MEST3 Exam

Social media companies must respond to the sinister reality behind fake news  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/sep/30/social-media-companies-fake-news-us-election Key Data/ Statistical Info Social media  companies such as Facebook and Twitter have begun to share evidence of how their platforms are used and abused during elections. Computational propaganda flourished during the 2016 US presidential election.  US voters shared large volumes of polarising political news and information in the form of links to content from Russian, WikiLeaks and junk news sources.  First, we found that nationally,  Twitter  users got more misinformation, polarising and conspiratorial content than professionally produced news. The article talks about the way in which some users shared political news and information in the form of ''junk news sources'', most of which contained extremist/ sensationalist ideologies.  The article also men...

1) Read this  Ofcom 2016 report on the consumption of news in the UK . Note down the key statistics and changes that Ofcom document. Although TV is the most-used platform for news nowadays (used by 69% of adults), the internet has seen a considerable increase in use compared to 2015 (48% vs. 41%).   One in twenty (6%) use all four main platforms for news – i.e. TV, radio, newspapers and the internet. One in five (19%) uses only TV for news.  Three in ten (29%) now use a mobile for news People from BAME (black and minority ethnic) groups are more likely to watch the BBC News Channel and CNN than are white groups.  One third (33%) of UK adults say they consume news through radio, and this has remained stable over recent years. • Nearly half (48%) of adults say they use the internet for news nowadays, an increase from 41% in 2015. • The most popular news source across platforms is BBC One, with half (50%) of all respondents saying they use it for news now...

Blog task 1: News institutions research 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 ITN/BBC).  The Guardian- Commercial Platform: E-media Owned by Guardian Media Group Centre- left  Sister newspapers are ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'' Now publish all their news online which is free to all users BBC News- Non- commercial Platform: Broadcast Owned by BBC World's largest broadcast news organisation  Unbiased political views  Generates around 120 hours of radio and television output each day Sky News- Commercial  Platform: Broadcast Owned by Sky plc - based in the UK  24 hours int...

NFL protests: Pharrell, Stevie Wonder and John Legend 'take a knee' in solidarity against "President" Trump http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/nfl-take-a-knee-protests-pharrell-john-legend-stevie-wonder-support-defiance-donald-trump-twitter-a7965316.html Key Data/ Statistical Info John Legend ,  Stevie Wonder  and Ice Cube are among those who have spoken out in support of the  NFL  players staging demonstrations during matches in the US.  As the US national anthem played at the beginning of matches on 24 September, players knelt on one knee in a show of defiance against  Donald Trump .  "People across this country are suddenly thinking about what it must feel like to be a person of colour, watch an officer shoot an unarmed man, and walk away with a pension."- John Legend The article talks about how celebrities have reacted to the ''Take A Knee'' protest, which was first initiated by Colin Kaeper...

Uber apologises after London ban and admits ''we got things wrong''  https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/25/uber-tfl-concerns-vows-keep-operating-london-licence Key Data/ Statistical Info Uber’s London licence expires on 30 September, although it will continue to run taxis while it pursues a legal appeal process that could last a year. Uber is attempting to overturn a landmark ruling that its drivers are workers, with rights to paid holiday and the minimum wage. TfL said last week  Uber  was not a “fit and proper” private car-hire operator and cited four areas of concern, including its approach to reporting criminal offences and carrying out background checks on drivers. The article is about how Uber lost its licence to operate in London and how the CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi apologies for the mistakes the company has made. According to TfL, Uber was not a ''fit and proper'' car hire operator as they sparked some concerns, th...

Gifs: 30 Years of reactions, dancing babies and popcorn  https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/18/gif-30-years-reactions-dancing-babies-popcorn-internet Key Data/ Statistical Info The gif, or graphics interchange format, was created by programmer Steve Wilhite, who longed for an image format that could be used across different computer platforms. Meanwhile, Facebook added gifs to Messenger in 2015 Gif keyboards are also now common, with Apple adding one to Messages in iOS 10 and Google’s Gboard launched with gif support in 2016. The article talks about the ''gif''(graphics interchange format) and how its been used for 30 years. The gif is now part of ''internet culture'' and is used in various social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, to ''express ourselves without proper words''.  Some examples of gifs include: Deal With It, Dancing Baby, and Michael Jackson eating popcorn. The article also mentions ho...

Binge-watching your favourite TV shows makes them less enjoyable, scientists have found http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/binge-watching-tv-programmes-less-enjoyable-university-of-melbourne-study-bbc-america-the-game-a7936146.html Key Data/ Statistical Info recent surveys suggest upward of 80 per cent of consumers prefer and indulge in binge-watching behavior Researchers discovered that watching too many episodes of a programme in one go led to "significantly less enjoyment" than if they were viewed on a weekly basis. The study involved 51 graduate and undergraduate students from the university, who were asked to watch the six, one-hour episodes of ''The Game''. The research found that the binge-watchers remembered most about the show the day after they had finished watching, but could not recall its contents in 140 days time. However, weekly viewers remembered the show for a whole day, and were also able to remember the...