globalisation and news

1) Is our news influenced by American cultural imperialism? What examples can you think of?

Well Galtung an Ruge's news values includes 'familiarity' which exposes why our news may have some American interests/ideologies/values. America and Britain for centuries have worked together and created a strong economic and also social bond which is why Americanisation has appeared in some British News.

Additionally, this may marginalise other more important stories and on the other hand brush critical perceptions under the table, for example the Snowden case where he exposed the US government who were supposedly taking liberties with their power, going through the public's personal information.

2) Has the increased globalisation of news improved the audience experience? How? Why?

some may say that it has dumbed us down as we often passively receive information form the media which embed its ideologies and values.

Immediacy has increased in the sense that we can now get coverage of news as it is occurring or moments after it has happened.

Conversely, one may argue that too much information is being fed to us 'numbing' or desensitising us from other international news.

 3) Has globalisation benefited or damaged major news institutions? How? Why?

Global reach has increased and made it profitable for media conglomerates, as they can expand their organisation and generate social relations as well as economic revenue. British newspapers such as the left wing Gaurdian and right wing Mail Online have expanded hugely in a global manner. 

Moreover, small national brands may be marginalised and under threat because of huge media conglomerates. 

Marxism & Pluralism: Alain de Botton on the news

1) To what extent do you agree with Alain de Botton's views on the News?

I agree with him to a certain extent, because not all corporations are that objective and not all journalists are out there to inject you with their ideologies. however it may be argued that some are agenda biased and transfer some views and values into the audience. 

2) How can you link Marxism and Hegemony to de Botton's criticisms of the News?

he has very critical Marxists approach towards the media, Alain de Botton's argues that too much information has an indistinguishable notion too as having an excess of information forcing us to accept the status quo too, it also influences people to the social expectations that are promoted in a way that forcing the public to conform to the norms of the elite and powerful through big media conglomerates. Alain also says that in the media 'neutrality is impossible' in some media corporations and some journalists created the 'best kinds of bias' though a 'woefully limited agenda'. People who question the norms will be labelled a 'radical', so how is this any different to oppressing the public from knowledge about the world or how their country is run. 

3) How could you use Pluralism and new technology to challenge de Botton's views on the News? 
 Pluralist would proclaim that ‘the internet in an empowering tool.. and exciting and revolutionary prospect’ (Al Gore) which amplifies how digital media has become more engaging and collaborative through the years, accentuating the notion that it is an absolute necessity for our society to improve as a diverse classless and ultimately equal society. The fact that the ‘top 5% of all websites accounted for almost 75% of user volume’ (Lin and Welsh 2012) strengthens the argument of new and digital media empowering its audiences, as they are the ones inputting there perspective, experiences and thoughts into the World Wide Web.  

weekly 20/11/15

How news organisations around the world have responded to Paris attacks

This article conveys how different news papers have reacted to the tragic Paris attacks. 

The Guardian

To answer Isis’s declaration of war – if it was indeed that – would be to compliment the group, to grant it dignity and accord it the status of a state, reads the Guardian editorial on Friday’s deadly terrorist attacks in Paris.

The Washington Post

The attacks by Isis on Paris, Beirut and in the Sinai were aimed at “everyone who aspires to modernity and cherishes a free and open society,” writes the Washington Post editorial board.

The Wall Street Journal

“The Paris attack is in some ways even more alarming than 9/11,” writes the Wall Street Journal.

“Airplane hijackings have largely been stopped through enhanced security. Paris suggests that Islamic State has embarked on a strategy of urban unconventional warfare wherever it is able across the west.”

Boris Johnson in the Telegraph

“It is plainly no use hoping that the problem of Daesh-inspired terrorism is going away, writes Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, for the Telegraph.

“As we deliberate on how to respond, it is essential to be cautious, and to be pragmatic – and yet to use every weapon at our disposal.”

Daily Mail criticised by social media users for cartoon on refugees

Thousands have retweeted a post comparing the Mail's cartoon with that of an Austrian newspaper's from 1939

The bottom half of a cartoon published by Das Kleine Blatt in 1939 Das Kleine Blatt

Comparisons between a cartoon published by The Daily Mail and an anti-Semitic Viennese cartoon published before the Second World War have been drawn by social media users.

Social media users have strongly criticised the Mail’s cartoon, with a tweet comparing the two attracting thousands of retweets. This uproar and questioning a huge media conglomerate can only have been brought to the attention of the public through Twitter the social media platform. "We are not going to dignify these absurd comments which wilfully misrepresent this cartoon apart from to say that we have not received a single complaint from any reader," a Daily Mail spokesperson told The Independent. 

p and m

Desensitisation and undermining a fair and democratic, passionate society can accumulate from censoring and restricting the news which may generate opinions and perspective. Therefore, when people in countries where there is no involvement and production of the media, people cannot question the political , economic and social conventions of society. Similarly Alain de Botton's argues that too much information has an indistinguishable notion too as having an excess of information forcing us to accept the status quo too, it also influences people to the social expectations that are promoted in a way that forcing the public to conform to the norms of the elite and powerful through big media conglomerates. Alain also says that in the media 'neutrality is impossible' in some media corporations and some journalists created the 'best kinds of bias' though a 'woefully limited agenda'. People who question the norms will be labelled a 'radical', so how is this any different to oppressing the public from knowledge about the world or how their country is run. 


Pluralist would proclaim that ‘the internet in an empowering tool.. and exciting and revolutionary prospect’ (Al Gore) which amplifies how digital media has become more engaging and collaborative through the years, accentuating the notion that it is an absolute necessity for our society to improve as a diverse classless and ultimately equal society. The fact that the ‘top 5% of all websites accounted for almost 75% of user volume’ (Lin and Welsh 2012) strengthens the argument of new and digital media empowering its audiences, as they are the ones inputting there perspective, experiences and thoughts into the World Wide Web. Furthermore.

 Rupert Murdoch a powerful and influential managing dealer of conglomerates has quoted himself ‘that the internet has given readers much more power’ this is undoubtedly  portrayed through the audiences ability to utilise software’s and programs such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook ect, which ultimately allows and encourages user generated content, ultimately empowering the audience. A well-known example is the Eric Garner incident which occurred on the 17^th July 2014, when a bystander recorded the police brutality, had not been recorded at the time people would have been unaware of the truth amid the speculations, causing an uproar for equality and justice.

In contrast, a Marxist view would argue that we are enjoying the illusion of autonomy, through the media. Rupert Murdoch says that ‘the expression of state sponsored journalism is a threat to the plurality and independence of news provision’ his accentuates that notion of the media being mediated. Furthermore, this also portrays how the public are being ‘injected’ by cherry picked ideologies by huge media conglomerates (hypodermic needle theory).

 Moreover, Pereto’s law suggests that ‘a minority of (media) producers always serve a majority of consumers’, highlighting that there is a class system and the elite people at the top guide and influence people who are less ‘important’ in their eyes. They focus on providing their text to either cater dominant elite and wealthy people, or change the view of the working and lower classes, turning them against each other, forgetting it is the elite making theses decisions and ‘not everyone taking their jobs’ This strengthens the hegemonic view by Gramsci as the media positively represents and promotes a certain way of living and ideology, making the audience less powerful.

A Marxist would also argue that new and digital media has allowed class conflict to create disunity and divide in our society. The Guardian had recently released an article on the rise of Marxism in July 2012, it advocates the notion that young people are often led to critically develop the media industry, as they it helps them again better understanding of their capitalist surroundings. We as audiences are being ‘dumbed down’ and view the news from a mediated and article view point, although user generated content has emerged, it is still not taken seriously and the powerless majority still have no voice, it as though we are ‘enjoying the illusion of autonomy’.

Furthermore, regression is befalling us as we are to a certain extent, and undoubtedly being censored. This is because of political and social influences from gate keepers who decide what actually get to be published to the media. The use of bold headings and cherry picked, out of context quotes and terminology also plays a role in making the audiences and consumers further away from democracy as possible, and by allowing this to be pressured on different platforms and sources a digital media creates a perpetual cycle of biased information.

Freedom of expression is one of the essential foundations of the European Union. But freedom of expression can only be exercised in a free and pluralistic media environment, including through independent media governance. A pluralist would believe that the media promotes the notion of social equality and develops democracy in our society. Digital disruption has impacted audiences and consumers in a position way as they can collaboratively create a global village with people across the world, and additionally contribute to the news, distorting any so called agenda’s. A prime and popular example is vice news, this is because it makes the public more powerful by capturing clips and providing articles from alternative perspectives (Hall).

 Digital media has opened the doors for challenging views, which ‘levels’ (Aleks Kerovski BBC 2012) out the news from dominant ideologies. This idea is strengthened by Castells, who in 1996 said that technologies are in favour of the interests of the individuals’. This is because they can portray and describe their experiences and views on social media sites easily accessible to anyone. Ultimately portraying the fact that the media allows the public to voice their own autonomy.

Conversely, questions about how transparent the media is may arise. Vint Cerf from Google says that ‘privacy may be on anomaly, now over. This is because of the fact that a lot of our information in being withheld on the internet and networks, which can not only be hacked but also be followed up by Government officials. Marxist theory emphasizes the importance of social class in relation to both media ownership and audience interpretation of media texts: this remains an important factor in media analysis.

Whilst content analysis and semiotics may shed light on media content, Marxist theory highlights the material conditions of media production and reception. 'Critical political economists' study the ownership and control of the media and the influence of media ownership on media content cannot be ignored. It also remains important to consider such issues as differential access and modes of interpretation which are shaped by socio-economic groupings. Marxist media research includes the analysis of representation in the mass media (e.g. political coverage or social groups) in order to reveal underlying ideologies. We still need such analyses: however oppositional it may sometimes be, audience interpretation continues to operate in relation to such content. Because of the distribution of power in society, some versions of reality have more influence than others.

weekly 11/11/15 (marxist)

Media for development: does good journalism promote transparency?

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/jun/13/media-for-development-transparency

 former WorldBank president, James Wolfensohn, who said: "A free press is not a luxury. A free press is at the absolute core of equitable development, because if you cannot enfranchise poor people, if they do not have a right to expression, if there is no searchlight on corruption and inequitable practices, you cannot build the public consensus needed to bring about change."

The trouble is, they are not. The media have multiple, overlapping roles which are fundamentally shaped by local contexts. Pretending that they don't leads to bad project design and policy making. It also fuels the mistaken belief that accessto technology alone is enough to solve problems.

Such misleading stories about the inevitably positive role of technology are not limited to the subject of press freedom. Those concerned with behaviour change communication also tell exciting tales about the benefits of mobile phones, for example, in promoting flood safety or educating young mothers. Yet disseminating information through the media will only change behaviours in very specific circumstances – when the right people, can access the right information, at the right time, understand it, trust it and be able to act upon it. It's no use telling people to boil their drinking water, for example, if they don't have the means to boil it

This article is from  Marxist view which explores the importance of a free press and it essential role for a democratic society. However it also points out that most people are deluded to the illusion of such freedom, despite having emerging technologies and digital development. 

A freedom of information tipping-point

Anas Qtiesh

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/23/egypt-syria

president Mubarak gave the orders to shut off off the internet in the country completely. 
Quickly, al-Jazeera became one of the last remaining reliable sources of information. Eventually, though, its broadcast was cut on Nilesat, its Cairo bureau closed, and its journalists repeatedlythreatened and harassed.

operating out of a basicprinciple: the less people that know about what you're doing, the more likely you'll get away with it. Fortunately, today, that is simply not possible. With the omnipresence of telecoms, no matter how hard governments try to block information from leaking, the people will always be a step ahead, finding creative ways to get their messages, photos, videos, tweets and Facebook updates out to the world. Indeed, their collective voice cannot be blocked.

Media Magazine Conference IOE 2015

Bill Thompson

internet:
innovative
creative
free expression
active citizenship
freedom of press
leisure
communication/comment
gather information
make contributions
voices in your head/ engaging
with people in the more greater and profound way
political action
campaigning
financial rewards
games-creative-learning
friendship
equal opportunities

Downfall
bulling
unwanted pornography
extremism
abuse/trolling->racist lady who lost job
scams/rip offs
fraud
conspiracy theories
the dark web
limit control (dumbing us down)

Natalie Fenton:

power over?
media content
audiences 
jonalists
governments

to?
censor
mislead
set the adgenda
 independent journalism should :
plurality
diversity
hold people in power to account
encourage dialogue
question and debate
delimiting the freedom of the press
allow social change -give power to audience

Mediated power-objectivity and impartiality  'permissive network'
the press swiftly come to their own conclusions to generate story for ££

'distorted of democracy' constraining and delimiting audiences

over 50% of national UK news papers sold are controlled by Rupert Murdoch and Jonathan Hansworth

pressure journalists, cut and paste, hegemony
8 news papers published inferences saying an innocent man is a murderer creating huge implications and difficulty in his social and economic life
commercial gain

Stuart Hall:
role of media in circulating 'common sense' definitions of majority and minority groups of  'deviance' and 'normality'

Miedia process as over reporting some and under reporting others.
what is not told to us by the media?

51% violent crimes- however decreasing
24% muslim- reality 5%
teenage pregnancies- 20%
moral panic/ increase islamaphobia or dislike towards working class or youth


'not vanquished or conquering'
'always contestable'
-where does the power reside?
power..
-what forms it exists, who has it, organise the distribution of knowledge and resources

since 1979 no UK gov has been elected without the Murdochs support

Rob Watson

Affect tone- who's point of view who is in every shot?

risk assessments
precuastions


Owen Jones

MYTH OF A 'CLASSLESS SOCIETY'
-media should look like the people in its country
-not just limited to the elite and rich
express your experiences and let them know

decline in newspapers
201 3 mil
2015 1.8 mil
citizen journalism, real time, twitter

-dont let us scrutinise the powerful, should be educating society about the current situations
-to make life easier fro the people in power, the elite
-generate jealousy with the people/working class rather than addressing the people creating or in charge

index

Story 1 & 2: A holographic representation of the late Whitney Houston will tour the world in 2016, it has been announced. A little tired and emojinal
Story 3 & 4 : When will the targeting of ethic minorities
Story 5 & 6: young woman on Instagram and self-esteem: 'I feel absolutely insecure'. Culture minister calls on social media sites to tackle transphobic hate
Story 7 & 8: Sun website traffic slips by 14%.  Rebekah Brooks is back – to make sure Murdoch becomes even more dominant
Story 9 & 10: Why the future of newspapers is not all doom and gloom. Martin Sorrell on newspaper digital ad slowdown: 'paywalls are the way to go'
Story 11 & 12:  From Minecraft to books: what Stampy did next after YouTube stardom. Women are silenced online, just as in real life. It will take more than Twitter to change that
Story 13 & 14: 

Story 15 & 16: Australia has no freedom,' Fox News host  claims in discussion on gun laws.  Twitter is replacing favourites with likes – but  does anyone heart it?

weekly 6/11/15

'Australia has no freedom,' Fox News host 

claims in discussion on gun laws

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/06/australia-has-no-freedom-fox-news-host-claims-in-discussion-on-gun-laws

Tucker Carlson, one of the hosts of the Fox & Friends segment which aired on Monday night, said that gun restrictions were an “infantile focus on the tool of the violence,” and interrupted a fellow host, Clayton Morris, when he listed Australia as a common example used in the argument for gun restrictions

“The other side of that argument, that people always throw out, of course, is like: ‘look at Australia! They don’t have gun violence, they have no guns, their citizens aren’t allowed to have guns’,” Morris said.

Im not a fan of gun legalisation purely because I think that allowing something to be so openly used can result to using it in the incorrect context and inappropriately. However the fact that the fox news presenter said that ‘you can go to jail for expressing unpopular views’, illustrates that how social and political tensions cause an interruption in voicing opinions. 

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/03/twitter-replacing-favourites-with-likes-does-anyone-heart

Twitter is replacing favourites with likes – but

 does anyone heart it?

Favourites – we use them for a myriad of reasons. Favouriting a tweet could mean “I like this tweet”, or “good point”, or “this is fun, but not enough to retweet”, or “I acknowledge your communication, but can’t be bothered to reply”, or “the conversation is ending now, but on a positive note!” Also, the favourite is a great bookmarking tool.

I think that its great for social media sites to be enhancing their features on the internet, however it may look like they are coping Instagram which may familiarise people  the 'like' button however they may gain a great load of criticism for being less creative and innovative.  

weekly 23/10/15

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/11915673/Do-you-want-free-Facebook-or-a-say-in-where-your-personal-data-is-stored-its-unlikely-you-will-have-both.html

Do you want free Facebook or a say in where your personal data are stored? It's unlikely you will have both

The article explains how social media websites that we use for free, retain their profits by selling our details to corporate companies who then use our data to their own advantage. I think that there is a real threat and concern to our security and privacy as technology and digital media evolves.

David Cameron says he's a huge fan of Channel 4 - but he's still considering privatising it

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/david-cameron-says-hes-a-huge-fan-of-channel-4-but-hes-still-considering-privatising-it-a6721191.html

“I’m a huge fan of Channel 4 and Channel 4 was a great Conservative innovation…I want to make sure that Channel 4 has a strong and secure future and I think it’s right to look at all of the options including to see whether private investment into Channel 4 could help safeguard it for the future.”

I think that by privatising Channel four you are constricting the information being explored and presented to the larger public. This could also minimise the conservative data and views being expressed on national television and that this unfair privatisation could cause seclusion from teh rest of public society, creating boundaries between the people which may result in conflicting and accepting idea's as Channel four allows diversity and professionalism.

weekly 30/10/15

From Minecraft to books: what Stampy did next after YouTube stardom

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/31/minecraft-books-stampy-youtube-stardom-joseph-garrett

Garrett’s alter-ego Stampy is one of the most popular children’s channels on YouTube, with 6.6 million subscribers and more than 4.2bn views since its launch in 2011. Last year, he was the fourth biggest channel on the service.
It remains only available in the US, where it has generated some criticism from consumer groups for the advertising that is carried alongside the videos. Details of its global rollout have yet to be announced, but when it does, channels like Stampy should benefit.
“If I look at my channel, it’s slightly in the majority girls than boys, and overall in Minecraft it’s pretty close to a 50/50 split,” he says. “All of gaming has gone that way: the idea of gaming as a male-dominated hobby has gone now.”

The article expresses the how the Stampy the YouTube sensation has progressed in his field (the world of gaming) and how new and digital media ahas allowed for this to happen (youtube,instgram etc). I think its a brilliant way for children to enjoy animation and also there is less concern about negative influence for the children as he targets children and does not have inappropriate language on his commentary etc. 
However, just like any other technology, I think that it may cause children to be less active and hooked onto the computer screen fro entertainment. 

Women are silenced online, just as in real life. It will take more than Twitter to change that

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/29/dull-abusive-self-satisfied-why-cant-we-make-audiences-better

A study I ran of online news commenting in the UK, US and Australia, indicates that even in moderated comments sections, men dominate the posts. It also suggests women commenters may be adopting pseudonyms (fictitious name) to avoid gender stereotyping and abuse.
The findings tally with a recent study done by Oxford statistician Emma Piersonbut also with sociological accounts of men’s control of public debates.

I personally love get involved with debates and open discussions mostly not digitised ones because of personal preference. However is it very worrying that other females feel intimidated online, I think it is vital to be much in involved in matters that affect us all, to rejuvenate democracy.  More should be done to allow females of openly comment just as ell as men.

weekly 23/10/15

Why the future of newspapers is not all doom and gloom

And there is a growing recognition that Google, Facebook, Snapchat and others benefit significantly from the value that news brands like the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Mail provide. The relationship is not dependent. It is interdependent – mutually beneficial, because the news brands provide serious, engaging content through the power of their journalism and the power and influence of their brands. So the pendulum, you could say, is starting to swing back to what some people still like to call “traditional media”. 

The article is trying to reinforce the fact that people need traditional media as much as it needs them to develop a healthy revenue and expand their market share because of their brand.
 In relation to smaller news brands the idea of a 'thousand monkeys on the internet' may be highlighted and that the content being produced is not of professional standards and that online media may not hit its target market.

Martin Sorrell on newspaper digital ad slowdown: 'paywalls are the way to go'

said Sorrell. “If you have content that has value consumers will pay for it. You have to get your mind around the fact that digital [advertising] is going to be less profitable. If that [economic reality] is what you are moving into you’ve got to make cost adjustments. [And] be much more free thinking and flexible about how to make revenue.”

I believe that the development and increase of pay walls means the decrease of 'people power' this is because more people will be less interested in paying for the newspaper online and  this will lead to a fall in our obligation to defend democracy. I make this bold statement as I believe that circulating news is highly important for us to understand our world and current affairs which may very well affect us. Therefore, being oppressed to this vital information could lead to a very dull, suppressive and unequal society.  

NDM: Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

NDM: Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

Read the Media Magazine article ‘Web 2.0: Participation or Hegemony?'. Go to our archive of Media Magazine issues and click on MM39 - the article you need is on page 58. Answer the following questions:

notes:

as anyone with a web connection

can create and publish texts (‘user-generated 

content’); we no longer have to rely upon 

professional organisations (or traditional ‘old’ 

media) to act as the gatekeepers. 

Some observers believe this has led to 

‘dumbing down’ and ‘the cult of the amateur’ 

(see Carr, 2011); ‘dumb’ and ‘amateur’ because 

anyone, regardless of ability or expertise, can create texts.

What appears to be happening is that YouTube is now used more frequently as a commercial  network for promotional and catch-up purposes that runs alongside, and probably dominates, the original, usually trivial, user-generated content.

1) Research the Ian Tomlinson case. What would the traditional, hegemonic view of the police be in a case like this? the police would like to think that they are more dominant then the working class man as they have power because of their position.

How did new and digital media create a different story? it challenged the the view of the professionals and unveiled the truth of what happened that day, without the footage the courts or the world would never have known the truth about Ian Tomplinsons death.

 What does the police officer's subsequent aquittal suggest about the power of new and digital media? This may suggest that although user generated content is rightly put forth, the ultimate way of how we are governed may be influenced by our class and where our positions are in society. I personally think that we need to break out of these unfair constraints to be able to lead fair lives in a real democratic society.

2) What does the author argue regarding whether hegemony is being challenged by Web 2.0? 

The author may be suggesting that although we do not have gatekeepers constricted our voices and opinions from being heard, we still remain powerless.I gather this from the fact that the articles and cases on the the media magazine article does not have a fair response to the injustice, Ian and many other receive.   

3) In your opinion, does new and digital media reinforce dominant hegemonic views or give the audience a platform to challenge them?

I think that the audience does get a platform to challenge dominant ideologies, because regardless of whether officials and people in power do not take interest towards the alternative view, many of the open minded public do allow room for people to portray a substitute or different ideology or representation, and the opinion of the general public matters too.