Galtung and Ruge defined a set ofnews valuesto explain how journalists and editors decide that certain stories and photographs were accepted as newsworthy, while others were not.
The following list is adapted from their work: Immediacy: has it happened recently? Familiarity: is it culturally close to us in Britain? Amplitude: is it a big event or one which involves large numbers of people? Frequency: does the event happen fairly regularly? Unambiguity: is it clear and definite? Predictability:did we expect it to happen? Surprise: is it a rare or unexpected event? Continuity: has this story already been defined as news? Elite nations and people: which country has the event happened in? Does the story concern well-known people? Personalisation: Is it a personal or human interest story? Negativity: is it bad news? Exclusivity: do any other newspapers have this story? Visual impact: are there amazing pictures accompanying the story? Balance: the story may be selected to balance other news, such as a human survival story to balance a number of stories concerning death. News Values: Blog task Read Media Factsheet 76: News Values and complete the following questions/tasks. Our Media Factsheet archive is available here - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access.
1) What example news story does the Factsheet use to illustrate Galtung and Ruge's News Values? Why is it an appropriate example of a news story likely to gain prominent coverage?
2) What is gatekeeping? 3) What are the six ways bias can be created in news? 4) How have online sources such as Twitter, bloggers or Wikileaks changed the way news is selected and published? 5) In your opinion, how has the digital age changed Galtung and Ruge’s news values? 6) How would you update these news values for the digital age? Choose TWO of Galtung and Ruge's news values and say how they have been affected by the growth of digital technology.
E.g. Immediacy is more important than ever due to news breaking on social media or elsewhere online. However, this in turn changes the approach of other news sources such as newspapers as the news will probably already be broken so different angles might be required. Newspapers now contain more comment or opinion rather than the breaking story.
Our final topic is newspapers: an industry that has changed hugely in the last 25 years due to the impact of the internet.
This is the final set of targeted CSPs - we will be studying the Audience and Industry key concepts plus all relevant contexts for the Daily Mail and the Guardian newspapers. This means newspapers will come up in Paper 1, Section B of the exams. Here's one Daily Mail front page we may want to reference:
Notes from the lesson In the lesson, we looked at the history of the newspaper and some key terminology we need to learn:
Newspapers: hard and soft news
Newspapers cover a range of stories that are generally divided into two categories:
Hard news: stories related to current affairs, politics, economics, wars and other serious news.
Soft news: stories related to entertainment, sport, celebrities, gossip, scandal and human interest/lifestyle topics.
Newspapers: tabloid and broadsheet
Newspapers were traditionally available in two sizes: tabloid and broadsheet. Today, most newspapers are in the smaller broadsheet size but the terms are still used to describe the style of paper:
Tabloid: focusing largely on soft news, famous examples include the Sun and the Mirror. Generally read by more working class audience. Mid-market tabloids are a middle ground between tabloid and broadsheet and include the Daily Mail.
Broadsheet: serious newspapers that focus more on hard news. The Times, Guardian and Telegraph are all examples.
Newspapers: sources of news
Newspapers tend to get their news content from two sources:
Journalists: newspapers employ reporters and photographers to attend events, interview people and write stories.
News agencies: Reuters and Associated Press are examples of global news agencies that are independent institutions that employ journalists to write stories that newspapers and other media organisations can pay to use.
Increasingly in the digital age, newspapers are sourcing news from their audiences using citizen journalism. This is sometimes criticised as creating clickbait – an example of soft news aimed simply to attract online readers.
The decline of newspapers
In the last 20 years, the newspaper industry has faced a sharp decline due to the rise of the internet.
In 2003, almost 30 million newspapers were sold in the UK every day. By 2017 that was down to 12.4 million (source: Ofcom).
Newspapers have traditionally made their money in two ways: through the cover price and by selling advertising. With so much news available for free online, audiences are not buying newspapers so both these sources of income have been decimated.
The Wall Street Journal produced a short video demonstrating how the industry has changed in the last 100 years:
Once you've learned the key terminology, watched the video and considered the decline in the industry, work through the blog tasks below.
Blog tasks: The decline in print media
Part 1: Ofcom report into news consumption Read this Ofcom report on the consumption of news in the UK and answer the following questions (bullet points/short answers are fine): 1) Look at the headlines from the report on page 5 & 6. Pick three that you think are interesting and bullet point them here. Why did you pick those three in particular? 2) Now look at the motivations for following news which differs by age on pages 7 & 8. What are the main reasons people gave for following news? What are the percentages?
3) Look at the platforms used, by age on page 9. What trends do you notice based on the platforms used and by the different age groups?
4) Look at how online news continues to be a key platform for receiving news on page 14. How does the internet enable audiences to access the news in different ways? Can you provide any examples of news organisations with percentages?
5) Look at the news brands (print newspapers and digital offerings) on page 20. Can you provide percentages of readership of print vs. online?
6) Looking again at page 20 for news brands - how are print newspapers rated by their metrics - can you offer the different metrics with percentages?
Part 2: Factsheet - The death of print media Go to our Media Factsheet archive and open Factsheet 165: The death of print media. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets or you can find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login. Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks (bullet points/short answers are fine): 1) What has happened to print media in the last 30 years? 2) Why is the Independent newspaper such a good case study for the decline in print media? 3) What was the Independent newspaper famous for? 4) What did the then-owner of the Independent, Evgeny Lebedev, say about the newspaper's digital-only future? 5) How do online newspapers make money? 6) What did the Independent's longest-serving editor Simon Kelner warn regarding the switch to digital? 7) What is the concern with fake news? What does 'post-truth' refer to?
8) What is your view on the decline in print media? Should news be free? Is it a concern that established media brands such as the Independent can no longer afford to exist as a printed newspaper?
For the Newspapers unit, you have an ongoing mini-homework every week: to find, read and postTWO news storieson your blog.
The very simple detail: every week you must find, read, and post two news stories from the websites of our two newspaper CSPs (one from Mail Online and one from The Guardian website): Mail Online The Guardian website This will help familiarise yourself with the two newspapers over several weeks so you can recognise how the news stories reflect the values, ideologies and ownership contexts of the two CSPs. Newspaper news story research: blog task Create ONE blogpost that you return to and update weekly. Call it 'Newspaper news story research'. Then, each week you need to visit the MailOnline website and the Guardian website and choose one story from each to summarise and share. Most importantly, you need to do the following on your blogpost for each story...
Copy the headline, date and link.
Briefly summarise the story in a sentence or two: is this is an example of hard news or soft news? Does it reflect the politics or ideological stance of that newspaper/website?
Explain in a sentence how or why this story appeals to the audience of that newspaper (use media terminology and theory if you can). Is it quality journalism or an example of clickbait?
We'll be sharing our stories as a starter each week and this will ensure you build up a range of stories from both CSPs to provide examples to use in exam questions and essays. Due: EVERY week for the next five weeks. Just update the same blogpost with additional stories each time!
This is the second of your vital learner response tasks following the full set of A Level Media mock exams.
Remember, the most important aspect of any mock exam is making mistakes and learning from them. With Paper 2 this is even more significant as it contains the synoptic element in question 4 and extended essays on in-depth topics throughout.
Here, we need to closely analyse out performance in Paper 2 and identify specific ways we will improve for the real exam on Thursday 5 June (PM). Complete the following learner response tasks in a new blogpost on your Media Exam blog called 'Paper 2 mock exam learner response'.
Paper 2 mock exam: learner response
1) Type up your feedback in full (you do not need to write mark/grade if you do not wish to).
2) Did you succeed in meeting or exceeding your target grade for A-Level Media in this paper? If not, how many additional marks do you need to achieve your target grade in Paper 2?
These are the grade boundaries we've used (out of 84):
A* = 71; A = 62, B = 52; C = 43; D = 33; E = 24
Now read through the real AQA mark scheme for Paper 2 and the examiner's report (see your Media teacher's Google Classroom for both of these documents).
3) Write a question-by-question analysis of your performance. For each question, write how many marks you got from your the number available and identify any points that you missed by carefully studying the AQA indicative content in the mark scheme.
Example Q2: 8/25 marks
Additional points: I didn't focus on the question - validity of theory. I should have...
4) Look at question 4 - the synoptic question. How many of the four key concepts did you cover in your answer? Write a new essay plan for this question using the indicative content in the mark scheme and taking care to include at least three of Language - Representations - Audience - Industries. You can use bullet points but make sure you offer enough content to meet the criteria for Level 5 (top level). This will be somewhere between 3-4 well-developed paragraphs planned in some detail.
5) Based on the whole Paper 2 Learner response, plan five topics / concepts / CSPs / theories that you will prioritise in your Easter Media revision timetable.
If you don't finish this in the lesson, complete it for homework - due date on Satchel One
You've now completed your mock exams and so need to be identifying the specific areas to revise and improve on before the final exams in the summer.
The most important aspect of any mock exam is making mistakes and learning from them.
Here, we need to closely analyse our performance across each question in Paper 1 and identify specific ways we will improve for the real exam on Thursday 14 May (PM). Complete the following learner response tasks in a new blogpost on your Media Exam blog called: 'Paper 1 mock exam learner response'.
1) Type up any feedback in full (you do not need to write mark/grade if you do not wish to).
Go to your Media teacher's Google Classroom and find the mark scheme and examiner's report uploaded. This is vital as the paper was an official exam paper and therefore the mark scheme tells us a lot about what AQA are expecting us to produce.
2) Write a question-by-question analysis of your performance. For each question, write how many marks you got from the number available and identify and points that you missed by carefully studying the AQA indicative content in the mark scheme:
Example: Q1: 4/8 marks
Additional points: Using Roland Barthes’ theory of semiotics, the National Trust advert “What will take your breath away?” can be analysed through denotation, connotation and myth. Denotatively, the advert shows images of British landscapes and historic sites. Connotatively, these suggest peace, escape and emotional fulfilment, reinforced by the slogan which implies awe and inspiration. This creates a myth that British nature and heritage are naturally restorative and meaningful, promoting the ideology that visiting National Trust sites is an essential and valuable experience.
3) Look at Question 4 - a 20-mark essay evaluating Judith Butler's gender is a performance theory. Write an essay plan for this question using the indicative content in the mark scheme and with enough content to meet the criteria for Level 4 (top level). This will be somewhere between 3-4 well-developed paragraphs plus an introduction answering the question planned in some detail.
4) Based on the whole of your Paper 1 learner response, plan FIVE topics / concepts / CSPs / theories that you will prioritise in your summer exam Media revision timetable.
Complete this learner response for your homework if you don't finish it in class - due date on Satchel One.
The Print aspect to our coursework brief is as important as
the video work have been focusing on so far.
It is crucial that you research, plan and design print work that could
comfortably hold its own alongside professional examples. You will also need to
include a section regarding your print work in your redrafted
Statement of Intent. A reminder of our coursework brief is here, with the key
tasks as follows:
The band is being featured in a documentary film on a streaming service such as Netflix about the history of pop bands. The film will look at examples of pop artists from the late 20th century (80s or 90s), early 21st century (00s or 10s) and the band you promoted for Task One represents contemporary pop. The documentary’s target audience are people of all ages who are interested in pop music.
Create three print billboard posters to promote this documentary. Each poster should use imagery to reflect one of the eras being focused on in the documentary to attempt to appeal to a broad age range. At least one poster should feature the band being promoted in Task One. The posters should be visually appealing and communicate the name and content of the documentary, its release date and how audiences can watch it.
What do you need to produce?
You should create three different billboard posters – specifically:
engage the audiences as identified in the brief
three original images across the three print adverts
images created and chosen to appeal to the target audience
appropriate layout, design and content choices relating to placement of the adverts
consideration of font, type sizes and colours to create meaning
consideration of the industrial context of production
The three print billboard posters targets all ages who are interested in pop music
Print brief - overall minimum requirements
A clear house style
should be used in the presentation of all pages
A minimum of three original
images should be included in the submission.
Absolutely no use of AI in any way at all is permitted
for the written elements of the print brief.
Work should be presented
on pages that are an appropriate size or in proportion to the size of
paper used by billboard posters
We recommend that all of the above should be A3 landscape page size
Research and planning blog tasks
Create a blogpost called 'Print brief research and planning' and
complete the following tasks to plan and prepare your print work:
Research tasks:
1) Billboard poster research:
Look at the following billboard poster:
Now answer the following questions based on the poster above:
1. What historical moment in pop music does this documentary focus on, and why might that moment be significant for audiences interested in music history?
2. How might the poster imagery communicate the era of the music being explored (e.g., 1980s)?
3. Who would be the target audience for this documentary and why?
4. What visual codes (e.g., typeface, colour, style of photograph) would you expect on the poster to reflect the documentary’s focus on classic pop music history?
5. How could promotional text emphasise both nostalgia and relevance to a modern audience?
This Is Pop on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81050786
(This Is Pop is a documentary series exploring different influences and trends in pop music.)
Watch the following trailer for the documentary series:
Now answer the following questions based on the trailer:
1. What themes and topics does This Is Pop explore based on its episode description (e.g., Auto-Tune, boy bands, festival culture)?
2. How might a billboard poster visually represent multiple facets of pop music history covered in this series?
3. This Is Pop is a series rather than a single documentary film—how might its poster need to differ in design from a single-film poster to communicate that?
4. What aspects of pop culture history might appeal to older audiences versus younger audiences?
5. What visual elements could ensure the poster suggests that this isn’t just entertainment, but a music documentary with depth and exploration?
These two IMDb image links point to stills or frames from the same documentary series (This Is Pop.)
Compare the two different images from this series:
1. What different visual messages do they convey about pop music?
2. How do these images reflect the diversity within pop music culture (different genres, artists, eras)?
3. What emotions or associations do the images try to evoke in the viewer?
4. If you were to extract design cues (pose, colour palette, style) from these stills for your billboard posters, what would you take and why?
5. How do the images relate to your understanding of representation and media language in music documentaries?
2) Billboard Poster Research (Era Focus)
You must research THREE professional billboard or large-format posters, one from each era:
1. 1980s or 1990s pop artist promotion
2. 2000s or 2010s pop artist promotion
3. Contemporary (2018–present) pop artist promotion
These may include:
Tour posters
Album or single promotions
Music documentaries
Streaming platform music content (e.g. Netflix, Apple TV)
Choose artists that are clearly representative of each era.
3) Media Language Analysis
For each billboard poster, analyse how visual design communicates meaning and appeals to its audience.
You should analyse:
Layout & composition
(scale, hierarchy, central image, simplicity for roadside viewing)
Typography
(font style, size, era connotations, readability)
Colour palette
(neon, muted, monochrome, saturation and era signifiers)
Imagery
(pose, gaze, styling, realism vs performance)
How modern design elements attract younger audiences
Link this directly to the documentary’s aim to appeal to “people of all ages interested in pop music.”
6) Streaming services and industry conventions
Research how streaming services (e.g. Netflix) promote music documentaries.
Analyse:
Common visual conventions (minimal text, strong imagery)
Use of logos and release dates
How platforms communicate where and how to watch
How global audiences affect design choices
You may refer to:
Netflix documentary posters
Online promotional materials
Billboard adaptations of streaming campaigns
7) Application to your coursework
This section must directly link your research to your final production.
Answer the following:
How will each era influence the design of your three billboards?
What visual codes will you use to differentiate eras?
How will you maintain brand consistency across all three posters?
How will you promote your band from Task One as contemporary pop?
What design skills do you need to develop before production?
Planning and sketching
1) Plan the content for your first billboard poster:
Title of the documentary film (must be NEW
original documentary film you have invented):
Name of streaming service the documentary will feature on
Original image (the band you promoted for one of your TikTok music videos)
Release date of the documentary
Ways your billboard poster will represent the contemporary pop era
Font style / colour
scheme, additional design aspects:
2) Plan the threeimages you will use for the
billboard posters - use the elements of mise-en-scene (CLAMPS). One image has to be the band you promoted in one of your TikTok music videos required to meet the minimum content in the brief.
3) Research and select the font or typography you
will use for your billboard posters. This is a critical element of your print work - the
brief requires a consistent house style running through all of
your pages.
4) Produce A4 sketches of your billboard poster designs and scan it/upload a picture to your blog.
5) Finally, create the pages in Adobe
Photoshop or InDesign so you have the documents ready to go in terms of adding
your text and images. This will need to include:
A4/A3 landscape
Use this website for specific billboard sizing which you can enter in Adobe Photoshop or InDesign: https://www.template.net/graphic-design/billboard-sizes/
Photoshoot
1) Who do you need to photograph for your billboard posters?
Remember, you need three original images across the whole
print production.
2) What camera shots do you need? Write a shot
list or design a mood board for your photoshoots. Make
sure you plan a variety of camera shots you will look to capture - medium
shots, close-ups etc.
3) Plan the mise-en-scene. What costume, props or make-up will
you require for your photoshoots?
4) Finally, note down the time
and date for your photoshoots. This may be inside or outside school (or a
combination of both). You will have Media lesson time for this after the mock
exams.
Statement of Intent
1) Once you have completed your print research and planning,
go back to your statement of intent and make sure you have
included the print brief in your final draft. Then, submit the final draft
statement of intent to your teacher. The due date for this will be confirmed by
your coursework teacher.
Use your Media coursework lessons to complete these planning
tasks - homework time should be exclusively to revise for mocks.
Due date for research and planning on Google Classroom.
