Critical Investigation research: Media Magazine

Media Magazine archive

By now, you should have over 1,500 words in your Notes and Quotes document and probably still have a huge amount to read and watch. Today, we’re going to focus on another brilliant resource for our research: the Media Magazine archive.

We have the last 20 issues of Media Magazine in pdf format and – thanks to all of you in the summer – a Word document with the contents for each issue. This means it will be easy to go through all 20 issues and identify articles that could help with your topic.

Once you’ve identified the articles, you can access the pdfs online here or using the school VLE (go to Media > Shared Documents > Media Magazine).  Then, add to your Notes and Quotes document as normal – this should easily get you to upwards of 2,000 words.



Media Edu

Another online resource that contains a large number of case studies and articles on key media issues is mediaedu.

Click on the top right box 'Login' and use our exclusive Greenford Media log-in:

Username: greenford
P/W: greenfordedu


e-Jump Cut online media journal

Jump Cut is an online contemporary Media journal with an archive dating back 40 years. It is published every year and each issue offers around 50 articles on aspects of film and media, often looking at controversial or niche topics. The current issue is available here and the archive can be found here.

It's definitely worth searching the e-Jump Cut archive for articles on your chosen topic – there are hundreds to choose from. Note, you don't need a log-in for Jump Cut, the material is available for free online.


If you have a problem with any of the links or log-ins then please let me know.

Good luck!

Mr Halsey

13D: Folder check and NDM story summary

Before we move on to our next aspect of New and Digital Media and News, we need to set up a couple of pieces of homework and complete an index of our NDM stories so far.

Folder check
On Friday you need to bring an up-to-date folder to the lesson to show you are organising all of your notes, work, test papers and more. Specifically, we will be checking you've got the following:

• Ring binder folder or equivalent
• Dividers - section for each teacher
• Course outline/ print from spec
• Notes in chronological order/title/date
• Quality of note taking
• Blog print-out - to end of last half-term
• Marked NDM assessment
• Homework completed/quality

Due: Friday

NDM stories

Now we've covered half of the NDM News unit, we need to develop our collection of the NDM stories. Your ongoing, weekly homework from now on is as follows:

TWO New/Digital news stories on your blog EVERY week (including holidays). ONE can be general NDM (technology, social networking etc.) but you need AT LEAST ONE story every week that relates to news, journalism and New/Digital Media. Great examples of stories that fit this criteria have appeared in just the last few days:

Spain moves to protect domestic media with new 'Google tax'

High sales. Big profits. Rising user numbers. So why the turmoil at the Telegraph?

Due: EVERY week on Wednesday

Task for today

Compile an index of ALL of your NDM stories from the first half term. We started off with three and have had eight weeks since so with this week's story you need a minimum of 12 stories listed.

Your index should have the story number (starting with your first story back in September as #1), the headline and a link to your blog post for that story

If you want to see an example, check out this blog post from one of our students last year - you need this level of quality and detail in your story index too.

13E: Notes and Quotes

I'll be checking blogs today to make sure we've met the initial, exceedingly low target for our Notes and Quotes document of 750 words.

Your next target is to get that word count up to 1,500 by next Wednesday.

I'm confident you've all got loads of research to be reading, annotating and taking quotes from so you'll be able to reach 1,500 words easily. Next week, we'll add Media Magazine research to our list to give us another set of brilliant sources to look at.

13D: News Values

Galtung and Ruge (1981) defined a set of news values to explain how journalists and editors decided 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: did the event happen fairly quickly?
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?
Negativity: is it bad news?
Balance: the story may be selected to balance other news, such as a human survival story to balance a number of stories concerning death.

Classwork/Homework

How has new and digital media technology changed Galtung and Ruge’s news values?


How would you update them for 2014?

In a blog post, write how EACH news value has been affected by the growth of new and digital technology.

E.g. Immediacy is more important than ever due to news breaking on Twitter 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.

Due: Wednesday after half-term

Critical Investigation: Notes & Quotes

You should by now have an in-depth, completed Critical Investigation Proposal on your blog. 

The next step is to develop a 'Notes and Quotes' document to contain all your research. This document will eventually be thousands of words and contain all your links, ideas, comments and quotes from everything you read and watch. It is essential that you have a wide collection of research and notes before you write a single word of your actual essay.

What does a great Notes and Quotes document look like? Have a look at Navneet's Notes and Quotes blogpost from last year - and bear in mind she went on to write an outstanding essay that achieved 47 out of 48 marks.

Your homework for half-term is to start your Notes and Quotes document and reach at least 750 words. 

You may want to do this on Microsoft Word initally but you WILL have to publish everything you've got to your blog at least once a week for the next month.

Fortunately, you already have a template for this document from the last section of your Critical Investigation Proposal. Indeed, you may have already copied everything over into a new blogpost under the heading Research Plan. 

Either way, you now need to create a blogpost called Notes and Quotes and start watching, reading and writing up any thoughts, ideas, quotes or comments you think of while you research.

You'll need this on your blog for your double Media lesson after half-term - good luck!

13D Cover Work/Homework: Fri. 17/10/14, p6

Remember the basic rules first:

• Arrive on time - make sure you register with the cover teacher/Mr Halsey;
• Stay in the classroom until the end of the lesson;
• Work responsibly on the tasks set.

Complete the following for Monday 22/10, p3:

Look at the Best Critical Investigations 2013...

• Select at least two that are closest to your own study;
• Read them, thinking about the ideas that are relevant for your study;
• Choose at least five quotes from each study;
• Make a blog post, with the quotes + website addresses/book details for each one;
• Explain how the quote links with your study.

Don't forget that if you've had your tutorial you should be working on the ten tasks I gave you in your feedback and posting these on your blog - get as much of this done as you can for homework.

If you haven't had your tutorial yet, continue working on researching for your proposal - in particular, including as many academic texts and internet links as you can, and explaining after each one how it will be useful.

13D: Citizen Journalism

Read the article from Media Magazine: The Rise and Rise of UGC (Dec 2009) and then create a blogpost where you make notes under the following headings: 

• examples
• theory (audience reception etc.) 
• benefits to institutions 
• benefits to audience 
• wider issues and debates 
• SHEP

Next, answer the following questions in the same blogpost:

1) What is meant by the term ‘citizen journalist’?
2) What was one of the first examples of news being generated by ‘ordinary people’?
3) List some of the formats for participation that are now offered by news organisations.
4) What is one of the main differences between professionally shot footage and that taken first-hand (UGC)?
5) What is a gatekeeper?
6) How has the role of a gatekeeper changed?
7) What is one of the primary concerns held by journalists over the rise of UGC?

Finally, consider the following questions:

What impact is new/digital media having on the following:

• news stories
• the news agenda (the choice of stories that make up the news)
• the role of professionals in news

Finish this for homework - due next Friday 24 October.

Remember, this is in addition to your regular NDM story on your blog that is due for next Wednesday as usual.

The Rise and Rise of UGC

13E: Read this article...

The Rise and Rise of UGC

Answer the following questions...

1. What is meant by the term ‘citizen journalist’?
2. What was one of the first examples of news being generated by ‘ordinary people’?
3. List some of the formats for participation that are now offered by news organisations.
4. What is one of the main differences between professionally shot footage and that taken first-hand (UGC)?
5. What is a gatekeeper?
6. How has the role of a gatekeeper changed?
7. What is one of the primary concerns held by journalists over the rise of UGC?

13D: the Murdoch paywall

Read the last page of the handout - Newspapers: The effect of online technology (from 'Should News be Free').

Also read this blog on the Times paywall three years on.

Answer these two questions on your blog with detailed, in-depth answers:

1) Do you agree with James Murdoch that the BBC should not be allowed to provide free news online?

2) Was Rupert Murdoch right to put his news content (The Times, The Sun) behind a paywall?

Finish for homework if you don't get it done in the lesson.

New Media Technician interviews

Year 13: tomorrow (Wednesday) we are interviewing for a new Media Technician. It means I'll be in and out of our lessons so you'll need to be working independently. You already know what you're working on currently, but here's a reminder:

13E (P1&2)
Your Critical Investigation Project Proposal is due today and I'll get a chance to look at them later. In the meantime, you can continue with the last part of the proposal which is starting to plan the research you will do for your essay. This will be our focus for the next two weeks so getting a good start now will be invaluable.


13D (P3&4)
We're still working on our News case study for new and digital media. As mentioned last week, we need to look into the decline of newspapers, and fortunately we have a detailed handout that does just that. Today, read The Decline of Newspapers and complete the task on page 2 that explores the difference between print and online newspapers.

Next, complete the task on page 3 that looks at the audience pleasures (remember Uses and Gratifications - Blumler and Katz) of the Guardian website.

You can continue to read the end of the document if you finish those tasks but I should be in for most of the lesson and we'll pick up the key points in discussion. We should have time to share our new and digital media stories too so be ready!

Thanks for your patience and don't forget to check our Twitter account for the latest stories and links.

13D NDM:The future of newspapers

Today's lesson is going to begin by sharing the New and Digital Media stories we have found this week. Hope you're ready!

However, the main objective is to look at the impact new and digital media has had on the newspaper industry.

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 question: 

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



Homework
You have some serious homework this week - in addition to finding your weekly NDM story - which will provide excellent preparation for university. David Simon, creator of critically acclaimed TV hit 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 take a couple of hours - 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) Choose three comments from below the article, copy them in to your blogpost and explain whether they agree or disagree with David Simon’s argument and why.

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.

Due: Friday 10 October

13D learner response

Type up your feedback (WWW/EBI/LR) on a new blogpost. (You don't need to write your mark and grade if you don't want to.

Answer your learner response question in detail.

A reminder of 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?

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

Here's a C grade model answer.

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

A: 37 (77%)
B: 31 (65%)
C: 25 (52%)
D: 19 (40%)
E: 13 (27%)

13E: Critical Investigation 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 previous top-grade Critical Investigations to help you.

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

13D News institution research

In lesson / homework

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 the BBC). 

Due: Friday

**REMINDER**

On Friday 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 on Friday.

Good luck!

13E Ignite presentation feedback and learner response

We have seen some excellent Ignite presentations and should finish the last of them today. You will be given feedback on your presentation and need to do the following:

1. Type up my feedback to you word-for-word on a blogpost called 'Ignite presentation feedback'
2. Make a list below your feedback of five WWW and five EBI based on your reflection/evaluation of the presentation and the feedback you've been given
3. Write what you need to do to turn your Ignite presentation into a top quality Critical Investigation

This needs to be completed for Friday if you don't get a chance in the lesson.

13E Cover Work/Homework: Mon. 15/9/14, p5/6

Remember the basic rules first:

• Arrive on time - make sure you register with the cover teacher/Mr Halsey;
• Stay in the classroom until the end of the lesson;
• Work responsibly on the tasks set.

Complete the following for Friday 19/9, p3:

• Weekly New & Digital Media (NDM) Stories - THREE are needed from this lesson!

• Produce a detailed plan for the NDM Essay Question #1. Carefully plan the structure; make sure you argue both sides of the question (audiences ARE empowered; audiences AREN'T empowered, corporations are instead); include as many examples as you can, along with specific information/theorists/quotes.

• Use the Y12 NDM Lessons: Revision (that you should have made notes on last week for homework) to help you - include as much of this PowerPoint in your plan as possible!

• Post the essay plan up on your blog.

• Continue revising - you'll be doing the essay under timed conditions on Monday 22/9. Failure to achieve your minimum target grade will require an after-school re-sit. A second failure will results in your parents being called in!

13D Cover Work/Homework: Mon. 15/9/14, p3/4

Remember the basic rules first:

• Arrive on time - make sure you register with the cover teacher/Mr Halsey;
• Stay in the classroom until the end of the lesson;
• Work responsibly on the tasks set.

Complete the following for Friday 19/9, p6:

• Upload your 'Ignite' PowerPoint to Google Drive, click 'share' and make it publicly available for 'anyone with the link'. Then post this address as a hyperlink on your blog under the title: 'Ignite Presentation';

• If you've presented already: Write a TEN point self-evaluation of your summer research/presentation (WWW x5/EBI x5), to include the feedback you received from me as well as your own ideas;

• Use Google to search 'The Guardian' website specifically on your text/topic. Type the following (what's in bold italics) into the search box: "tyler the creator" [or "mad men" or "world cup" AND "twitter" or whatever your text/topic is, putting the text/topics in inverted commas] site:http://www.theguardian.com 

• Select FIVE articles that give key information and an editorial opinion of your topic (not necessarily the first five that appear) and read them carefully;

• Post up the link and summarise each article - in your own words - on your blog;

• Write a short paragraph after each one, outlining your opinion/views.

13D NDM Essay Question #1

13D: Your baseline assessment in New and Digital Media will be next week. 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 lesson timed essay on Friday 19 September.

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

• Here's a C grade model answer.

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

• A: 37 (77%)
• B: 31 (65%)
• C: 25 (52%)
• D: 19 (40%)
• E: 13 (27%)

13E NDM Essay Question #1

• 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 on Mon 16/9.

13D: New and Digital Media case study: News

Today we are starting our new topic - New and Digital Media and News.

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

Answer the following questions on your blog:

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

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

We're on Twitter!

OK, so we're a little late to this particular party (Twitter launched in July 2006) but I'm delighted to say that the legendary Greenford High School Macguffin Blog is now on Twitter. We'll be posting links to interesting Media stories, homework reminders and deadlines throughout the year. You'll find us:

@blogmacguffin

If you haven't joined Twitter, do so: it's a brilliant way of keeping up with what's happening in the media and you don't have to publish tweets yourself if you don't want to. Once you're on board, follow the following Twitter accounts to give yourself a comprehensive daily update on the media world:

Newspaper media sections

Media Guardian @mediaguardian

i newspaper @theipaper

Independent Media @TheIndyMedia

Telegraph film  @TelegraphFilm

Useful Media Studies-related accounts

The Media blog    @TheMediaTweets

Brilliant Ads @Brilliant_Ads

Pete Fraser @petesmediablog

Media Edu @mediaedusites

Big media personalities

Rupert Murdoch @rupertmurdoch

Piers Morgan @piersmorgan

Alasdair Campbell @campbellclaret

Journalists

Roy Greenslade @GreensladeR

Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan

Owen Jones @OwenJones84

Nick Sutton @suttonnick

Nick Davies @Bynickdavies

Others

Film4 @Film4

Mo Farah  @Mo_Farah

YouGov polling @YouGov

There are many, many more Twitter accounts you can follow to keep up on certain aspects of the media and anything else you're interested in. Get involved and immerse yourself in the world of the media.

Media Magazine - new issue out now

The latest issue of Media Magazine (MM49) is out now. There's a hard copy in DF07 as usual and the pdf copy has also been added to the folder on the VLE:

VLE > Departments > Media > Shared documents > Media Magazine > MM49

If you want to access the subscription area of the Media Magazine website, you'll need this year's log-in details. They are:

Username: mediamagazine12
Password: j47kmsz

The latest issue has a good feature on using back issues of Media Magazine to research your MEST4 Critical Investigation - something we'll be doing at the end of September.

Make the most of it!

13D: Weekly New & Digital Media (NDM) Stories

Every week (for Wednesday's double lesson, p3&4) you must find, read, summarise and comment upon at least one story 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 25+ 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 students last year - this gives you an idea of what a valuable resource these stories quickly become.

13D Cover Work/Homework: Mon. 8/9/14, p3/4

Remember the basic rules first:

• Arrive on time - make sure you register with the cover teacher/Mr Halsey;
• Stay in the classroom until the end of the lesson;
• Work responsibly on the tasks set.

Complete the following for Friday 14/9, p6:

• Make sure you've completed everything required for the Summer Research Project - all EIGHT tasks need to be completed to the best of your ability;
• Get into a pair and rehearse your five minute 'Ignite' talk at least once with them;
• Write feedback (at least FIVE WWW/EBIs) on their coursework blog under the comments section of the most recent post - consider Structure, Simplicity, Significance, Rehearsal (see slide 58 of this 'Death by PowerPoint' presentation);
• Copy the feedback you gave them onto your own blog in a new posting;
• Make sure you're fully ready to present on Friday's lesson.

13E Cover Work/Homework: Mon. 8/9/14, p5/6

Remember the basic rules first:

• Arrive on time - make sure you register with the cover teacher/Mr Halsey;
• Stay in the classroom until the end of the lesson;
• Work responsibly on the tasks set.

Complete the following for Friday 14/9, p3:

• Weekly New & Digital Media (NDM) Stories - THREE are needed from this lesson!
• Y12 NDM Lessons: Revision - for homework; bring revision notes to Friday's lesson.

Y12 NDM Lessons: Revision

13E: Go back through this PowerPoint for HW this week and revise it for your Y13 baseline assessment exam essay under timed conditions (1 hour)...

Y12 Introduction to New/Digital Media Lessons

Learn some key quotes/ideas (Briggs/Burke, Castells, Gutenberg/Internet Revolution, Keen, Pareto's Law...)

1. Do any of the activities you haven't already done and post them up on your Unit 3 blog.
2. Make cue cards, draw mind-maps, etc. to memorise the key information.

Remember that failure to achieve your minimum target grade (MTG) will mean you'll have to re-sit the essay after school the following week!

Weekly New & Digital Media (NDM) Stories

13E: Every week (for Monday's double lesson, p5/6) you must find, read, summarise and comment upon at least one story 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

...but don't stick exclusively to these throughout the year. Find your own too.

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

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 (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.

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

Best Critical Investigations 2014

A bit of summer reading for new Y13s while you're carrying out your Summer Research Projects. These are all A grade Critical Investigations from last year. If you look at them you'll see the huge amount of reading and research that goes into producing them so start getting into that habit now!

Hopefully, these will inspire you to want to do as well, if not better...

Is the media becoming increasingly violent, especially withthe rise of the torture porn horror subgenre in films such as 'Saw' and the'The Human Centipede'?  Why is this andwhat impact does it have on audiences? (Akshay)

What impact do the graphic representations of violent,sexist content in popular video games, such as GTA5, have on their audiences? (Raghav)

Is the violent, materialistic and sexist content in ChiefKeef's music taking negative representations in the hip hop genre to newextremes and what impact does this have on audiences? (Kiran)

To what extent is Luther a positive representation of blackmasculinity? (Rohit)

To what extent do the female characters in ‘SALT’ and ‘TheDark Knight Rises’ challenge the traditional female stereotypes? (Navneet)

Do Spotify and other developing new and digital media services have an impact on the current music industry? (Harpal)

Summer Research Project

For all Year 12 students (who'll be Year 13 in September '14)...

The following needs to be completed by the first lesson you come back at the start of September...

1. Choose a media text that you are interested in and that is less than five years old.

2. Spend several hours analysing the text – watching, reading, annotating, notetaking, re-watching, discussing with others (and considering the MIGRAIN questions below) etc. 

3. Research your text online.

4. Post up all evidence of research on your Unit 4 blog. You are looking for the following: reviews, newspaper/magazine articles, online comments or blogs linked to your text, useful book titles linked to your text, relevant theory, relevant media issues and debates, information about wider contexts, etc.

5. Don't just cut and paste mindlessly - be selective, try to summarise the information, comment on it and explain why it is useful. Also, make sure that you include specific links to all the sites you find.

6. Feel free to be as creative with your blogs as you can. Include pictures, clips, reflections, links etc.

7. Prepare a 5 minute, 20-slide 'Ignite' presentation on your text to be ready for the first week back. If you're unsure how these work, remind yourself by reading through the lesson slides: Introduction to the Critical Investigation, that has links to good Ignite examples and tips on how to present well.

8. Try to address each of the Key Concepts (MIGRAIN) in your presentation, and answer these questions on your blog...

Media Representations 

Who is being represented? 

• In what way?


• By whom?

Why is the subject being represented in this way? 

• Is the representation fair and accurate?


• What opportunities exist for self-representation by the subject?

Media Languages and Forms 

• What are the denotative and connotative levels of meaning?


• What is the significance of the text’s connotations?


• What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?


• What is the significance of mise-en-scene/sets/settings (CLAMPS)?


• What work is being done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?


• What are the dominant images and iconography, and what is their relevance to the major themes of the text?


• What sound and visual techniques are used to convey meaning (e.g. camera positioning, editing; the ways that images and sounds are combined to convey meaning)?

Narrative 

• How is the narrative organised and structured?


• How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?


• How are characters delineated? What is their narrative function? How are heroes and villains created?


• What techniques of identification and alienation are employed?


• What is the role of such features as sound, music, iconography, genre, mise-en-scene, editing etc within the narrative?


• What are the major themes of the narrative? What values/ideologies does it embody?

Genre 

• To which genre does the text belong?


• What are the major generic conventions within the text?


• What are the major iconographic features of the text?


• What are the major generic themes?


• To what extent are the characters generically determined?


• To what extent are the audience’s generic expectations of the text fulfilled or cheated by the text? Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?


• Does the text feature a star, a director, a writer etc who is strongly associated with the genre? What meanings and associations do they have?

Media Institutions 

• What is the institutional source of the text?


• In what ways has the text been influenced or shaped by the institution which produced it?


• Is the source a public service or commercial institution? What difference does this make to the text?


• Who owns and controls the institution concerned and does this matter?


• How has the text been distributed?

Media Values and Ideology 

• What are the major values, ideologies and assumptions underpinning the text or naturalised within it?


• What criteria have been used for selecting the content presented?

Media Audiences 

• To whom is the text addressed? What is the target audience? (Demographics, Psychographics)


• What assumptions about the audience’s characteristics are implicit within the text?


• What assumptions about the audience are implicit in the text’s scheduling or positioning?


• In what conditions is the audience likely to receive the text? Does this impact upon the formal characteristics of the text?


• What do you know or can you assume about the likely size and constituency of the audience?


• What are the probable and possible audience readings of the text? 

• What are the audience pleasures, uses or gratifications?  (Refer to theory).

• How do you, as an audience member, read and evaluate the text? To what extent is your reading and evaluation influenced by your age, gender, background etc?

Good luck. There is a lot to do here. Our advice is to work on this throughout the Summer rather than leaving it all to the last minute. It should be an enjoyable process - finding out about something that you're interested in. If you have any problems then please don't hesitate to email me.

And remember, the aim of this is to develop your key research skills that you'll be using when you do your coursework next year...and these are skills that are vital for any subject you do in Year 13 or at university.

Internet Video Task

Due Tuesday 24/6 (12D and 12E)...

Create a 1-3 MINUTE video that consolidates your learning about the impact of new/digital media so far (you should use Premiere or Movie Maker); post it on YouTube (you may need to set up an account); and embed it into your blog (like the videos below).

Include text (summarising some of the information you’ve learned + some new research); images (moving or still; shot yourself or found online); and an appropriate soundtrack.

Answer the key questions - What is so special about the internet? What is wrong with the internet? How does the internet change audiences? 

Use the original lesson slides to help...

UNIT 3 Internet Lessons 1-3

...and use these past student videos to inspire you...

Unit 4 Coursework Blogs

For current Y12s...

In the comments section (at the end of this post) submit your new 'Unit 4 Coursework Blog' address with your first name.

This is where you'll include all the planning/research for the Research and Production Unit, worth 50% of the A2...

1. Critical Investigation (48 marks: 60%)
2000 word research essay

2. Linked Production (32 marks: 40%)

Unit 3 Exam Blogs

For current Y12s...

In the comments section (at the end of this post) submit your new 'Unit 3 Exam Blog' address with your first name.

This is where you'll include all the preparation work/research for the two hour 'Critical Perspectives' exam...

Section A (40%) 1 hour

• Unseen stimulus materials (15 mins viewing) 
• Three short answer questions (45 minutes, 32 marks)

Section B (60%) 1 hour
Pre-set topic area...

• The impact of New/Digital media

One essay question (1 hour, 48 marks)