OSP: Zendaya CSP - Audience and Industries

The final part of our Zendaya case study explores Audience and Industry contexts.

The exam could focus on anything from the changing nature of digital audiences to the regulation and financial power of social media giants.

Notes from the lesson: Audience

Zendaya’s followers on social media:

• 67% female on Instagram and 73% female on Twitter
• Most commonly aged 20-24
• Based mainly in USA, Brazil and UK
• Top occupations: retail, publishing, entertainment, modelling, design or makeup
• Interests: music, reality TV, social networks and fantasy books
• Similar celebrity influencers: Ariana Grande, Beyoncé and Harry Styles
• Media consumption: Zendaya’s followers enjoy MTV, Vogue, E! News, National Geographic, The Times and HBO
• Other brands followers like: Nike, Disney, Netflix, CHANEL, Starbucks and Marvel.

Generations

Generation X: Born between 1965 – 1980
Millennials / Generation Y: Born between 1981 – 1995
Generation Z (or iGen): Born 1996 – 2010

"Voice of Generation Z"

Zendaya has been described as one of Generation Z’s leading voices. Although she doesn’t describe herself as an activist, she has certainly highlighted certain causes to her millions of followers:

• BLM – particularly telling authentic African-American stories in film and TV
• Feminism: “True feminism has to be intersectional.”
• LGBTQ+ rights – including portraying a cis-trans love story in Euphoria on HBO
• Mental health advocate (particularly anxiety)

Audience pleasures and engagement

One of the key audience pleasures of Zendaya’s online presence is her natural ability to engage with audiences online in a seemingly authentic way. Instagram engagement data: 

• Over 180m followers
• Engagement rate of 3.04% (compared to average of 1.7% for accounts with 100k+ followers) 
• 5.5m average likes per post

Industries

Social media companies overwhelmingly make their money through advertising – promoted or paid-for posts.

For Facebook and Instagram, the amount of data the parent company Meta holds about users (everything from the school they attended to their postcode) means adverts can be micro-targeted which is hugely appealing to advertisers.

Social media companies: in focus

Twitter

• Twitter was started by Jack Dorsey in 2006. It has over 200 million active users worldwide. 
• Twitter’s revenue is around $3 billion. 
• Twitter makes most of its money through advertising – promoted tweets or ‘trend takeovers’.
• In 2022 Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 BILLION and has since added controversial new features.
• Twitter is now coming under pressure from rivals including Meta’s Threads.

Instagram

• Instagram is an image and video sharing site launched in 2010. 
• In 2012 it was bought by Facebook for $1 billion. Facebook and Instagram’s parent company is Meta – a global conglomerate owned by Mark Zuckerberg.
• Instagram has over 2 billion active users worldwide.
• Instagram revenue is more than $40 BILLION.
• Zendaya has 180m+ Instagram followers.

Regulation: Livingstone & Lunt

Livingstone and Lunt suggest that the British media landscape has prioritised consumer choice and commercial interests when it comes to regulation.

This fits with neoliberalist ideology.

Neoliberalism: a political approach associated with free-market capitalism prioritising free trade, globalisation and deregulation.

Livingstone & Lunt: global media regulation

Livingstone and Lunt argue the global media landscape has made it difficult for UK regulators:

• Online content has increased at a rate far faster than regulators can react to.
• User-generated content (e.g. social media) means tech giants do not technically publish their own content.
• Ofcom can’t impact on American tech giants. 
• Online anonymity makes enforcement difficult.

2023 Online Safety Bill

The 2023 Online Safety Bill is attempting to regulate the internet – but has been heavily amended and criticised as it makes its way through Parliament. 

Watch this BBC News interview on the topic: 

Watch: Channel 4 debate on regulation

Watch this Channel 4 News debate featuring the President of messaging service Signal on end-to-end encryption.

Where do you stand on this debate? 

Zendaya: Audience and Industries blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Zendaya: Audience and Industries blog tasks' and work through the following to complete your case study.

Audience

Smart Water brand case study

Read this Smart Water case study from Influencer Intelligence and answer the following questions:

1) What is the charity link to her Smart Water brand ambassador role and how does this link to the celebrity persona she has created?

2) Read the analysis of Zendaya’s social media profile. What statistics support why she is described as ‘a high-ranking celebrity influencer’?

3) What details are provided about Zendaya’s audience?

4) What psychographic groups would fit the profile for Zendaya’s audience in this case study?

5) Why does the case study suggest Zendaya is a good fit for the Smart Water brand? 

Social media data analysis

Look at this analysis website for Zendaya’s Instagram account. Complete the following tasks:

1) Pick out three notable statistics from the site.

2) Scroll down through the data available. Who are Zendaya’s top mentions and what does this suggest about how she uses the account? 

3) How does Zendaya’s Instagram engagement rate of 3%+ compare with the average engagement rate for accounts with more than 100,000 followers? 

Zendaya: audience questions and theories

Finally, work through the following questions to apply media debates and theories to the Zendaya CSP: 

1) Is Zendaya’s website and social media constructed to appeal to a particular gender or audience?

2) What opportunities are there for audience interaction in Zendaya’s online presence and how controlled are these? 

3) How does Zendaya’s social media presence reflect Clay Shirky’s ‘End of Audience’ theories? 

4) What effects might Zendaya’s online presence have on audiences? Is it designed to influence the audience’s views on social or political issues or is this largely a vehicle to promote Zendaya’s work? 

5) Applying Hall’s Reception theory, what might be a preferred and oppositional reading of Zendaya’s online presence? 

Industries

How social media companies make money

Read this analysis of how social media companies make money and answer the following questions:

1) How many users do the major social media sites boast?

2) What is the main way social media sites make money? 

3) What does ARPU stand for and why is it important for social media companies? 

4) Why has Meta spent huge money acquiring other brands like Instagram and WhatsApp? 

5) What other methods do social media sites have to generate income e.g. Twitter Blue? 

Regulation of social media

Read this BBC News article on a report recommending social media regulation. Answer the following questions:

1) What suggestions does the report make? Pick out three you think are particularly interesting. 

2) Who is Christopher Wylie? 

3) What does Wylie say about the debate between media regulation and free speech? 

4) What is ‘disinformation’ and do you agree that there are things that are objectively true or false? 

5) Why does Wylie compare Facebook to an oil company? 

6) What does it suggest a consequence of regulating the big social networks might be? 

7) What has Instagram been criticised for?

8) Can we apply any of these criticisms or suggestions to Zendaya? For example, should Zendaya have to explicitly make clear when she is being paid to promote a company or cause? 

A/A* extension tasks

Read this Ask feature on Zendaya as the voice of Generation Z. Do you consider Zendaya to be an activist or a mainstream star using social media to promote her products?

Read this Guardian article on the Online Harms Bill. What does it suggest regarding regulation of social media companies?

Read this People report on Zendaya and social media anxiety. Do you agree with her message? Does the message make Zendaya a hypocrite seeing as so much of her brand is built on social media? 

This Guardian article also explores the mental health implications of social media. Do you think that strict regulation of social media should happen?

Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

Radio: War of the Worlds CSP (1938)

Our second CSP for radio is the 1938 CBS broadcast of War of the Worlds.

This is a famous broadcast of Orson Welles's radio play - an adaptation of HG Wells's science-fiction novel of the same name. It is a text of historical significance due to a long-running debate over the effect the broadcast had over audiences at the time. 

Narrative and background

War of the Worlds, a science-fiction novel by author HG Wells, was first published in 1898. It is a story of alien invasion and war between mankind and an extra-terrestrial race from Mars.

The original 1938 Orson Welles broadcast is available here:

In particular, focus on the following extracts:

Opening: 0.00 – 4.00
Development: 10.00 – 13.00
Emergence of alien: 17.00 – 19.00
Middle section: 39.00 – 41.00
Ending: 57.00 – end 

Think about these questions while you listen:

• How does the radio play seek to engage the audience?
• What effect do you think this may have had on radio audiences in 1938?

Hybrid genre

Orson Welles was initially reluctant to adapt War of the Worlds, describing it as 'boring'. He was persuaded by the prospect of using recent developments in radio news reporting to create a hybrid-form radio play designed to sound like a real breaking news story. The broadcast begins with a music performance that is increasingly interrupted by breaking news of martians invading New Jersey.


Historical context

In 1938, the world was on edge as Germany mobilised to invade Europe and populations feared gas attacks from another world war. In the weeks leading up to the 1938 broadcast, American radio stations had increasingly cut into scheduled programming to bring news updates from Europe on the chances of war. This meant Welles's use of radio news conventions had more of an impact on listeners who were unaware that it was a fictional radio play.

Media effects theories

The War of the Worlds radio play has become a much-studied text with regards to media effects theories. The initial reported reaction from audiences provided evidence for the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory which suggests people believe whatever they see or hear in the media. Orson Welles himself, speaking to the BBC in the 1950s, said that he wanted the broadcast to be a lesson to audiences that they shouldn’t believe everything they hear.

We can also apply Gerbner's Cultivation Theory, the two-step flow model and Stuart Hall's Reception Theory to Orson Welles's War of the Worlds broadcast. For example, what was Welles’s preferred reading for the broadcast? 

Audience reaction: exaggerated?

Although War of the Worlds is a brilliant case study in audience effects theory, it may also be an example of the way media industries respond to competition in the media marketplace. 

Indeed, later studies suggested the audience reaction was exaggerated by the newspaper industry (under threat from radio at the time) and that audiences are more sophisticated consumers of media than first thought.

Radiolab podcast on War of the Worlds

The American podcast Radiolab looked back on the significance of the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds and later attempts to recreate the effect. It's a brilliant summary of the context and reaction from the audience alongside clips from the broadcast and transcripts from interviews at the time. In particular, make sure you listen to the first 30 minutes and the last 10 minutes as these sections are absolutely perfect for A Level Media students.

You can listen to the Radiolab podcast here.

War of the Worlds: Blog tasks

Media Factsheet

Read Media Factsheet #176: CSP Radio - War of the Worlds. You'll need your Greenford Google login to download it. Then answer the following questions:

1) What is the history and narrative behind War of the Worlds?

2) When was it first broadcast and what is the popular myth regarding the reaction from the audience?

3) How did the New York Times report the reaction the next day?

4) How did author Brad Schwartz describe the the broadcast and its reaction?

5) Why did Orson Welles use hybrid genres and pastiche and what effect might it have had on the audience?

6) How did world events in 1938 affect the way audiences interpreted the show?

7) Which company broadcast War of the Worlds in 1938?

8) Why might the newspaper industry have deliberately exaggerated the response to the broadcast?

9) Does War of the Worlds provide evidence to support the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory?

10) How might Gerbner's cultivation theory be applied to the broadcast?

11) Applying Hall's Reception Theory, what could be the preferred and oppositional readings of the original broadcast?

12) Do media products still retain the ability to fool audiences as it is suggested War of the Worlds did in 1938? Has the digital media landscape changed this?


Analysis and opinion

1) Why do you think the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds has become such a significant moment in media history?

2) War of the Worlds feels like a 1938 version of 'fake news'. But which is the greater example of fake news - Orson Welles's use of radio conventions to create realism or the newspapers exaggerating the audience reaction to discredit radio?

3) Do you agree with the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory? If not, was there a point in history audiences were more susceptible to believing anything they saw or heard in the media?

4) Has the digital media age made the Hypodermic Needle model more or less relevant? Why?

5) Do you agree with George Gerbner's Cultivation theory - that suggests exposure to the media has a gradual but significant effect on audience's views and beliefs? Give examples to support your argument.

6) Is Gerbner's Cultivation theory more or less valid today than it would have been in 1938? Why?


Extension task: Media Magazine article on War of the Worlds

Read this excellent article on War of the Worlds in Media Magazine. You can find it in our Media Magazine archive - issue 69, page 10. Answer the following questions:

1) What reasons are provided for why the audience may have been scared by the broadcast in 1938? 

2) How did newspapers present the story? 

3) How does the article describe the rise of radio? 

4) What does the article say about regulation of radio in the 1930s? 

5) How does the article apply media theories to the WOTW? Give examples.

6) Look at the box on page 13 of real newspaper headlines. Pick out two and write them here - you could use these in an exam answer.

Due date on Google Classroom

OSP: Zendaya CSP - Language and Representations

Our first Online, Social and Participatory CSP is actress, singer, model and influencer Zendaya.

The study will focus on the website and social media presence of Zendaya and how she constructs her online persona.

Notes from the lesson

Zendaya: introduction

Zendaya is a celebrity who bridges Gen Z and millennial generations (born in 1996). Her career began as a child star in Disney sitcoms and she produced and starred in the spy series K.C. Undercover for the channel. Her persona shifted with her role in the HBO series Euphoria where she played a teen drug addict. 

Zendaya is known for her advocacy for a range of charities, describes herself as a feminist and discusses her identity in terms of her African and European heritage. Her output on social networks can be seen as a way to construct and protect her persona as well as a form of marketing for her career.

'Woke' culture wars

Zendaya would be considered ‘woke’ in the modern culture wars between left wing and right wing - or in America, between liberals and conservatives.

Woke definition: a political term of African American origin that refers to an awareness of issues concerning social justice.

Alongside promoting her work, Zendaya comments on issues of politics, racism and feminism - important aspects we need to be aware of. However, she also manages her celebrity persona carefully to avoid too much controversy and alienating potential audiences.

Zendaya: Oscars controversy

Zendaya went viral after the 2015 Oscars when E! TV show Fashion Police commented on her hair. Zendaya’s powerful response gained acclaim from major celebrities and established her as a voice for a new generation.

Zendaya: representations

LL Cool J on Zendaya: “She’s cool. You can manufacture fame. You can manufacture publicity. You can manufacture songs. You can’t manufacture cool.”

Zendaya reflects social and cultural developments in contemporary society around diversity in celebrity culture, young female empowerment and the emergence of Gen Z/millennial culture.

Zendaya’s reach across the platforms in constructing her brand makes her a notable contemporary figure, suggesting a new kind of celebrity power. Some have said this is due to her authenticity – but is this ‘reality’ just a highly constructed media representation?

Zendaya: Language and Representations blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to complete the first half of your blog work on Zendaya.

Introduction and background reading 

Read this Vox article on what makes Zendaya a great celebrity. Answer the following questions:

1) What was the 2015 Oscar controversy involving Zendaya? 

2) How did Zendaya control the narrative of that controversy?

3) What examples are provided of Zendaya using her celebrity to raise issues of race and social justice?

4) Zendaya insisted on a black family in Disney’s KC Undercover show. How can we link this to the ideas of Paul Gilroy? 

5) Who is Zendaya’s stylist and how did Zendaya use fashion and appearance to develop her celebrity persona? 

6) How has Zendaya influenced the representation of characters she has played? 

7) How did LL Cool J describe Zendaya? 

8) Do you agree with his assessment? Is Zendaya authentically cool or just another manufactured celebrity? 

Zendaya textual analysis

Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of Zendaya's social media. 

Social media analysis

1) Visit Zendaya's Twitter feed. Analyse her use of tweets - are they promoting her film/TV work, linked to fashion or sponsorship work or more socially or politically oriented? 

2) Look at Zendaya's Instagram account. She has said this is the one account that is always 100% created by her - can you find any evidence of that in the way posts or images are constructed? 

3) Watch Zendaya's 73 questions Vogue interview. How is this constructed to create a particular representation of Zendaya? 

4) Research Zendaya across any other social media accounts - e.g. Facebook. Do you notice any differences in how she represents herself on different platforms? Comment on text, images or tone/content.  

Representations

Go to our Media Magazine archive and read the article on Zendaya, social media, feminism and celebrity (MM81 - page 12). Answer the following questions:

1) What the concerns around social media discussed at the start of the article?

2) What example is provided of Zendaya’s authenticity – or possible lack of authenticity? 

3) What is the one social media app that Zendaya manages entirely herself?

4) What are the issues highlighted by Billie Eilish regarding self-representation and feminism? 

5) How authentic do YOU feel Zendaya’s media representation is? Is it the real Zendaya or a media construction designed to look authentic? 

A/A* extension work

Read this academic history of celebrity culture and social contexts. How much can we find that is relevant to the kind of celebrity persona Zendaya has created? 

How does the construction of Zendaya's online presence reflect the social and cultural changes of the last 10 years? 

You will have some lesson time on this but will need to complete for homework. Due date on Google Classroom.

Radio: BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat

Our first CSP for radio is BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat.

Our key concepts for Radio are industries and audiences so these are the areas we need to consider when studying the texts. 

BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat notes and background

Radio 1 Newsbeat is an example of a transitional media product which reflects changes in the contemporary media landscape. Newsbeat is both a traditional radio programme with regular, scheduled broadcast times, but it is also available online after broadcast.

The broadcast itself and the use of digital platforms provides opportunities for audience interaction. Newsbeat also exemplifies the challenges facing the BBC as a public service broadcaster that needs to appeal to a youth audience within a competitive media landscape.

Listen to today's Newsbeat bulletins by using the BBC Newsbeat page on the BBC website and then linking to BBC Sounds and scrolling to 8am or 12.45pm.


BBC Radio 1: History

BBC Radio 1 launched in 1967 playing pop music and using jingles in the style of American radio. It was a significant change from previous BBC content and was hugely popular in the 1970s and 1980s (some shows had 10m+ listeners). 

It became available on DAB digital radio in 1995 but not promoted until digital radios were more popular in 2002. It is available via digital TV and online via BBC Sounds.

Radio 1 is famous for events as well as radio – summer Roadshows, Big Weekends and the annual Teen Awards. 


Industries: Radio in decline

Although the BBC still boasts impressive audience figures for BBC Radio 2 and 4, it has struggled to attract young listeners to BBC Radio 1 in recent years.

Since 2010 listeners have declined – and although BBC R1 targets 15-29 year olds the average listener in 2017 was aged 30. Radio 1 is increasingly focusing on digital and social media with 16m weekly YouTube views reached in 2018.

Radio 1 Audience profile:

• Slightly more female than male
• 58% ABC1 (against population average of 55%)
• 90% white
• 41% of audience is in target audience range of 15-29
• Median age of 32

Industries: BBC remit and regulation

In 2011, BBC Radio 1 was part of a review into what the license fee should fund. Critics suggested that the content of BBC Radio 1 and 2 should be left to the commercial sector.

In response, the BBC made major changes at BBC Radio 1, aiming to re-target a core 15-24 audience and offering more diverse programming.

Since 2017, the BBC has been regulated by Ofcom. It is responsible for BBC content and ensuring it is delivering on its remit. 

BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat: Blog tasks

Newsbeat analysis

Read the notes and listen to the extracts from Newsbeat above before answering the following questions:

1) Use BBC Sounds to listen to Radio 1. Scroll to a Newsbeat bulletin (8am or 12.45pm are good options) and write notes on how the bulletins may: 

a) appeal to a youth audience 

b) help fulfil the BBC's responsibilities as a public service broadcaster. 

Media Factsheet #224: Industrial contexts of Radio

Read Media Factsheet #224 Understanding the Industrial Context of Radio. You'll need your Greenford google login to access it. Answer the following questions:

1) Read the first two pages of the factsheet. How does the Factsheet argue that radio still has cultural significance in the digital age? 

2) Look at the page 4 section on media theories. Briefly summarise the ideas of Curran and Seaton, Hesmondhalgh and Livingstone and Lunt.

3) What is the definition of public service broadcasting?

4) Look at the list of eight key principles for BBC Radio on page 6 of the factsheet. Choose the three you think are most significant and explain why.

5) What does the Factsheet suggest is the future of PSB radio and how might Radio 1 fit into this?

Industry contexts: reading and research

Read the first five pages of this Ofcom document laying out its regulation of the BBC. 

1) Pick out three key points in the 'Summary' section.

2) Now read what the license framework will seek to do (letters a-h). Which of these points could we relate to BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat?

3) Which do you think are the three most important aspects in the a-h list? Why?

4) Read point 1.9: What do Ofcom plan to review in terms of diversity and audience? 

5) Based on your reading and research, do you think BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat offers licence fee payers good value for money?

Finally, read this Guardian interview with former BBC 1 Controller Ben Cooper.

1) What was Ben Cooper trying to do with Radio 1?

2) How does he argue that Radio 1 is doing better with younger audiences than the statistics suggest?

3) Why does he suggest Radio 1 is distinctive from commercial radio?

4) Why is Radio 1 increasingly focusing on YouTube views and digital platforms?

5) In your opinion, should the BBC’s remit include targeting young audiences via Radio 1 or should this content be left to commercial broadcasters? Explain your answer.

Extension task: new Media Factsheet!

There is now a Factsheet for the Radio 1 Newsbeat CSP. Read Factsheet #246 BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat. This would be ideal revision for the CSP and Radio topic.

Due date on Google Classroom

OSP: Influencers and celebrity culture

Social media and influencers have added a whole new dimension to celebrity culture in the last 15 years.

As part of our study of online, social and participatory media - and before we start studying Zendaya - we need to explore the rise of influencers and the way celebrity culture has changed. This also builds on last week's work on Clay Shirky and his End of Audience theories. 

User-generated content

Influencers exist because of changes in technology and the internet. This created social media sites like YouTube and Facebook and led to the rise in user-generated content.

User-generated content (UGC) is any content—text, videos, images, reviews, etc.—created by audiences, rather than brands or professional producers.

This links to Shirky’s work on audiences as producers – we create and share media as well as viewing it.

The rise of influencers: changing culture

The rise of social media influencers and online celebrity culture has fundamentally changed the relationship between brands, stars and audiences. 

Some argue that YouTube has democratised the contemporary media landscape – anyone can become the next star and audiences can choose who to follow. Others suggest that social media has blurred the boundaries between advertising and entertainment – and that young audiences are being exploited.

Influencers and their impact on media and culture

What impact are influencers having on society, media and culture? You need to be able to form your own opinion on this question. To help you, watch this BBC Panorama programme on influencers. Here's a brief summary:

Here's the extended 28-minute Panorama if you'd like to see more:

Bad Influencer: Belle Gibson & The Great Insta Con

The danger with user-generated content is whether we can trust what we see on social media. Belle Gibson was one of the first lifestyle influencers but ended up in a controversy over faking cancer diagnoses to promote her posts. This is a preview of a BBC3 documentary on Belle Gibson and the Great Insta Con:

Influencers and celebrity culture: blog tasks

1) Media Magazine reading

Media Magazine 72 has a feature linking YouTube influencers to A Level media theories. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM72 and scroll to page 60 to read the article ‘The theory of everything - using YouTubers to understand media theory’. Answer the following questions:

1) How has YouTube "democratised media creativity"?

2) How does YouTube and social media culture act as a form of cultural imperialism or 'Americanisation'? 

3) How do influencers reinforce capitalist ideologies? 

4) How can YouTube and social media celebrity content be read as postmodern, an example of hyperreality? 

5) What are the arguments for and against regulating online content such as YouTube?

6) How can Hesmondhalgh and Curran & Seaton's ideas be linked to online media debates? 

7) How can Gauntlett's ideas around identity and audience be applied to YouTube and influencer content?

8) What is YOUR opinion on celebrity influencers? Are they a positive, democratic addition to the contemporary media landscape or a highly constructed product promoting hegemonic capitalist ideologies?   

2) How to build a social media brand: case study

Read this excellent case study on how to build a celebrity social media brand and answer the following questions: 

1) What are the different ways celebrities manage their social media accounts? Give examples. 

2) Why is 'voice' important in celebrity social media content and what examples are provided? 

3) What different goals may celebrities have for their social media accounts? 

4) What types of content can be found from celebrity social media posts? 

5) How does social media allow influencers to interact with fans? Give examples.  

3) Guardian article: Social media harming young people

Finally, read this Guardian article reporting that social media and celebrity culture is harming young people. Answer the following questions:

1) What did the YMCA's report suggest about social media content and celebrity culture?  

2) What examples are provided of how this can have a damaging effect on young people? 

3) What is YOUR opinion on this topic? Do you feel social media is dangerous to young people? Should age restrictions be enforced? Explain your answer. 

A/A* extension tasks

Read this excellent, academic article on the history of celebrity culture recommended by exam board AQA. Has digital culture changed the nature of celebrity or have things always been like this?  

Read this Forbes article on how covid and TikTok have changed the influencer market in the last couple of years. What does this tell us about society and media culture - are we becoming more creative and independent or is this just another way to sell more products to more people?

Due date on Google Classroom.

Radio: Introduction to radio

Our final media topic on the coursework side is Radio.

We have two CSPs to study for this topic and also need to consider the place for radio in a digital media landscape. 

Radio CSPS

War of the Worlds – Columbia Broadcasting Company (1938)

Newsbeat – BBC Radio 1 

These are targeted CSPs and need to be studied with reference to two elements of the Theoretical Framework (Audiences and Industries) and all relevant contexts (Social, Cultural, Political, Historical). 

Example exam questions

Briefly define public service broadcasting. [2 marks]

To what extent is War of the Worlds a historically significant media product? [20 marks]

Identify two strategies or techniques used by Radio 1 to attract a youth audience. Explain the reason for each. [4 marks]

Explain how regulatory contexts shape the output of media industries. You should refer to your radio Close Study Product, Newsbeat. [9 marks]

Key question: Is radio still relevant in the digital age?

How does radio respond to the digital media landscape we now find ourselves in. Will younger audiences listen to the radio? Does it have influence? Are podcasts the future for younger listeners?

BBC Sounds

BBC Sounds is a relatively new app designed to bring younger listeners to BBC Radio content. It aims to fulfil its requirements as a public service broadcaster while also responding to the demands of the digital media landscape.




Introduction to radio: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Introduction to Radio' on your Media 2 Coursework blog and complete the following tasks:

BBC Sounds

Read this Guardian feature on the launch of BBC Sounds and answer the following questions:

1) Why does the article suggest that ‘on the face of it, BBC Radio is in rude health’?

2) According to the article, what percentage of under-35s used the BBC iPlayer catch-up radio app?

3) What is BBC Sounds?

4) How do audiences listen to radio content in the digital age?

5) What does Jason Phipps suggest is important for radio and podcast content aimed at younger audiences?

6) Why does the BBC need to stay relevant?

Now read this review of the BBC Sounds app.

7) What content does the BBC Sounds app offer?

8) How does it link to BBC Radio?

9) What are the criticisms of the BBC Sounds app?

10) Two new podcasts were launched alongside the BBC Sounds app. What are they and why might they appeal to younger audiences?

Due date on Google Classroom

OSP: Clay Shirky - End of audience

Our first topic for Year 13 is Online, Social and Participatory media (OSP).

This will allow us to build on the work we did in Year 12 while further exploring the impact of the internet on audiences and media industries. Our two in-depth CSPs are actor and online influencer Zendaya and The Voice website - the online home of the weekly newspaper for the Black British community.

Notes from the lesson

Before studying the CSPs, we need to learn a key theorist for this topic - Clay Shirky's End of audience theories. This, along with the remarkable impact of the internet, will underpin everything we study for Zendaya and The Voice.

The internet: a brief history

The internet has been the most significant social, cultural and technological development of the last 30 years.

• In 1998, just 9% of UK households had internet access.
• By 2020, it had risen to 96%.
• Daily internet use in the UK has trebled since 2006 with almost 50 million using it every day.
• Smartphones are now the most popular device to access the internet. The iPhone was launched in 2007.

Source: ONS (Office for National Statistics)

The 'Information Revolution'

550 years ago, the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg meant that the number of books in existence rose from a few thousand to 20 million in just 25 years. This led to the Reformation, the Renaissance and the scientific revolution in which centuries-old modes of thinking were radically questioned.

The internet has been likened to the Gutenberg revolution – which means we’re living through this ‘Information revolution’ right now:

• “The most important medium of the twentieth century” (Briggs and Burke 2005) 
• “An application that will usher in The Information Age” (Castells 1996)

Clay Shirky: End of audience



Clay Shirky suggests the 20th century media model “with professional producers and amateur consumers” has been replaced by a more chaotic landscape that allows consumers to be producers and distributors. 

From the rise of collaborative projects to publicity campaigns run by volunteers, he believes that “organizations now have to understand, and respect, the motivations of the billion new participants in the contemporary media ecosystem.”

One of big changes with digital platforms is that “Every consumer is also a producer, and everyone can talk back.”  Yet what may be more significant is the simple math of how many people can reach each other through the connections in a network.  The result is always more connections. 

Shirky adds that media had been a hierarchical industry—in that one filtered first, and then published. “All of that now breaks down,” he says. “People are producing who are not employees or media professions.  So we now publish first, and then filter.  We find the good stuff after the fact.  This is dramatically different.”

Source: Internationalist Magazine Trendsetters profile 

Clay Shirky: End of audience blog tasks

Media Magazine reading

Media Magazine 55 has an overview of technology journalist Bill Thompson’s conference presentation on ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ It’s an excellent summary of the internet’s brief history and its impact on society. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM55 and scroll to page 13 to read the article ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ Answer the following questions:

1) Looking over the article as a whole, what are some of the positive developments due to the internet highlighted by Bill Thompson?

2) What are the negatives or dangers linked to the development of the internet?

3) What does ‘open technology’ refer to? Do you agree with the idea of ‘open technology’?

4) Bill Thompson outlines some of the challenges and questions for the future of the internet. What are they?

5) Where do you stand on the use and regulation of the internet? Should there be more control or more openness? Why?

Clay Shirky: Here Comes Everybody

Clay Shirky’s book Here Comes Everybody charts the way social media and connectivity is changing the world. Read Chapter 3 of his book, ‘Everyone is a media outlet’, and answer the following questions:

1) How does Shirky define a ‘profession’ and why does it apply to the traditional newspaper industry?

2) What is the question facing the newspaper industry now the internet has created a “new ecosystem”?

3) Why did Trent Lott’s speech in 2002 become news?

4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?

5) Shirky suggests that: “The same idea, published in dozens or hundreds of places, can have an amplifying effect that outweighs the verdict from the smaller number of professional outlets.” How can this be linked to the current media landscape and particularly ‘fake news’?

6) What does Shirky suggest about the social effects of technological change? Does this mean we are currently in the midst of the internet “revolution” or “chaos” Shirky mentions?

7) Shirky says that “anyone can be a publisher… [and] anyone can be a journalist”. What does this mean and why is it important?

8) What does Shirky suggest regarding the hundred years following the printing press revolution? Is there any evidence of this “intellectual and political chaos” in recent global events following the internet revolution?

9) Why is photography a good example of ‘mass amateurisation’?

10) What do you think of Shirky’s ideas on the ‘End of audience’? Is this era of ‘mass amateurisation’ a positive thing? Or are we in a period of “intellectual and political chaos” where things are more broken than fixed? 

A/A* extension work: Read Chapter 1 ‘It takes a village to find a phone’ and Chapter 4 ‘Publish, then filter’ to further understand Shirky’s ideas concerning the ‘End of audience’.

You will have lesson time to work on this but will need to finish for homework. Due date on Google Classroom.

Recap: Summer Project 2023

The summer project is a vital element of your coursework - an opportunity to plan an outstanding crime drama video/print project and then present it to class in September.

Your summer project contains compulsory and optional elements; everybody will be researching music videos and promos, creating a concept, writing a first draft Statement of Intent and presenting this to class as an Ignite presentation in September. However, you may wish to also plan and film elements of your production over the summer while you have time and actors available - this is up to you.

Summer project tasks

Complete the following tasks on a blogpost on your coursework blog called 'Summer Project: coursework planning': 

1) Research: TV crime drama extract analysis 

You need to write a close-textual analysis of six TV crime drama extracts. For each extract, focus on a different aspect of media language, and embed each one on your blog:

TV crime drama extract 1: Narrative and genre
How is the narrative and the crime drama genre communicated to the audience?

TV crime drama extract 2: Mise-en-scene
What do you notice about the use of mise-en-scene to create meanings for the audience? Think CLAMPS.

TV crime drama extract 3: Camerawork
Here you are looking for particular camera shots and movement. E.g. Are close-ups used to show the reaction of key characters to the audience? How are establishing shots used?

TV crime drama extract 4: Editing
Analyse pace, transitions, number of shots and juxtaposition e.g. eyeline matches. How is editing used to create meanings for the audience? 

TV crime drama extract 5: Sound
Analyse both diegetic and non-diegetic sound in the extract - music, dialogue, voiceover, SFX, background or foley sound.

You can find a range of TV drama extract examples in this blogpost.

In total, your research notes on your blog will be approximately 1,000 words - bullet points are fine.

2) Planning: TV crime drama concept

TV crime drama

In order to produce a successful crime drama extract, you will need to plan out an overall narrative arc for the whole episode or season of your drama. This may include the main characters in your drama and the narrative conflict driving the main protagonist for example. This overall picture of your crime drama will inform both your TV extract and the TV listings magazine feature.

Your three-minute extract

What will your three-minute extract involve? A chase scene? Dialogue? Disequilibrium? It needs to feature the typical codes and conventions of TV crime drama. Look at the minimum requirements of the brief in order to ensure you plan for everything you need.

Complete this TV crime drama extract pitch template to plan these elements (you can copy the questions into your blog or complete on your own Google Doc and link from your blog) to demonstrate you have planned your video production. 

3) Statement of Intent

Write the first draft for your genuine 500-word Statement of Intent. This will be submitted to the exam board alongside your media products and is worth 10 marks of the overall 60 marks available.

The original AQA brief is here: NEA Student Booklet 2024 submission - brief 1. 

We also strongly recommend you look at our Statement of Intent 2024 questions to consider document too (you'll need to log in with your Greenford Google account to read this).


4) Ignite presentation

Prepare a 5-minute, 20-slide presentation using the Ignite format in which you present your coursework project. In effect, this is your statement of intent in presentation format. You must cover:

• Your TV crime drama concept: title, tagline, narrative, characters etc.
• Media language: how you will use conventions, camerawork, editing, mise-en-scene and sound to create an effective TV crime drama extract.
• Media representations: how you will use or subvert stereotypes; representation theory.
• Media audiences: your target audience demographics and psychographics; audience pleasures; audience theory.
• Media industries and digital convergence: the potential companies or organisations that could produce or stream your TV drama; how your extract will encourage audiences to discuss your new TV drama on social media. 

Ignite presentations have very specific rules: you must create exactly 20 slides with each slide set to 15-second auto-advance. This means your presentation will be exactly five minutes followed by questions and comments from the class. You will deliver your presentation on your coursework planning in September.

Your Ignite presentation will be marked out of 30 on the following criteria (each worth a possible 5 marks):

1) Research (through the presentation AND your blog) 
2) Coursework concept
3) Language: terminology and theory
4) Representations / social and cultural contexts
5) Audience and Industry / digital convergence
6) Presentation delivery

You can find more information about Ignite presentations - including examples - in this Ignite presentation blogpost here.

Summer project deadline: all tasks above due in second week back in September

Welcome to Year 13 Media!

Welcome to Year 13 A Level Media Studies!

Year 13 Media is by far our favourite year to teach... Time to create coursework, study the in-depth topics and theories that showcase the best of the subject and get into some brilliant debates about news, technology, society and more. We can't wait!

We'll be kicking off with Online, Social and Participatory Media on the exam side and on the coursework side we'll soon be presenting our Ignite presentations to get coursework up and running.

Let's have a great year and get a top grade next summer!