The following A Level boards: AQA, OCR, and WJEC require students to demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of media institutions. The key requirement across the syllabuses is to understand the relationship between Institutions and their media products.

Students should have knowledge and understanding of these six topics:

1. OWNERSHIP Ways in which ownership of a media institution can affect or influence the content and distribution...

Media Studies isn’t easy to describe. It’s a living concept that continues to change just as technology and our experience with technology change. The purpose of Media Studies is to provide audiences with access to information no matter how it is experienced and allow people to adopt diverse critical positions.

Media Studies is desirable because its curriculum is inclusive; it recognises that the form of delivery as well as the content to be...

Studying media is about watching, reading, discussing and evaluating media texts such as films, television and radio programmes, newspapers and magazines, and advertisements.

An important aspect of Media Studies is evaluating (this is called ‘reading’) a media text to find out what it is trying to say to the audience, and how that message is being communicated. The first AS module is usually known as ‘Reading the media’.

In the course...

WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?

Copyright is literally a way of protecting the ‘right to copy’ something that someone else has created.

Copyright is an intellectual property right. It is a way of protecting the creative work – such as music, photographs or writing – from being pirated and used by someone else.

Throughout the world copyright exists. National laws cover different countries. Always check before using copyright material.

Whenever...

Why Regulate The Media?

The media now affects nearly every aspect of our lives.  It influences the products we consume, via advertising; our understanding of the world via news and documentary; our leisure via film and broadcast fiction and games; our methods of communication via the internet.  It is widely acknowledged that this dominance gives the media huge influence.

For example:

• The Media Effects theory has achieved widespread...

The idea of YouTube is a successful and iconic one – commercially and culturally ranking with ‘Zuckerberg’s’ Facebook, Google, Wikipedia and the loaf of bread as a pre requisite for modern living (as far as the target audience are concerned). If you are not 12-17 as the dominant viewing age group are (but very much not the exclusive age group) or indeed wheat intolerant then maybe these bastions of culture and modern society are not...

MEST3 Critical Perspectives

MEST4 Research and Production

2012 Section B Topics: Representation and New Digital Media (3 Media Platforms) - 30 Week Scheme of Work

Overview

• AQA A Level Media Studies Overview

Scheme

• 2012 AQA A2 Media Studies SOW.doc

Concepts

• Analysing Text, Stimulus Material - Audiences
• Regulation and Censorship
• Critical Investigation - Viral Marketing
• Skills Development - Planning and Production
• Representation of Masculinity...[ read full article ] »
  

G324 Advanced Portfolio in Media

G325 Critical Perspectives in Media

Critical Perspectives = Contemporary Media Regulation ~ Media and Collective Identity (30 Week Scheme of Work)

Overview

• OCR A Level Media Studies Overview

Scheme

• OCR A2 Media Studies SOW 2012-2014.doc

Concepts

• Regulation within the Media Industry
• Researching Film Magazines and Film Posters
• Skills Development - Planning and Production
• Evaluating and Linking Coursework to...

H140

• G321 Foundation Portfolio in Media (50%) and G322 Key Media Concepts (50%)
• G322 Section A: TV Drama (52%) and Section B: Film Industry (50%) - 32 Week Scheme of Work

Overview

• OCR A Level Media Studies Overview

Scheme

• OCR AS Media Studies SOW 2011-2014.doc

Concepts

• Media Language, Forms and Conventions (Media Language, Representation, Genre, Narrative)
• Film Industry Institution
• TV Drama and Representation
• Research, Planning and...

Associated Resources

• Advertising and Regulation Industry Key Points 2011.doc

Key Points

Advertising in the UK is regulated by the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority).

• TV Advertising
• Radio
• Newspapers
• Leaflets
• Billboards/Posters
• Internet
• Magazines

Ofcom regulate Television and Radio (Broadcast Media).

Cinema Advertising is regulated by BBFC (British Board of Film Classification).

Adverts in draft form (rough cuts, designs) are sent to...

Rupert Murdoch is probably the most remarkable media executive the world has even seen. He built his empire from his father’s newspapers in Australia to being one of the biggest in the world. His foresight, and strength of character, has led to revolutions in the production of newspapers, in Britain, and an immensely successful satellite television network. He did this through being a risk-taking entrepreneur who ruthlessly pursued his own...

When presented with the failings of their initial investigation the two top policemen in the Met didn’t resign immediately. However, it then came to light that an ex-NOTW deputy editor, Neil Wallis, had been hired by the police force as a PR-adviser whilst it was investigating the phone hacking. This embarrassing revelation (though they denied that Wallis had had anything to do with the investigation) led to their resignations.

Andy Hayman...

After the revelations that Milly Dowler’s phone had been hacked in 2002, it became public knowledge that phone hacking, at NOTW, had been going on for many years before 2006, when its royal reporter, Clive Goodman, and the private detective he’d used, Glenn Mulcaire, were arrested and sent to jail for hacking phones belonging to the royal family. Andy Coulson, the editor, had resigned in 2007, though he said that he was unaware of the...

Definition: Media Plurality

In a democracy it is important that people have access to a range of viewpoints in order to make informed decisions. This range (plurality) is a number of media organisations supplying news from different perspectives (see The Guardian’s editorial on the danger to media plurality if News Corporation had been able to own BSkyB outright:...

Definition: Convergence

Where a device can be used to access a variety of media texts. Because new media technologies (a phrase that is becoming old fashioned) are all digitally based, the medium of a text is irrelevant so, for example, an iPad can show films and television programmes; allow you to read books, magazines and newspapers; listen to podcasts and music and so on. Old media technologies would have required a film projector and a...

Fox News was launched in 1996 and is now the most-watched cable news channel in America eclipsing CNN, which pioneered the 24-hour rolling news format. In Britain broadcasters have to present the news in an unbiased fashion. In effect, this means anchors read the news in a more-or-less neutral fashion and contentious stories are presented as having at least two points of view. In America there is no such requirement.

Fox uses a different...

As a free market capitalist, Rupert Murdoch often eulogises the way competition between companies stimulates innovation and profitability (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PybFaMCn2qM). In 1989 he gave the keynote MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, where he argued for ‘freedom and choice, rather than regulation and scarcity’ (quoted in Keane 1991: 53). He insisted:

that market competition is the key...

The link between politicians and Murdoch was emphasised in 1995 when the new leader of the Labour Party, Tony Blair, flew to Australia to address executives of News Corporation. By the General Election, two years later, the Murdoch newspapers had switched their support from the Conservatives to Labour. However, it’s quite possible that the newspapers would have supported Labour without Blair courting them, as it was highly likely that Labour...

As noted above, the Press has an important function, as the fourth estate, in holding politicians, in particular, to account. Businesses, too, can find their conduct investigated, such as the famous Sunday Times investigation, in the 1970s, into Thalidomide, a tranquilliser drug that was found to cause birth defects. However, not all investigative journalism is in the public interest.

Under Murdoch’s influence the tabloid press had...

It is a measure of Murdoch’s foresight that he had purchased a satellite television station in 1983. This enabled his company to beat the British Satellite Broadcasting, a consortium consisting of established British media companies (Granada Television, Pearson, Virgin and Anglia Television) in launching the first non-terrestrial station in Britain. Murdoch has always enjoyed taking on the Establishment, whose vested interests always opposed...

London’s Fleet Street has long been synonymous with the national press because many newspapers were based in its locality. In 1986 Murdoch moved the printing of his newspapers, virtually overnight, from the centre of London to Wapping, in the East End. In doing so he circumvented the power of the print unions who had resisted technological change:

It is rare in history to be able to identify the precise date of a turning point. In the case...

Definition: Synergy

The concept that businesses in a corporation can be integrated in such a way that they are more than the sum of their parts; this can be achieved through exploiting properties in different media and cross-promotion. For example, Viacom’s popular Rugrats (1991-2004) cartoon ran on its Nickleodeon television channel and its Paramount Pictures produced the film versions (1998, 2000 and 2003), which could be advertised on its...

In a democracy it is recognised that those who represent the people must be held to account. The 18th century Parliamentarian, Edmund Burke, called newspapers the ‘Fourth Estate’ (after the Courts, Religion and Parliament) and they had a crucial role in ensuring that those in power didn’t abuse it. It is also recognised that the owners of news media may also gain too much influence so:

American and European policymakers and legislators...

Rupert Murdoch, who owned newspapers in Australia, took control of NOTW in 1969 after a battle with Robert Maxwell, who was also trying to buy the newspaper. William Shawcross, in his biography of Murdoch, summarised the conclusion of the deal:

It was a bruising battle in which almost everyone had lost something… Only Murdoch had won – he now had a beachhead in one of the most important publishing centres of the world. For him it was a...

The Rise (and Fall?) of Rupert Murdoch

‘I’ve been telling students for the past 20 years that concentration of ownership in the media is a bad thing, but then who gives any credibility to a Mickey Mouse subject like media studies?’ Patrick Russell (letter to The Guardian, 20 July 2011)

You may have seen on the news, in July 2011, a wizened 80-year old being attacked with a paper plate full of shaving foam at a Parliamentary hearing; if...

The Rise (and Fall?) of Rupert Murdoch

‘I’ve been telling students for the past 20 years that concentration of ownership in the media is a bad thing, but then who gives any credibility to a Mickey Mouse subject like media studies?’ Patrick Russell (letter to The Guardian, 20 July 2011)

1. Introduction

2. Murdoch Enters the British Newspaper Market

3. Murdoch Buys Times Newspapers: The Failure of Regulation?

4. Murdoch Goes to...

‘Welcome to the What’s This Channel 4? website. The site has been designed to help you learn about the way Channel 4 works as a media institution. It can be used by anyone, but will be especially helpful for people studying Media Studies.

You will find lots of useful sections in the site. There are games to play, videos to watch and inside views of various areas of the Channel. There is also a special section for teachers. The site is linked...

Vertical Integration

Commercial institutions try to combat the power of the BBC by becoming larger and creating vertical integration. This is where an institution has shares or owns each part of the production and distribution process. For example: Warner Bros Entertainment calls itself a fully integrated broad based entertainment company which owns film studios and the means to distribute the films as well as some of the cinemas in which they...

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Rupert Murdoch, the man we love to hate, is the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of the global media empire News Corporation often known as News Corp. It is the world’s third-largest media conglomerate behind The Walt Disney Company and Time Warner. 

News Corporation is a publicly traded company listed on the US NASDAQ, with secondary listings on the Australian Securities Exchange.  At present, News Corporation is headquartered at 1211...

Associated Resources

• http://media.edusites.co.uk/index.php/article/as-ocr-media-studies-audience-and-institutions-film-production-film-industr/
• http://media.edusites.co.uk/index.php/article/as-ocr-media-studies-audience-and-institutions-film-industry-revision-ppt/

Key Principles

1. Have you got contrasting films you can use as case studies e.g. big budget Hollywood v low budget British indie which allow full range of issues to be discussed?

2....

Associated Resources

• http://media.edusites.co.uk/index.php/article/as-ocr-media-studies-audience-and-institutions-film-production-film-industr/
• http://media.edusites.co.uk/index.php/article/as-ocr-media-studies-audience-and-institutions-film-industry-revision-advic/

AS OCR A&I - Film Industry Revision.ppt

Associated Resources

• http://media.edusites.co.uk/index.php/article/as-ocr-media-studies-audience-and-institutions-film-industry-revision-advic/
• http://media.edusites.co.uk/index.php/article/as-ocr-media-studies-audience-and-institutions-film-industry-revision-ppt/

TOP TIP: Consider the issues for the studios and audiences at every stage.

When writing the exam essay - you should look for modern examples in the industry and be able to write a...

Introduction

The need to target a ‘specific audience’ is a key issue for the ‘magazine industry’. Magazines are heavily ‘subsidized by advertising’ and the key to attracting a sustainable ‘portfolio of advertisers’ is the creation of a product that is desirable to their ‘target market’.

As a consequence, within the magazine industry as a whole, there are many magazines aimed at similar audiences because that ‘demographic...[ read full article ] »

People are often concerned about using photographs in publications, videos or websites that they have not taken themselves. This article should help with the complex copyright issues.

The basic rule for anyone taking photographs now is that the photographer owns the copyright of the photograph.

Photographic images are a valuable resource for TV programme makers, and website designers. The legitimate use of photographs can be fraught with...

The rights to broadcast this years showpiece sporting tournament is in the hands of two national mainstream television channels: BBC and ITV.

The Football World Cup in South Africa 2010 will command many hours from both BBC and ITV primetime television slots from 11th of June – 11th of July. Games will be shown at 12.30, 17.00 and 19.30.

Programs will no doubt contain many hours of build up, the game itself, half time replays of highlights...

All A Level boards: AQA, OCR, and WJEC require students to demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of media institutions. The key requirement is to understand the relationship between Institutions and their media products.

Students should have knowledge and understanding of these six topics:

• AUDIENCES The significance of media ownership to the way audiences receive texts.
• TECHNOLOGY The importance of new technologies on media...

Discuss the issues raised by an institution’s need to target specific audiences within a media industry that you have studied.

Introduction

The need to target a ‘specific audience’ is a key issue for the ‘magazine industry’. Magazines are heavily ‘subsidized by advertising’ and the key to attracting a sustainable ‘portfolio of advertisers’ is the creation of a product that is desirable to their ‘target market’.

As a...

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ABC.org.uk

This site provides consumer magazine data such as circulation figures, price, genre sales, etc.

Natmags.co.uk Monthly Circulation Figures Pick a magazine title and get info on brand positioning/ values, core buyer, ratecards, etc.

Media History.com Find out about developments in the media through history.

Media in the USA - Global Issues

National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire

TV-Ark.org.uk The Online Television Museum

Creative Archive Pilot

Creative Commons Licence

Intellectual Property Office on Copyright

Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)

FACT Federation Against Copyright Theft

The Citizenship Foundation is an independent charity which aims to empower individuals to engage in the wider community through education about the law, democracy and society

BBFC.org.uk Find out about film certification and censorship using this site.

SBBFC.org.uk Students’ British Board of Film Classification This site is aimed at media and film studies students and teachers covering the topics of Media Regulation and Censorship in the UK. The site was designed and is maintained by the British Board of Film Classification.

TMAP.org.uk Teenage Magazine Arbitration Panel The Teenage Magazine Arbitration Panel (...

EMI Group EMI is the world’s largest independent music company.

itunes

musicovery.com Free access to a range of music on the Internet

Click on the link below to listen to a podcast on ‘The Music Industry, Adapting to a Digital Future’ by Eliot Van Buskirk from Wired.com

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88145070

If your Media Studies production is an audio visual piece then it will most likely involve the use of some music.  This might be in the background of an advert, to make a film trailer more exciting, or as the focus of a music video.

What you need to remember is that even though it’s incredibly easy to download music and sound effects from the Internet, it’s not always a good idea to use those files in your media production.

In this article,...

Media Studies isn’t easy to describe. It’s a living concept that continues to change just as technology and our experience with technology change. The purpose of Media Studies is to provide audiences with access to information no matter how it is experienced and allow people to adopt diverse critical positions.

Media Studies is desirable because its curriculum is inclusive; it recognises that the form of...

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