1. Unexpectedness: 'Man bites dog' is news. If an event is highly unpredictable, then it is likely it will make it into the news.
2. Unambiguity: Events whose implications and meanings are clear make for a better story than those that are open for interpretation or need more explanation.
3. Personalisation: Events that can be portrayed as the actions of individuals will be more attractive than one in which there is no such "human interest".
4. Continuity: Once an event has been covered, it is convenient to cover it some more - the running story. -This will very much depend on the nature of the event. E.g. The war in Afghanistan.
5. Reference to elite nations: Those nations which are closest to our own will receive most of the coverage.
6. Reference to elite persons: The media may pay attention to important people; "The Labour Party leader falls in sea" - That is news.
7. Composition: Stories must compete with eachother for space within the media. For example, if a newspaper already has several foreign news item, the elast important news item might have to make way for a domestic news item.
8. Visual imperatives: The 9/11 terror attacks, in which the death toll was almost 3000, provided a series of powerful images. Terro attacks in the Congo have claimed 3million people, but because the cameras weren't there, the violence isn't as well-known.
9. Negativity: Bad news is good news.
10. Logistics: Although eased by the availability of global communications even from remote regions, the ability to deploy and control production of reporting staff, and functionality of technical resources can determine whether a story is covered.
Sunday 6 December 2009
Thursday 3 December 2009
Rupert Murdoch, the facts
The Dirty-Digger
He's famous for building one of the largest media empires in the world with interests in television, film, internet, newspapers and publishing.
He is the founder, a major share-holder, chairman and managing director of News Corp.
The most popular newspapers he owns are The Times, the Daily Mirror and The Sunday Times.
He has been accused of undermining the quality of the Press.
"The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow" - Rupert Murdoch
He doesn't want search engines to be free anymore; he said that he will block everything from his newspaper that comes from the popular search engine Google. "I think we will remove our websites from Google's search index, but that's when we start changing" - Rupert Murdoch
The Google boys responded with "He can block us if he wants to"
Friday 27 November 2009
Female Representation in Two And A Half Men
As the name suggests, this programme is mainly centered around men and their lives.
Females are represented as sexy, thin 'barbie dolls'. This stereotypical view of gold-diggers have been transported to situation comdeies and therefore representing real-life.
There is the occasional difference in representation; Berta the housewife. If somone asks a man "what do houewives usually look like?" They will probably reply with, "Hot".
This 'hot' view of housewives has been almost purposefully misconstued by the creators, because they have chosen an overweight, not particularly attractive, although incredibly funny, middle-aged woman.
The picture on the left in Burta, and the one on the right is Candy.
Sunday 22 November 2009
Gender representation in 'Atonement'
In the beginning of Atonement, females are represented in a very elegant fashion. None of the women are fat, all of them are skinny, and almost every woman is beautiful.
The female role in the film is more relaxed than a man's role; writing plays, romance, reading books, smoking cigarettes.
Men are represented in the film as being very posh, handsome and straight. Their role in the beginningof the film is romance and war.
The female role in the film is more relaxed than a man's role; writing plays, romance, reading books, smoking cigarettes.
Men are represented in the film as being very posh, handsome and straight. Their role in the beginningof the film is romance and war.
Sunday 1 November 2009
Representation Homework
Stereotypes
Stereotyping is something that we all do, it is a natural part of the way our minds work and not necessarily, in itself, a bad thing.
The four parts of a media storage:
- Appearance - This can include physical appearance as well as clothing a sound of voice.
- Behaviour - Typical things that people in this group might do.
- The stereotype is constructed in ways that fir the particular medium - E.g. One group of stereotypes are created in very different ways.
- There will always be a comparison whether real or imaginary with 'normal' behaviour - E.g. On the News, tales of striking workers (another stereotype) are always contrasted with interviews with 'normal' people who are suffering as the result of their actions.
Changing representations - Countertypes
The orgional stereotype of black people was negative. In the film 'Independance Day', Will Smith is seen as a strong and positive hero. This is changing the origional stereotype into something different.
Stereotyping is something that we all do, it is a natural part of the way our minds work and not necessarily, in itself, a bad thing.
The four parts of a media storage:
- Appearance - This can include physical appearance as well as clothing a sound of voice.
- Behaviour - Typical things that people in this group might do.
- The stereotype is constructed in ways that fir the particular medium - E.g. One group of stereotypes are created in very different ways.
- There will always be a comparison whether real or imaginary with 'normal' behaviour - E.g. On the News, tales of striking workers (another stereotype) are always contrasted with interviews with 'normal' people who are suffering as the result of their actions.
Changing representations - Countertypes
The orgional stereotype of black people was negative. In the film 'Independance Day', Will Smith is seen as a strong and positive hero. This is changing the origional stereotype into something different.
Media Diary for Half Term
Films I've watched...that I can remember:
- My Bloody Valentine (2009)
- Goodfellas (1990)
- A Guide To Recognising Your Saints (2006)
- The 39 Steps (1935)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- The Host (2006)
Television Programmes I've watched...that I can remember:
- The Simpsons (Sky1 and Channel 4)
- Come Dine With Me (Channel 4)
- Mock The Week (Dave)
- Life (BBC)
- Hollyoaks (Channel 4)
- Top Gear (Dave)
- Neighbours (FIVE)
- Curb Your Enthusiasm (More 4)
- Family Guy (BBC3)
- Katie - My Beautiful Face (Channel 4)
- P Diddy's Starmaker (Channel 4)
- My Bloody Valentine (2009)
- Goodfellas (1990)
- A Guide To Recognising Your Saints (2006)
- The 39 Steps (1935)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- The Host (2006)
Television Programmes I've watched...that I can remember:
- The Simpsons (Sky1 and Channel 4)
- Come Dine With Me (Channel 4)
- Mock The Week (Dave)
- Life (BBC)
- Hollyoaks (Channel 4)
- Top Gear (Dave)
- Neighbours (FIVE)
- Curb Your Enthusiasm (More 4)
- Family Guy (BBC3)
- Katie - My Beautiful Face (Channel 4)
- P Diddy's Starmaker (Channel 4)
Sunday 11 October 2009
Lights, Camera, Action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3f9UJTmgd0&feature=fvw
(From 1:12 to 3:38) - Not the whole ten minutes, only 2 minutes and 26 seconds.
The scene starts with the camera performing a dolly shot, tracking a man who is walking in a garage.
The narrator (who is also the man walking) contradicts himself while talking about black people when he says, "If I got one thing against the black chappys, it's this, no one gives it to you, you have to take it". The lighting has been set up so that he looks like a 'black chappy' himself - There is no light in the garage, but there is daylight behind him, creating a silhouette of the man.
When the scene cuts, the camera is placed into a first person view, and immitates the man walking into a diner. Notice the "DON'T WALK" sign to the left, yet the man is still walking across the road - shows authority. Without any scene transitions, the camera moves out of first person then pans to the left, revealing the manCostello standing at the counter, but only showing his back.
There is a close up on both man's hands when the exchange of money takes place, this is to show detail of what's just happened.
"It won't happen again Mr. C" anchors the importance of the character; the auidience now have a name of the man walking at the beginning, and they would probably guess that he is a gangster.
The soundtrack to this scene is Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones, this adds a certain amount of 'coolness' to the whole scene, and gives Mr. C (formally Costello) immediate authority over everyone.
The music changes to a more, easy listening song when Costello makes the owners of the diner give the young boy at the bar a couple of loafs of bread, a couple of half gallons of milk, mayonaise, baloney and cheese and comic books. This is exceedingly generous, it shows his authority over the owners of the diner.
It then changes back to The Rolling Stones when he is walking across the road, with an over-the-shoulder shot of Costello looking at him.
(From 1:12 to 3:38) - Not the whole ten minutes, only 2 minutes and 26 seconds.
The scene starts with the camera performing a dolly shot, tracking a man who is walking in a garage.
The narrator (who is also the man walking) contradicts himself while talking about black people when he says, "If I got one thing against the black chappys, it's this, no one gives it to you, you have to take it". The lighting has been set up so that he looks like a 'black chappy' himself - There is no light in the garage, but there is daylight behind him, creating a silhouette of the man.
When the scene cuts, the camera is placed into a first person view, and immitates the man walking into a diner. Notice the "DON'T WALK" sign to the left, yet the man is still walking across the road - shows authority. Without any scene transitions, the camera moves out of first person then pans to the left, revealing the manCostello standing at the counter, but only showing his back.
There is a close up on both man's hands when the exchange of money takes place, this is to show detail of what's just happened.
"It won't happen again Mr. C" anchors the importance of the character; the auidience now have a name of the man walking at the beginning, and they would probably guess that he is a gangster.
The soundtrack to this scene is Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones, this adds a certain amount of 'coolness' to the whole scene, and gives Mr. C (formally Costello) immediate authority over everyone.
The music changes to a more, easy listening song when Costello makes the owners of the diner give the young boy at the bar a couple of loafs of bread, a couple of half gallons of milk, mayonaise, baloney and cheese and comic books. This is exceedingly generous, it shows his authority over the owners of the diner.
It then changes back to The Rolling Stones when he is walking across the road, with an over-the-shoulder shot of Costello looking at him.
The Departed
"Two men from opposite sides of the law are undercover with the Massachusetts State Police and the Irish mafia, but violence and bloodshed boil when discoveries are made, and the moles are dispatched to find out their enemy's identities."
-www.imdb.com
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Budget - $90 million
Gross revenue - $290 million
Themes - Concept of identity, father-son relationship throughout.
This film represents the Crime Drama genre. It is a hybrid text because Thriller is a prominent genre, and has been mixed with Crime, which offers an emphasis on the psychological aspect of the film.
Sunday 27 September 2009
'The Pursuit of Happyness' Essay Plan
Media language:
Mise-en-scene - Sky scrapers represent power.
Multi-cultural society, black and white, rich and poor. Poor people represent the inequalities of America.
Costume - Chris' Clothes are smart, but the quality of the fabric is not as good as the businessmen. - Expresses his struggle.
Chris' apartment is dingy, small and dull. The office he gets an internship at is bright, busy and loud. - Shows the difference between his life and work.
Red sports car represents success and hope.
Institutions:
Stock Market - employer purely for business, not friendly relationships.
Nusery school - Lets the children watch programmes unsuitable for them.
Hospital - Chris' car get clamped outside.
Police station - Chris has to stay over night, jeopardising his interview the following morning.
Ideology:
Ronald Regan is president - His speech on the t.v. stated that the Federal Budget is out of control. - Need to make restrictions on spending.
Being able to live your life in the pusuit of happiness - from the Declaration of Independance.
Values:
Working-class background.
Linda is concerned with taxes and financial matters, whereas Chris is concerned about solving the Rubick's Cube.
White-collar workers dominating big businesses.
Reverse of fortune - Chris got scammed, he scammed someone. (taxi driver).
Mise-en-scene - Sky scrapers represent power.
Multi-cultural society, black and white, rich and poor. Poor people represent the inequalities of America.
Costume - Chris' Clothes are smart, but the quality of the fabric is not as good as the businessmen. - Expresses his struggle.
Chris' apartment is dingy, small and dull. The office he gets an internship at is bright, busy and loud. - Shows the difference between his life and work.
Red sports car represents success and hope.
Institutions:
Stock Market - employer purely for business, not friendly relationships.
Nusery school - Lets the children watch programmes unsuitable for them.
Hospital - Chris' car get clamped outside.
Police station - Chris has to stay over night, jeopardising his interview the following morning.
Ideology:
Ronald Regan is president - His speech on the t.v. stated that the Federal Budget is out of control. - Need to make restrictions on spending.
Being able to live your life in the pusuit of happiness - from the Declaration of Independance.
Values:
Working-class background.
Linda is concerned with taxes and financial matters, whereas Chris is concerned about solving the Rubick's Cube.
White-collar workers dominating big businesses.
Reverse of fortune - Chris got scammed, he scammed someone. (taxi driver).
Sunday 20 September 2009
Homework set on 14/09/09
Television
IAMS cat food advert: Target Audience - Cat owners/people looking to buy a cat.
This advert would attract a passive audience as there is one simple meaning in the advert: "BUY THIS PRODUCT".
Film
"Natural Born Killers" is a film centered around how the media presents serial killers.
Target Audience - Fans of violence in media and fans of over-the-top action films.
This film would attract an active audience because the film is polysemic.
Printed
"I'Models" advertisement in the London Evening Standard.
Target Audience - People looking to become a model.
This advertisement would attract a passive audience because the message, again, is simple - URGENT MODELS REQUIRED.
Radio
'dfs' sofa sale, "save atleast £400 on a fantastic range of sofas".
Target Audience - People who are looking to buy a new sofa and people who regularly listen to the radio.
This radio advertisement would appeal to and attract a passive audience because this reflects the 'Hypodermic Needle' Model. - It is injecting the idea of 'saving money' into the audience's heads.
IAMS cat food advert: Target Audience - Cat owners/people looking to buy a cat.
This advert would attract a passive audience as there is one simple meaning in the advert: "BUY THIS PRODUCT".
Film
"Natural Born Killers" is a film centered around how the media presents serial killers.
Target Audience - Fans of violence in media and fans of over-the-top action films.
This film would attract an active audience because the film is polysemic.
Printed
"I'Models" advertisement in the London Evening Standard.
Target Audience - People looking to become a model.
This advertisement would attract a passive audience because the message, again, is simple - URGENT MODELS REQUIRED.
Radio
'dfs' sofa sale, "save atleast £400 on a fantastic range of sofas".
Target Audience - People who are looking to buy a new sofa and people who regularly listen to the radio.
This radio advertisement would appeal to and attract a passive audience because this reflects the 'Hypodermic Needle' Model. - It is injecting the idea of 'saving money' into the audience's heads.
Eastenders: Values
Eastenders has many values, here is a list of some of them:
- Family: This includes dilemas, love and resolve.
An example of a dilema was Sam Mitchell's unexpected return and her involvement with the police. The episode usually starts with a dilema and ends with one too.
- Community: This has an impact on each storyline as each member of the community has something to tell. Also, there are places which attract community attention.
E.g. The Queen Victoria Pub (commonly known as 'The Vic'), The break-in at the community centre and the involvement of the police.
- Relationships: Relationships have an important part in Eastenders as they hold the key to how people act towards eachother. For example, Bradley and Stacey's relationship was very romantic at times, but was very on-edge for the majority of times. This affected how they acted towards eachother in later episodes.
- The past: 'What happens in the past stays in the past'. - This phrase and value is very important for Eastenders, as it's always very exciting for the audience when they see a character have a flashback or if someone that character knows comes back for them.
This can be doubled-up with Relationships, for example, as with Ricky and Sam.
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