe men objectify women, and they try to conform to it.

Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?
In my opinion, I think there is a need for feminism as there are issues in the UK that need to be addressed, such as differences in pay, and how women are objectified. However, on the other hand I think there are just some things that happen to women that may cause that, for instance, maternity leave  which has women  out of work for a little less than a year. This means men would have a higher wage as they are in work longer than the women.

Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog.

Feminism – A movement aimed at defining, establishing, and defending women’s rights and equality to men.

Post-feminism – An ideology in culture and society that society is somehow past needing feminism and that the attitudes and arguments of feminism are no longer needed.

Nostalgia - A sentimental longing for the past often only remembering the positives of the time.


Page 3 Article 

Research the No More Page 3 campaign. Who started it and why?

Lucy Holmes was the person that organised and started the campaign as she believed women were only seen in The Sun newspaper as sex objects, and nothing else.

What are the six reasons the campaign gives for why Page 3 has to go?

1) It’s 2014! Page 3 was first introduced in the sexist 1970s. 
2) It’s soft porn in the UK’s no.1 selling family newspaper that children are exposed to. 
3)They see page after page of pictures of men in clothes doing stuff (running the country, having opinions, achieving in sport!) and what are the women doing in this society they’re learning about? 
4) Women say, do and think so many interesting and incredible things and should be celebrated for their many achievements. They are people, not things! 
5) Every single weekday for the last 44 years in The Sun newspaper the largest female image has been of a young woman (usually of a very particular age, race, physicality) showing her breasts for men, sending out a powerful message that whatever else a woman achieves, her primary role is to serve men sexually.
6) The Sun newspaper could be so much stronger without Page 3. 

3) Read this debate in the Guardian regarding whether the campaign should be dropped. What are Barbara 

Susan believes The Sun should abolish page 3 as we are not in the 1970s any more. Also, she believes it doesn't boost up the sales of the newspaper, so it is just pointless. 
Barbara said  spoke about there being worse things than page 3, which means it is the least of their concern. And there are other things like level pay that is a little more important. 


4) How can the No More Page 3 campaign be linked to the idea of post-feminism?

The campaign can be linked to post feminism because people are campaigning for the abolishment of something that makes feminism look like it still exists. Because it objectifies women, women believe the page 3 of the Sun shows that women are still inferior to men.

5) What are your OWN views on the No More Page 3 campaign. Do you agree with the campaign's aims? Should the campaign continue?


In my opinion, i think the campaign should continue as people have a right to speak about what they want, but the Sun newspaper shouldn't get rid of page 3 models. I think this because page 3 models are not forced to be naked, but choose to be also, women say it is giving a bad image of women but, there are stories that stereotype ethnic groups, but they are still on the newspaper and in the news, meaning there are different standards for different types of people.

6) Do you agree that we are in a post-feminist state or is there still a need for feminism?


I think we still need feminism, because there are things that objectify women and stereotype them also. But on the other hand, I think there is very little oppression of women in the job world, because there are different roles done in the work place that warrant different pays. People who get jobs with higher paid salaries would have to be working for a long time, but as women, who get pregnant, take time off, taking them out of the running because they have stayed stagnant in their quest for higher pay because they have conceived a child which they look after and have to take time off work to do so.

Friday 6 February 2015

Post Colonialism Blog Task

1) Summarise the three theorists we have looked at: Alvarado, Fanon and Said.
Alvarado's theory (1987) was that black people in the media are split into four categories:
  • Exotic (Models, Music Artists, Athletes and Food)
  • Dangerous (Crime, Gangs and Socially Dysfunctional)
  • Humorous (Comedians and Sidekicks)
  • Pitted (Poverty)
Frantz Fanon (1952) Claimed that black people were "Were putting on the white mask." He also said that black stereotypes can be:

  • Infantilize (Children in Poverty)
  • Primitivize (Beats, Sporting Prowess)
  • Decivilize (Gangster, Pimps)
  • Esssentialize (All look the same)

Edward Said said  there is Gulf between the east and west. Also Civilised vs Uncivilised.

2) Watch the opening of Yasmin (2004) again. Does it offer a positive or negative view of British Muslims? To what extent does it reinforce or challenge Edward Said's theory of Orientalism - that the west is superior to the exotic or uncivilised east?

I think there are both positive and negative representations of British Muslims in this film. A negative representation is firstly shown sue to the main character. She pretends she is a good Muslim woman to her family, but when she is at work, she looks like western woman. This means she is trying to conform to two different parts of society and by doing so she is conceding her morals and religion. However there is also a positive representation of British Muslims in this film as the boy, who has also conformed a little to western ways, which is shown by his Nike trainers, however has not neglected his religion and morals. This is shown when he still goes to pray when the call to pray comes out in the city. This therefore can mean that British Muslims are able to conform with western ways, and still be religious. 

3) Finally, choose THREE clips for EACH of the theorists and explain how you could apply that theory to the clip. Pick a selection of clips on YouTube from TV, film, music video or advertising and embed them in your blog before writing your analysis under each clip. Note: this means you need NINE clips in total on this blogpost.


Alvardo.





Fannon 








Said 










Wednesday 4 February 2015

Identities and the Media: Reading the Riots

How did the language and selection of images in the coverage create a particular representation of young people?
The language and selection of images, gave a negative representation of young people. They did this by using words, that evoke a reaction from the audience, or pictures that make young people look bad. An example of this is through the word “Anarchy.” This word has a connotation of lawlessness, meaning that the young people have no morals or respect for their country.
Also, the picture of the person in the tracksuit with a scarf covering his face and gloves represents young people as “Chav”. This is because wearing a hoodie or tracksuit is a shorthand that audience may use to identify a trouble maker.

Why does David Buckingham mention Owen Jones and his work Chavs: the demonisation of the working class?
I think David Buckingham mentioned Owen Jones and his book because it showed the audience who are reading media magazine that there was a lot of middle classed youth in the riots, as there was a lot of talk about the riots being attended by working classed youth instead of the middle classed youth that can hardly put a foot wrong.

What is the typical representation of young people – and teenage boys in particular? What did the 2005 IPSOS/MORI survey find?
The typical representation of young people is negative. This can be backed up by the stat 72% of stories in newspapers about youth are negative. This shows representation of youth is not a good one. Also, a typical representation of young people, especially boys could be that they are drug takers and criminals, due to the amount of stories which contain those things.
The 2005 IPSOS/MORI


How can Stanley Cohen’s work on Moral Panic be linked to the coverage of the riots?
A moral panic is an intense feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. Moral panics are in essence controversies that involve arguments and social tension, and in which disagreement is difficult because the matter at its center is taboo. This therefore can be linked to the riots as the riots threatened social order.
What elements of the media and popular culture were blamed for the riots?
The elements blamed for the riots in regards to the media were violent video games, rap music and reality TV. 

How was social media blamed for the riots? What was interesting about the discussion of social media when compared to the Arab Spring in 2011?
Social media was blamed for advertising the riots and giving people a platform to interact and organise the riots also. In regards to Arab Springs, they used social media to show us how bad they were being treated. This shows that social media can be used for good.

The riots generated a huge amount of comment and opinion - both in mainstream and social media. How can the two-step flow theory be linked to the coverage of the riots?

Alternatively, how might media scholars like Henry Jenkins view the 'tsunami' of blogs, forums and social media comments? Do you agree that this shows the democratisation of the media?
I think that it does show democratisation as people are able to express their opinions and have freedom of speech without fear of backlash due to new and digital media’s anonymity.
What were the right-wing responses to the causes of the riots?
The right wing compared them to animals that needed to be tamed, like a beast.  What were the left-wing responses to the causes of the riots?
The left wing believes that other factors are to blame such as unemployment and lack of youth clubs, and social places for youth to be. 

What are your OWN views on the main causes of the riots?
In my opinion, I think the riots were caused by the shooting of Mark Duggan initially. However, I think the latter parts were due to greed.

How can capitalism be blamed for the riots? What media theory (from our new/digital media unit) can this be linked to?

Capitalism can be blamed for the riots because everyone in those riots wanted wealth. That is what capitalism is about. 

Were people involved in the riots given a voice in the media to explain their participation?

People involved in the riots were not able to voice their opinion as it may have the things people in institutions had to say about them.

What is your own opinion on the riots? Do you have sympathy with those involved or do you believe strong prison sentences are the right approach to prevent such events happening in future?