MEST3 Exam

1) Copy and paste the email feedback (WWW/EBI/LR) into your blogpost. Question: The development of new/digital media means the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the arguments for and against this view. WWW: This is a really impressive essay – there is really sharp focus on the question and you’ve raised lots of relevant points, examples and statistics. There’s no doubt you’re pushing towards that A grade territory so now we need to replicate this in an exam situation. EBI: Arguably the most positive aspect here is that you’ve written a very strong essay and could still have added a lot more: David Simon and paywalls, Alain de Botton and Gramsci’s Hegemony (the illusion of power), Clay Shirky’s views on news, Baudrillard and hyper-reality. Indeed, I’d say the major aspect here is this reads like a Marxism and Pluralism essay. There’s nothing wrong with this – in fact it’s great that there’s the potential to push this even further! I see ...

France orders Whatsapp to stop sharing user data with Facebook without consent https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/19/france-orders-whatsapp-stop-sharing-user-data-facebook-without-consent Key Data/ Statistical Info  The French data protection agency, Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), said on Monday that  WhatsApp  did not have a legal basis to share user data under French law for “business intelligence” purposes.  The watchdog said WhatsApp had violated its obligation to cooperate with CNIL and had not properly obtained users’ consent to begin sharing their phone numbers with Facebook. “The only way to refuse the data transfer for ‘business intelligence’ purpose is to uninstall the application,” the CNIL said in a statement. The move, which Facebook said was not possible at the time of acquisition of the messaging app, drew  warnings from data regulators  over explicit consent. The European Comm...

More than a million UK homes and offices don't get decent broadband, finds Ofcom http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-homes-offices-office-decent-broadband-ofcom-more-than-1-million-a8112501.html Key Data/ Statistical Info  More than one million homes and offices across the UK still can’t get a decent  broadband  connection, research from the communications regulator has revealed. Ofcom  on Friday said that although coverage is steadily improving, around 4 per cent of properties – or 1.1 million – still do not have access to broadband that offers the speeds needed to meet typical needs.  “Broadband coverage is improving, but our findings show there’s still urgent work required before people and businesses get the services they need,” said Steve Unger, chief technology officer at Ofcom. He said that the watchdog was “supporting plans for universal broadband, and promoting investment in full-fibre technology that can provide ult...

Norway becomes the first country in the world to end national radio broadcasts on FM https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/13/norway-becomes-first-country-to-end-national-radio-broadcasts-on-fm Key Data/ Statistical Info  The country’s most northern regions and the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic switched to digital audio broadcasting (DAB) as scheduled on Wednesday, said Digitalradio Norge (DRN), an umbrella group for  Norway ’s public and commercial radio. The transition,  which began on 11 January , allows for better sound quality and more channels and functions at an eighth of the cost of FM radio, according to authorities. Radio users have also complained about the cost of having to buy new receivers or adapters, usually priced at between €100 and €200 (£88 and £176). Only 49% of motorists are able to listen to DAB in their cars, according to DRN figures. A study cited by local media suggests the number of Norwegians who listen to the radi...

Big web firms may face persecution over online abuse https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/12/big-web-firms-may-face-prosecution-over-online-abuse Key Data/ Statistical Info The UK government should fine or even prosecute big web companies if they fail to tackle racist, extremist or child sex abuse content, an influential committee will recommend A BBC survey found that 87% of MPs experienced abuse during the 2017 general election campaign, with half of the 113 MPs who responded telling the Radio 5 Live survey it was the worst campaign they had experienced in terms of abuse. “Tackling intimidation, far from threatening genuine democratic debate and scrutiny, will actually serve to enhance and protect it.” One Labour MP said someone had threatened to bomb her office and another MP claimed to have had a “bottle smashed on me”. “Many contributors to our review accept that you need a thick skin in public life; it goes with the territory. But our evidence also s...

The development of new/digital media means the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and p roduction . Discuss the arguments for and against this view.  Plan Pluralism- Citizen Journalism- audiences produce content, footage of attacks, London, Paris etc, content is then used by news institutions who broadcast that content, essentially influencing consumption of news. News values no longer apply, there are no gatekeepers# Marxism- Citizen Journalism- Eric Garner- person who filmed the incident was arrested- suggests that audiences are therefore not empowered. Institutions still have control. Marxism- Brexit - immigration as hegemonic ideology- reproduction of status quo- Brexit always prioritised over other news stories.  "illusion of empowerment" on social media and other opinion based platforms e.g blogs. Pluralism- Take a Knee campaign- Colin Kaepernick (NFL) audiences challenging major institutions. Marxism- Hyper reality (Baudrillard) and Alain de...

Go to  our Media Magazine archive  and click on  MM47 -  page 31  Google Glass feature: a case study in Globalisation . 1) Why was Google Glass controversial? Google Glass was a pair of glasses that acted as your mobile phone and provides you with all the functions that you'd expect- some of the features can be accessed through voice interaction and a display screen located on one of the lenses. It was seen as controversial as, Google, which ultimately dominates the internet, was making or attempting to make developments that were out of the ordinary e.g "Project Loon" - large balloons fitted with radio antenna devices which were released into the air to float above areas to New Zealand without access to the internet- allowing those who did not have internet to do so. 2) What are the positive elements to Globalisation that the article highlights? The world has become more accessible and people are "enriched by getting to know and understand it better." Th...

How the Winklevoss twins became the worlds first bitcoin billionaires https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2017/dec/04/winklevoss-twins-bitcoin-billionaires-mark-zuckerberg Key Data/ Statistical Info Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss- venture capitalists and entrepreneurs   Bitcoin-  an electronic token, which can be owned and traded . Like normal money, it has value because other people consider it valuable. The number of bitcoins in circulation is strictly controlled by a clever bit of software that nobody can hack, called the blockchain. In March 2013, they bought about 100,000 of them, when each coin was worth roughly $120. After a strong year, and a wild couple of weeks, each bitcoin is now worth … let’s see … $11,826. Not counting the value of their other investments, the Winklevoss twins have just become  the world’s first bitcoin billionaires . Apart from Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin’s mysterious inventor, of course. Developments to new...

Instagram Stories has turned life into a slideshow of content https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/21/instagram-stories-life-slideshow-contents-snapchat Key Data/Statistical Info The problem with supposedly disruptive technology is often not the tech itself but the people using it. On  Instagram Stories  you still post photos and videos, but they play like a slideshow among everyone else’s posts. Everything you post can be seen for only 24 hours, after which it disappears for ever, giving it a sense of urgency. Now, we can’t help but turn our very existence into transient content for our acquaintances. When Stories launched it changed human behaviour almost immediately, gameifying life so that each event you attend earns you social kudos.  By April of this year, just nine months after it launched,  Instagram Stories had 200 million daily users , surpassing Snapchat’s total number of users by 40 million. Instagram Stories and  ...