NDM: The decline of the newspaper industry

The next aspect of our new/digital case study for A2 Media is the decline in the newspaper industry.

Exploring how new/digital technology has impacted on traditional media industries is a critical part of the overall exam topic. We need to learn statistics and examples that illustrate the decline in print media alongside looking at how audiences have changed the way they access and interact with news. Your Ofcom research blog task is a major part of this but now we need to consider whether print newspapers have any kind of future - and if so, who will pay for it?

The future of newspapers

Read this article from the Economist on the future of newspapers.

On your blog, write a paragraph summarising the argument the article makes. Then answer the following questions:

1) Do you agree with its view that it is ‘a cause for concern, but not for panic’?

2) The article is 10 years old - an eternity in digital media terms. Have the writer's predictions come to pass? Use statistics from your Ofcom research to support or challenge the writer's argument.

3) The Economist suggests that high-quality journalism in the future will be backed by non-profit organisations rather than profit-seeking media corporations. Is there any evidence for this? How is the Guardian funded? What do major stories from the last year such as the Panama Papers suggest about how investigative journalism is conducted in the digital age?



Homework/classwork
You have some serious homework this week - in addition to finding your weekly NDM stories. Your main work is some in-depth reading which will provide excellent preparation for university. David Simon, creator of critically acclaimed TV series The Wire and a former journalist, has written a passionate defence of the newspaper industry in the face of the new and digital media onslaught. This will easily take you a couple of hours to complete - make sure you put the time in.

The article, Build The Wall, is available here on the Columbia Journalism Review website.

Your tasks are as follows:

1) Read the article in full.

2) Create a blogpost on your MEST3 Exam Blog called 'Build The Wall analysis'. 

3) Summarise each section in one sentence:

• Section 1 (To all of the bystanders reading this…)
• Section 2 (Truth is, a halting movement toward...)
• Section 3 (Beyond Mr. Sulzberger and Ms. Weymouth…)
• Section 4 (For the industry, it is later than it should be…)

4) Summarise David Simon’s overall argument in 250 words.

5) Read this Guardian comment by AC Grayling piece on the state of journalism that was published the year before David Simon's essay. What references to new and digital media can you find in AC Grayling's argument? Overall, do you feel the comment piece is positive or negative about the influence of new/digital media on the newspaper industry?

6) Finally, what is your own opinion? Do you agree that newspapers need to put online content behind a paywall in order for the journalism industry to survive? Would you be willing to pay for news online? Critical autonomy is the key skill in A2 Media - you need to be able form opinions on these issues.

ALL work due: confirmed by your MEST3 teacher (Mr Halsey's class - Monday 10 October)

Best Critical Investigations 2016

Top quality coursework from last year – all achieved a grade A…

What are the underlying values and ideologies in drug-related texts such as Channel 4’s ‘Run: Richard’ and how does this compare to American texts on the same subject?

To what extent does ‘Orange Is the New Black’ promote a liberated representation of women in society?   

To what extent does ‘Magic Mike XXL’ defy the stereotypical role of men in film?

To what extent and why are contemporary US sitcoms such as 'The Big Bang Theory' continuing to negatively represent female characters?

To what extent do movies like ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ and‘American Sniper’ reinforce or challenge Islamophobic beliefs?

To what extent do Hollywood films such as 'The Wolf of Wall Street'reinforce capitalist views and values?

To what extent is the Korean music industry being influencedby the Western music industry with reference to AOA’s ‘ Like a Cat’?

NDM case study: How has news changed?

Remember our key question from the lesson: How has news changed in the last 20 years?

In the lesson, we debated whether the changes in the last 20 years are more significant than the developments of the last 200 years. It's a big question with no right answer - but we can conduct high-quality research to give us the knowledge to form an educated opinion. Remember, this is what gives you the critical autonomy to reach the top grades!

Blog task: Ofcom report into news consumption 2015

1) Read this Ofcom 2015 report on the consumption of news in the UK. Note down the key statistics and changes that Ofcom document.

2) What are the most popular platforms for audiences to access news and how has this changed in recent years?

3) How do different age demographics access news in the UK?

4) Does socio-economic status change attitudes to news? If so, how?

5) How many different sources of news are used on average? How does differ between different groups?

6) How has news consumption through television changed in recent years?

7) How much has news consumption through newspapers declined since 2005?

8) How does newspaper reach differ by age group?

9) Which are the most popular newspapers and websites in the UK? What do you know about those newspapers' political viewpoints?

10) How does online news consumption differ for age, gender and socio-economic status?

11) What percentage of people use social media to access news? How does this differ by age and socio-economic status?

12) What percentage of users only use social media sites for their news?

13) What are the most popular online sites for news?

14) What percentage of 16-24 year olds access news mostly from social media?

15) How do audiences find stories online? Do you follow links or go to the homepage of the news provider?

New/digital media: audience and institution

16) What are the benefits for audiences from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry?

17) What are the benefits for institutions from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry?

18) What are the downsides for audiences as a result of new and digital media in news?

19) What are the downsides for institutions as a result of new and digital media in news?

20) Who has benefited most from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry - audiences or institutions?

Write a mini-essay answering this final question, making sure you use statistics that you have researched from the Ofcom report.

To help you, use this set of points for a very similar question (although not specifically about news) - you'll need to log in to the Media Edu website to access it. Username: greenford; Password: greenfordedu

Complete for homework if you don't get it finished in the lesson: due next week.

Critical Investigation: Project proposal

The next step in our critical investigations is to develop our presentations into detailed academic proposals. 

You will be given a one-to-one tutorial to help you find the right angle and issue to concentrate on but first need to develop a blog post working through the following headings and tasks:

Working title

Include specific texts in the title and either 'how or 'why' or both, e.g.: To what extent and why are video games such as 'Call of Duty' and 'Grand Theft Auto’ becoming more violent?

Angle

E.g.: What impact are these increasingly violent games having on their audience? Is this simply a moral panic of the 21st century or is further regulation required?

Hypothesis

E.g.: Video games are psychologically damaging for young people, and audiences have become increasingly desensitised to screen violence.

Linked production piece

E.g.: Newsnight-style documentary video report looking at the impact of violent videogames on young people.

MIGRAIN

Apply the Key Concepts to your texts/topic by using the questions from the Summer Research Project to help you. (Include at least five bullet point/key concept). Include as many media keywords as you can.

SHEP

Apply the Wider Contexts (Social, Historical, Economic, Political) to your text/topic, including at least three bullet points on each one.

Issues/Debates

Select at least five and say how each relates to your study, using the Media A-Z to help you think about this:

• Representation and stereotyping
• Media effects
• Reality TV
• News Values
• Moral Panics
• Post 9/11 and the media
• Ownership and control
• Regulation and censorship
• Media technology and the digital revolution – changing technologies in the 21st century
• The effect of globalisation on the media

Theories

Select at least five and say how each relates to your study, using keywords/specific theorists' names from the Media A-Z:

• Semiotics
• Structuralism and post-structuralism
• Postmodernism and its critiques
• Gender and ethnicity
• Marxism and hegemony
• Liberal Pluralism
• Colonialism and Post-colonialism
• Audience theories
• Genre theories
• Contemporary Media Landscape

Explain how your study fits into this.

Research plan (media texts, academic texts and websites)

Media texts
What your main focus will be, E.g.:
Call of Duty
Grand Theft Auto

Other media texts
(at least five related examples)

TV documentaries
Research videos online, e.g.:
BBC One - Panorama, Addicted to Games? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wlmj0

Academic texts/books
(a minimum of five, including author/full title/year, e.g.:)
Barrie Gunter: The effects of video games on children: the myth unmasked (1998)
James Newman: Playing with videogames (2008)
Nancy Signorielli: Violence in the media: a reference handbook (2005)
Peter Vorderer, and Bryant Jennings: Playing video games: motives, responses, and consequences (2006)

Internet Links
1. At least FIVE from Media Guardian or Guardian Culture or another newspaper website.
2. At least FIVE from university websites/academic papers online. Use Google Scholar as a starting point.
3. Any other relevant sites/articles - the more the better.

Use our archive of 2015's top-grade Critical Investigations and 2016's to help you. (You may also want to look at those from previous years too: 2014, 2013, 2012).

You have 10 days to complete this detailed proposal before you need to start your research in depth. Good luck!

Ignite presentations: Learner response

There have been some outstanding Ignite presentations on a wide variety of topics - it really is a highlight of the year to see such engagement and expertise on such contrasting texts. 

Hopefully the Q&A sessions following the presentations have highlighted media issues and debates that your critical investigations will address and develop.

Your learner response is as follows and will take some time to do properly:

1) Create a new blogpost called 'Ignite presentation learner response'

2) Type up your feedback in full including the ratings out of five for each category. You then need to use this feedback to self-assess and write a detailed WWW and EBI for your own research and presentation as a whole.

3) The final aspect is a paragraph discussing how your presentation will lead into your critical investigation. Some of this may refer to your feedback (a greater focus on media debates, for example) or in rare cases you may want to change the focus of your investigation entirely.

You also need to ensure that ALL your research from over the summer is posted to your MEST4 coursework blog.

If you continue this process at home, ensure it is completed by your next double lesson.

NDM Baseline assessment: Learner response

Well done on completing your new/digital media baseline assessment - it's an important first step towards success in the A2 MEST3 exam next June.

The first part of your learner response is to look carefully at your mark, grade and comments from your teacher. Next, read the Examiner's Report from this exam and look particularly at the comments on Section B and the question you've answered on audience empowerment.

Your learner response is as follows:

1) Look over your essay, read it back in full and examine any feedback given. Read the A grade exemplar essay from a past A* student.

2) Read the Examiners' Report for this exam as outlined above.

3) Create a new blog post called 'NDM baseline assessment learner response'

4) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential)

5) Write a new, detailed paragraph to add to your essay that addresses one of the EBIs specified in your feedback. This may be the other side of the argument (the idea that audiences are not empowered) or perhaps a new or improved example from the wider media. Make sure this is an extremely well-developed paragraph of several hundred words, encompassing media issues, debates, examples and theories wherever possible.

If you do not finish it in the lesson your work is returned, this needs to be completed at home by your next exam lesson.

Media Awards 2016!

The Media Awards 2016 will soon be upon us!

This is your opportunity to showcase our amazing Year 12 video work to a 300-strong crowd. We've got lots of work to do in the run-up to the event and we need a team of committed Year 13 Media students to deliver the best Media Awards ever!

We're having a meeting Monday lunchtime in DF07 to allocate roles and plan the event.

If you're interested in taking part in this year's Media Awards then make sure you're there!

New and Digital Media: News case study introduction

Today we are starting our new topic - New and Digital Media and News. You need to complete the following activities...

News institutions research

Research the major players in terms of UK news providers and make notes in a detailed blog post. List companies, publications/ channels/programmes, owners, statistics and anything else you find relevant.

You must include all three platforms (print, broadcast, e-media) and both commercial and non-commercial institutions (e.g ITN/BBC). 

Make sure you include at least FIVE different institutions across the three platforms. You may wish to use bullet points to cover the key information about each institution.


The impact of Google

Read this article looking at the impact Google has had on the traditional newspaper business.

Answer the following questions:

1) Why has Google led to the decline of the newspaper industry?

2) Find a statistic from the article that illustrates the decline of traditional news media.

3) Looking at the graph featured in the article, what period has seen the steepest decline in newspaper advertising revenue? 

4) Do you personally think Google is to blame for newspapers closing and journalists losing their jobs? Why?

5) Read the comments below the article. Pick one comment you agree with and one you disagree with and justify your opinions in detail.

All of this work needs to be done on your MEST3 Exam Blog - it's the first step in developing an outstanding case study that will help reach that A grade in the MEST3 exam.

Finish for homework if you don't complete it in the lesson - due next lesson.


**REMINDER**

Next week you have your baseline assessment in new/digital media. You've got the question in advance so no excuses! The question:

• Developments in new/digital media mean that audiences can now have access to a greater variety of views and values. To what extent are audiences empowered by these developments?

Revise everything you covered before the Summer (use the Powerpoint from last term) and remember you'll be working on paper in exam conditions. This blog post has all the details you need.

Good luck! If you have any questions then speak to us - we're here to help!

Year 13: Weekly New/Digital Media homework

In Year 13, you have an ongoing homework EVERY week of the year without fail: to find, read and post TWO New/Digital Media news stories on your blog.

We recommend putting this homework into your timetable so you have a regular slot you complete it every week.

The details: every week you must find, read, summarise and comment upon two stories about New and Digital Media (A*-B candidates will do more). The best sources to begin with are...

The Guardian: Digital Media 
The Guardian: Technology
The Guardian: Newspapers
The Guardian: News Corporation
The Independent: Media News
The Telegraph: Digital Media News

...but don't stick exclusively to these throughout the year. Find your own too - magazines like the Economist have some excellent articles and you may find interesting blogs or media sources elsewhere too.

You'll also find stories linked from our Twitter account, @blogmacguffin so make sure you're following that.

Most importantly, you need to do the following on your blog for each story...

• Provide the title and weblink;
• Include a relevant image or graphic;
• Summarise the story in your own words;
• Produce a list of bullet points of any key data/statistical information;
• Comment on the story: What's your view? (At least one paragraph).

You'll be presenting these to the class each week (I'll randomly select a student and you'll be expected to present from memory, so make sure you come prepared) and this will ensure you build up an archive of up-to-date examples to include in any exam answer. Indeed, by the end of the year, you'll have over 50 stories to call upon in the exam when you need to provide examples from the wider media.

What does this look like? Check out this blog post from one of our previous Media students - this gives you an idea of what a valuable resource these stories quickly become.

Due: EVERY week - no excuses. 

Year 13 New/Digital Media baseline assessment

Your baseline assessment in New and Digital Media will be in the week commencing Monday 19 September. We're being generous and giving you the question in advance:

• Developments in new/digital media mean that audiences can now have access to a greater variety of views and values. To what extent are audiences empowered by these developments?

Plan/revise your answer for this question (using the PowerPoint from last term, and your own research) for a one hour timed essay.

• Here's the Mark Scheme for the question (June 2010).

• Here's a C grade model answer.

It's marked out of 48 and the grade boundaries are as follows...

• A*: 44
• A: 39
• B: 33
• C: 27
• D: 21
• E: 15

Important note: If you do not reach your A2 minimum target grade (always much lower than we're aiming in A2 Media) then you will re-sit this assessment after school.

Welcome back!

Welcome back to our brilliant A Level Media students - it's great to see some familiar faces and fantastic AS results! 

Our AS results give us a great chance of converting those into superb A Level grades that could get you into a great university for next year. Last year Media A Level at Greenford was judged 'Outstanding' for student progress for the sixth year running. Our A2 Level results were:

67% A*-B
100% A-E

TWO phenomenal students - Rabia and Kishan - achieved A* grades last year. That's incredible when you consider only 1.6% of all A Level Media students manage to reach A*! The bar has been set - that's what you need to aim for this year!

You've got a lot of hard work ahead of you but with commitment, creativity and engagement with the Media you WILL be successful!