45 Marker

The Daily Telegraph- interpretations of both kidnapping stories 

1.) Different language is used when describing both cases. Clearly these specific descriptions of both kidnapping cases was used so that the general public view them in a certain way. Social class definitely had a huge part in both cases as 'The Daily Telegraph' were biased in terms of presenting both parents in a negative and positive way through mentioning their occupation. For example Shannon Matthews mother is seen a inferior to Madeline's mother when described as the woman who has "seven children to five fathers". This clearly indicates that she's irresponsible and reliant on a man, therefore unable to look after her own children by herself; automatically leading to the audience judging her and not sympathizing. This information of shannons mothers past partners isn't very relevant to the actual story so this is again leading to a bias and presenting her as this reckless, careless stereotype.

However presenting madeleine's parents in a more positive light by describing them as "her consultant parents" which is technically not relevant and leads to a bias of judgement as it makes them look more superior and stable, leading to the public having a positive judgement. They're occupation also presents status and presents them to be responsible parents.

The McCanns were also very victimized according to the Daily Telegraph when numerously mentioned that Madeleine was "snatched" from them, this has an emotive impact as the general public would sympathize with them. Also using words such as "clutching", "traumatized" and "tearfully"again viewing them as victims and not blamed for, even though these parents were rather negligent by partying in another building whilst leaving the door unlocked. However due to their social class they're seen as superior.

When first describing shannons mother they used the phrase "the head of a dysfunctional family" clearly portraying her again as this negative stereotype.

The messages and values that these different text present is this divide of social class and importance. However others could argue that due to shannon's own mother kidnapping her of course she should be presented negatively, however maybe The Daily Telegraph had over exaggerated this negative persona and glorified the one of a "noble middle class" background.

2.)Both chosen pictures are also socially constructed according to The Daily Telegraph as this again is promoting Madeleine's case to be more glorified and positive as the image is of Madeline innocently playing with her mother holding onto her gently which manipulates the readers to thinking she's a very protecting and good mother. The image also centres the mother and child; symbolising the close physical and mental bond and connection. However Shannons case is presented completely different as The Daily Telegraph chose to separate the mother and child. Clearly showcasing this lack of love, care and protection. This leads to the public not sympathising with the mother. Nevertheless this particular image of the mother is very dull and negative as she looks guilty whilst looking down, distressed and nervous whereas Madelines mother is looking happy and embracing time with her child. However shannon is still presented very innocent as this looks like a school photo. I think the newspaper done this purposely to create the disconnection between the two. This overall again manipulates the public to judge the mothers based on how they're presented which in this case is a clear binary (good and bad).

3.)Hall argues that both news stories are contested and he thinks it's on a social Hierarchy. I think Hall is correct with this statement as both articles written by The Daily Telegraph create this social class division. As they present Shannons mother who is of working class completely negatively as they mention her past affairs and numerous children, this fits into the negative stereotype of an unstable working class mother who's unemployed and living off other men. Whereas Madelines mother who is of middle class is presented more positively; emphasizing her parents successful careers and using a positive picture to present this case. This links to Stuart Hall's theory of the "contested" representation as the clear societal hierarchy is presented through these factors of written text and visual representation. This also links to Stuart Halls input on the 'Reception theory' and how it's based on dominant or preferred readings leading to the general public being more vulnerable and conforming to the way the news articles has presented them. Or already making a judgement based on society's common stereotypes of class.

4.)The dominant reading of this would be that Madeleine's case should be sympathised as her parents are a of wealthy background, raised her with care and had tragically lost her in their private holiday. And this negative view of shannons mother and how she doesn't deserve respect or pity due to her lack of love and attention towards her daughter because of her unemployment, irresponsible behaviour and previous affairs with multiple men. portraying her as this chavvy working class stereotype. Personally I take an oppositional approach to both stories as I am aware society being based on a bourgeoisie and capitalism, meaning that the middle class will just get richer and it's only getting harder for those of working class. So these stories are a great example of this hierarchal society. Even though shannons mother was wrong for this kidnapping scandal and should not be presented well, I think these big newspaper corporates exaggerate and are the perfect example of the media helping to create this social hierarchy. For example maybe the fact that her mother is of a struggling working class background and has an alleged disability this is the only resolution she could think of. But completely presenting Madelines middle class parents of wealthy background and idealist lifestyles very positively and victimising them was very biased and wrong as The daily Telegraph fail to mention the truthful facts of her parents being negligent and irresponsible by leaving their kids alone in another building with the door unlocked whilst they were partying with friends, however the article seems to be justifying their wrongfulness because of their wealth, good occupation and past decent relationship with their daughter. Again just focusing on how their daughter got "snatched" therefore only victimising them.

In Conclusion due to how society is based on capitalism and it's divided into social hierarchies I think media is a huge factor in presenting these typical dominant ideologies of the significance of middle class and not fully understanding and putting importance towards the less advantaged working class. And they tend to manipulate stories based on their own views and social importance.

stuart hall

Jamaican academic who came up with the reception theory -audiences read media text and how the producer intended to present it.

Encoding- meaning put into the product
Decoding- meaning taken out of context and interpreted differently

ideologies of consumerism- buying stuff making people happy

paul Gilroy- how media reinforces theories and ideas 'us and them'

Polysenny- a range of potential meanings

Reception theory   

• a dominant or preferred reading of text or product
• negotiated- adding your own interpretation
• Oppositional- disagrees with the intended texts

journalism Ethics

5 Key points

Accuracy- the press must make sure to not publish inaccurate stories leading to misconception

independence

Impartiality- stories should be balanced and have two sides 

humanity- caring for fellow members of society

Accountability- when we

 commit erros we must face up to it and correct them

Press regulation-Independent press standards Organisation

A 'self regulatory body'- the regulate themselves rather than being regulated by the government. 

public though that the government should have regulation of the press due to inaccurate and manipulation of stories on audience. however others believe that government isn't always right therefore should not take part in the media.

Self regulation- so the media (gaming companies having age restrictrictions) 

statutory regulation- government controlling tv and radio

Key words:

Ethics- moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conducting of an activity.
Truth and accuracy- making sure that stories are accurate and fair
Self regulation- ipso and making sure content is safe for certain age groups.. controlled by themselves 
public interest- making sure that stories are good for the public 

accuracy
privacy- everyone is entitled to their own private life, home, health and family
intrusion into grief or shock- sympathise and be sensitive with family members etc who have lost someone
reporting suicide- excessive detail should not be including
children- should not be harassed, under 16 must not be interviewed without permission
hospitals- cannot intrude into private areas without introducing etc
reporting of crime- should have permission
clandestine devices and subterfuge- not allowed to film without permission
discrimination- press must avoid prejudice they should not reference a persons race, religion, sex etc
financial journalism
confidential source- the press/ journalist should have moral obligations towards confidential information
witnesses in criminal trials- not allowed to pay witnesses and criminals in order to interview them as his glamorizes cases

Public interest- for the good of the public NOT  what the public's interest is in

Case study of Daily Mail being reported for going on private property


Case study one- The woman had complained because it was an invasion of privacy and intruding her personal time at the beach whilst she was half naked; exposing her body so this being released to the public is a violation of her reputation possibly. It's also a clandestine device which without permission should not be used. Hopefully this case is justified and taken down because it's an invasion of her privacy.

Paywalls for and against

For

What does David Simon mean by ‘slow suicide’?

David Simone: he talks about how Journalism is an actual career which requires a level of dedication and skills all leading to a persons career and the wages they make. If pay walls are not there then the journalists are being exploited and being taken advantage of. when he mentions
"slow suicide" he's talking about how the newspaper industry is slowly collapsing as it's accessible for everyone for free which isn't making  a profit for the industry but more of a loss.

What does he mean by saying anti-paywall people “don’t understand the first thing about actual journalism”?

when he says this he's talking about the public that perhaps don't understand and appreciate the hard work and lack of gratitude that journalists go through. As it costs money to hire specialised journalists and publish the news story itself. so due to modern consumers and advanced technology it's harder for the journalists as more news stories are having to be made independently. And consumers that don't want paywalls are unaware of this.

What does he mean by “journalism is a profession”?

By this he's talking about how it's an actual skilled career that people have and they deserve appreciation and good pay.

 What do you think made 1 million people pay for the NYT(New York Times)?

Against

What does he mean by “Band-Aid to cover a bullet hole”?

By the term 'Band-Aid to cover a bullet hole he means that the new consumers are not willing to pay that amount. And it should be presented to a variety of audiences not just one particular. perhaps he's talking about how the paywall will not be effective in any way and will just lose more customers/consumers.

How much would you pay for Facebook (or any other social network)? Why this much?

As social media has advanced so much and become more addictive for users, the younger generation in particular it would

News values:
news today is converged and dispersed across a range of platforms and with a huge range of platforms. does not exist free floating in the world. news values systematically construct rather than simply accompany the gathering of news. news is always twisted

Galtung and Ruge (1981) - these theories argue that news is constructed according to unspoken values, rather than discovered.
-Frequency-time scale of events considered "newsworthy". in pre-web 2.0 days stories which unfolded daily were favoured.
-Threshold- the size of an event..how important the news is
-Proximity-how close to home a story is. for example the 2017 terror attacks was heard  more than        somali attacks. News that the Uk (white middle class) people would find more important. "Otherness" paul Gilroy-black academic. non white people in the media are often defined according to what makes them different physically. usually negative. for e.g. Brown  terrorist.. but white people are'nt.
-Negativity- if it's news it's bad news. Occasionally good news is presented such as events (royal family births etc).
-Predictability- presented as something new but usually the same as always. e.g parliament votes, violent protests
-Continuity and narrative- news involves story-telling just like fiction. Brexit is a good example and it goes on exaggerated. Protagonists, antagonists and other recognisable characters. For example leading to the general elections as 'The Sun' is very right wing and against jeremy corbin therefore presenting him in a bad light. Two opposing sides/characters...Corbin V may
Composition- Newspapers that are balanced out in terms of their stories. such as encourage
the readers to feel a certain way towards news articles...mick jagger sex pest
Personalisation- twisting news articles to make it sound more interesting

Task-which news values apply to that news article ? 400-800 words. include theories such as Levi-strauss (binary oppositions), galtung and ruge and narrative. consider the role of analogy.
PLAN-
introduction- explain the question..define what news values is. mention the news article you're writing about
main body-4 to 5 paragraphs including 4 or more news values! each paragraph

• introduce the news value
• give examples
• image analysis
• reference to theory

conclusion -paragraph summing up of overall though of how effective you think the news values were to the audience. summaries key values applied.

do extra reading on news values..Books on Galtung and ruge, levis-strauss, paul gilroy

interesting UK newspaper article (due next wednesday-15th)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4819226/Teenager-escaped-Grenfell-Tower-gets-Chemistry.html

In this essay I will be explaining and demonstrating how News values have a huge impact on the audience and how it makes them more attracted to the particular news article. There are numerous news values such as Frequency, threshold, proximity, negativity , predictability and Continuity and narrative. All of these have an important role in the news article making them look and sound more appealing and engaging to the main targeted audience which in this case is the British public. The news article I'll be focusing on will be from the Daily Mail and it focuses on a school girl who was a resident of the burning Grenfell tower and how she had managed to escape and still achieve highly in her education. And how the specific news values used mad e it more intriguing.

Firstly this news article includes the value of Frequency as this event was highlighted one of the most tragic in London 2017. And at the time being a very sensitive and important topic that led to majority of the population (working class in particular) demanding answers from the authority. Therefore this journalist had known that because of the time scale of the event it was going to be Newsworthy so very carefully structured making the headline include the keywords (Building Burning and Grenfell Inferno). This also links to the value of Threshold and how important the news story was; again one of the most tragic events in London killing hundreds of residents. As it was the lives of the residents that had been taken away Daily mail had acknowledged how valuable and interesting a surviving residents experience would be, therefore documenting her successful GCSE grades. As this would surprise the audience due to the traumatic experience but still being able to go into school and succeed whilst the majority is grieving.

Another value used was the Proximity; how close the story is to us mentally. As London is the capital city and this incident was mainly caused by the government and housing associates it has led to a social solidarity of the British public especially those of working class as they can relate more to those residents. so as this article focuses on the inferno and one particular Brightside of the situation the entire audience would be able to feel proud and feel sympathetic towards this secondary pupil. As parents across the UK would have some children perhaps also doing their GCSE's or studying towards and be able to acknowledge this story, be surprised and respect it as they'd have a common experience with their own child attending school and trying to succeed. However proximity is very effective as this value is what targets the British public as we all share a common understanding and value consensus such as there being other thousands of innocent lives dying across the world but this particular group of citizens in the UK are cherished and cared for more as it has happened in London; close to home and the most multi-cultural capital in the world.

Nevertheless the value of negativity is interesting in this article as it slightly contrasts and juxtaposes. for example even though it's such a tragic event that had taken hundred of lives; it focuses on a positive note to present to the public that perhaps motivation and state of mind is key in an unfortunate circumstance. This is demonstrated by illustrating an image of the school girl on the UK's leading morning show 'This morning' with a big smile on her face holding onto her results.

This news article by Mark Duell also presents the value of Continuity and narrative, almost as if a story is being told. For instance in this case the press are showcasing this Grenfell survivor in a positive light and to be very concentrated and studious even after having a traumatic experience of losing friends in that fire. This presents a heroic and mentally strong persona to the general British Public. "There was no point in me carrying on watching the building burning so I just went in" this was the leading headline and also quoted from the school girl. The phrase " so I just went in" makes it sound as if she's going into the building very confidently and heroically. Also the image of her sat in her high school corridor makes her seem like a strong, fierce female as she's very cantered in the middle. The value of Continuity and narrative is often exaggerated as it also in this case when headlining 'Sat her GCSE in her pyjamas' making it sound more shocking to the audience as it's out of the norm. so by the news article focusing on this particular aspect of her appearance it engages the audience even more.

In conclusion I think the news article was very effective due to the news values it had used making it more appealing and interesting to the general public to read. And also I had discovered the importance of narrative and proximity and the public tend to read things that sound and look more engaging (story like) but also the social solidarity that the UK share as a whole by continuing to read a particular story that impacts fellow citizens lives. Nevertheless I do believe that how journalists present their stories through their text and values has a huge impact. So if the article didn't include these values and just had stated facts and figures it wouldn't appeal majority of the audience.

Task 2