NewS ValueS...
What is gate-keeping?
Gatekeepers are primarily the editors who are responsible for selecting and ordering the news broadcasts or selecting and planning the newspaper layout. The selection of news events is not a reflex action, but the socially determined construction of reality. (Audiences expectation, application of news value and institutional requirements determine what texts get exposed)
What do we mean by bias?
Bias is the influence of a person's attitudes, background of its interview, writers, and photographers and editors-even before the gate-keeping process. This can be through:
Selection and omission
Placement
Photos, captions and camera angles
Use of names and titles
Statistics ad crowd counts
Source control
Choice and tone
Galtung and Ruge identified the following news values:
Frequency: The time span of an event and the extent to which it fits the frequency of the newspaper's or news broadcaster’s schedule.
Threshold: How big is an event? Is it big enough to make it into the news?
Prince Charles wants to ban McDonalds as he feels that a ban on junk food is the key to a healthier life style. He declared that obesity, which is the cause of chronic diabetes, is out of control in Britain.
Unambiguity: How clear is the meaning of an event?
Meaningfulness: How meaningful will the event appear to the receivers of the news?
Consonance: Does the event match the audience's expectations?
Unexpectedness: If an event is highly unpredictable, then it is like to make it into the news.
Vitamin pills and low-fat foods could be doing more harm than good. Women with a low-fat diet may find it harder to become pregnant.
Continuity: Once an events has been covered, it is convenient to continue to cover it- the running story
A car bomb killed 18 boys as they played football during one of the darkest days of blooshed in Iraq.
Composition: This is a matter of the balance of the news.
Reference to elite nations: This relates again to 'cultural proximity'. Those nations which are culturally closest to our own will receive most of the coverage.
Reference to elite persons: The media pay attention to important people. Anyone the media pay attention to must be important.
Tony Blair put pressure on Gordon Brown to ease the inheritance tax burden threatening millions off families.
Personalisation: This connects with Unambiguity and meaningfulness. Events are seen as the actions of individuals.
Negativity: Bad news is good news in terms of what is reported.
CulT of the CelebritY...
I can honestly say that I do not consume celebrity-driven media. I am not a person not a person to buy a magazine or newspaper just because of a particular celebrity being reported about, however, I do read issues regarding certain celebrities on the internet, for example if a celebrity is featured in a up-coming film or if they have done something drastic, e.g. Britney Spears shaving her head!
When considering national tabloid newspapers, audiences are always presented with a story of celebrity, despite how irrelevant it may be. There are also pages dedicated to just celebrity news, i.e. in ‘The Mirror’ you have ‘3am.’ Even on the internet, The Mirror website has is an entire page called ‘Showbiz’ packed with celebrity gossip, as does The Sun with ‘Bizarre.’
This differs significantly from articles in newspapers in the 1990’s, where news was centered on worldwide affairs; celebrities would most probably never be featured on the front page.
ChanneL 4 - HomosexualitY LegalisatioN
Channel 4 will show the Clapham Junction film this August to mark the passing of the Sexual Offences Act, allowing homosexuality between two people aged 21. In the debate then-home secretary Roy Jenkins famously said: "Those who suffer from this disability carry a great weight of shame all their lives." The film is currently being cast - with leading actors including actors Mark Strong, Rupert Graves and Benedict Cumberbatch currently linked to the project - and will be accompanied by a week of programming around gay themes.
The centrepiece of the season - to be shown this summer to mark the 40th anniversary of the legalisation of homosexuality - will be a film charting 36 hours in the life of seven gay men who frequent Clapham Common for sex.
Clapham Junction, written by Kevin Elyot, will feature graphic scenes of sex as well as attacks on gay men on the common, famous as a gay pick-up venue ever since then-Wales secretary Ron Davies' "moment of madness" incident in 1998. The season is also expected to include a dramatic reconstruction of a man being tried in the 1960's for his sexuality. A raft of documentaries is also planned. "Though homosexuality would seem to be more accepted and legitimised through civil partnerships, there still seems to be a disturbing amount of homophobic violence and homophobic attitudes sometimes coming from surprising quarters," said Elyot,
Elyot is best known as the author of the Olivier award-winning 1995 play My Night with Reg about a group of gay men dealing with Aids.
I personally do not have a problem with gay people, becauase at the end of the day it is their choice about whether they prefer males or females, right? Im glad that Channel 4 will be broadcasting this film/documentary as many people need to learn that there is nothing wrong with being a 'homosexual' and that this desire for the same sex is contagious! It is a shame, however, that documentaries like these could not have been relased sooner as im sure that the number of homophobic hate crime would decrease signficantly from 1,359 ( that was the figure in the last 12 months!!) Anyway, people do always say that homophobic people are the ones who are actually gay, so for all you out there that despise gay people, keep that in mind!
ExaM PractisE...
The Mirror is a red-top tabloid newspaper, as the articles that it produces and exposes to the public are in a very gossipy context and style. You could categorize it as popular press as its main aims are to entertain. Their stories revolve around celebrities and many of the articles are sensationalized.Sans-serif font portarys the paper as informal and more casual. Suggesting the targert audeince are working/middle class.
- Large Mast-head infroms readers imediately of the paper - striking as it is red.
- mimicking Forest Gump, Geroge Bush looking confsed and a little childish, shwing that he is not fit to govern a conutry.
- Gordon Brown also mentioned, but in a postive light, possibly suggesting that Britain is more stable than the USA, as Bush lookis uncertain about his duties.
- Election box described as a 'chocloate box'. Introduing humour on a serious topic - further attracting audeinces of a less eduatcated bcackgroud.
The Daparted movie poster follows similar conventions of many other. The Charatcers are enlisted, the title of the Film is exposed and furhtermore the presenation and layout connotes sertains ideas of the genre of the text.
The Departed - stated twice- both in serif font, however not as extreme possibly suggesting the film to have a serious nature to it but also elemants which make it a little relaxed (humour)
Main protagonists are shown to be carved into the title - shows how their life is centered around their mission in the film. Also creating an enigma as parts of their faces are cut-suggesting a sort of puzzle which ust be solved.
Colours further connote this idea of a mystery and danger - Black and RedThe Departed meaning dead - one of the main protagonists will also be 'departing'
Serious expressions on the faces of the protagonists - looking curiously in all directions.'Cops or Criminals' - corrupt society in which the two merge as alliances.
The Source is considered to be a popular music magazine amongst many teens. Its inerviews with top celbreities reveals gossip to all its readers and futher keeps them intrigued by the pictures and top music hits printed. Everything in this magazine is updated to what is popilar in demand with other teens.
- san-serif font implies an informal and casual magazine which does not possibly deal with current affairs.
Image of Lil’ Kim attracts music fans, and also suggests that the overall magazine deals with music related issues. This is further emphasized with the worlds ‘Reggae’ –a popular music genre. - 'Best of the Best ofs' - implies the magazines caters to all those looking for the top hits, interviews and gossip.
- Lil' Kim is placed infront of the actual masthead-suggesting her imporatnce and popularity in the usic world today. this is firther emphasised but the countless microphones beneath her. this can also infer that she is above all media press.
- Her facial expression gives the magazine a personified 'attitude'- attracts teenagers who also believe that they can realte to her nature.
- 'Exlcusive' suggests that the magazine are always up-to-date with whats new and fresh.
- The possible audeince could be teenagers of an age range 16+. It probably targetting a more black culture, as Reggae is their cultural music.
