NDM Baseline assessment: Learner response

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38/48 - B+

WWW: Good grasp of the main arguements in a fluent, concise essay.

EBI: Write a better introduction, needs to start developing points. Write a section expanding more on citizenship journalism

Introduction

Developments in new and digital media has had a great impact in the ways which audiences can have access to a greater variety of views and values to a certain extent. Audiences have been empowered by developments from the traditional forms of the media, and the newer forms of the media such as the internet. This essay will highlight some of the key changes that have contributed to the currently evolving digital age and the advantages/disadvantages they may carry. 

Citizen Journalism

The introduction of the internet as a form of new media has been a positive advantage for the majority of today's society. As Castell has mentioned "The internet will usher us into the information age". There are now more ways to discover views and values when compared to the past traditional forms of media, which are dominated by the minorities who still have the most control (Paretos law) over the views the audience encounter with. The internet has allowed citizen journalism to flourish, where freelance journalists can report their own views on an issue and from their prespective, such as the Occupy New York City blogger Tim Pool who has broadcast hours and hours of live reports from Zucotti Park in the city or YouTube videos of citizens under fire from government forces in Syria. The fact that cameras and social networks are so easily available through devices such as smartphones for example, allows audiences to swiftly share the news and create their on forms of documentaries and news reports. Citizen journalism then makes it to the larger institutions of news, as these articles, blog posts or simply tweets can go viral and catch the attention of these institutions. This view is supported by Chris Shaw, the editorial director ITN Productions who has said that "Social networks are opening up whole new vistas for documentary filmmakers". The concept of viral or trending news has a great impact as audiences are exposed to all news that has not been censored, this can be seen as an advantage as it can be a form of accessing a greater variety of views and values, yet on the other hand it can be seen as a disadvantage as audiences can not distinguish what is true and false, therefore not all sources of news cannot be trusted as they are not being presented by the gatekeepers of the news. Overall, citizen journalism ultimately contributes to more variety and views, freelance journalism as a whole creates a niche audience, and many people can became a part of this phenomena. Continuing on Twitter, users on social media can also take part in citizenship journalism through hashtags such as the #BlackLivesMatter and #Londonriots. The fact that there are now more ways in which the audience can and engage with the media means that everyone can now go for their own political preferences and views, whereas in traditional media the audience has to consume the information provided by large conglomerates i.e. Rupert Murdoch and Newscorporation, which are often affected by institutional bias.  

Year 13: Weekly New/Digital Media homework

BBC iPlayer users will have to use personal logins from early 2017

This article discusses the new plan to make BBC iplayer more personalized for audiences. This is a new move for the BBC, other media institutions such as Channel 4 on the other hand have had this feature for several years. However, the fact that TV licencing authorities will have access to the personal information due to the fact that users have to enter their postcode as part of the process may put many off from using these resources, on the other hand the BBC states that this will not be used for enforcement reasons. It could also be argued that this is just a form of enforcing the TV licence on users, however the BBC denies this. The BBC Director General Tony Hall has said that "By learning about what you want and like we can take you to more of the great programmes you love, stories you might be interested in and content you might otherwise never have discovered." Hall has also described the method as "a real transformation - reinventing public service broadcasting for the digital age."

• Up to now, only live content has been covered by the £145.50 annual licence fee, with online viewers having to confirm they have paid before they can watch a live feed of BBC channels.
• In July the government introduced legislation to close the loophole, which the BBC claims is costing it as much as £150m a year.

I think that this move by the BBC is quite interesting as in the past content was readily available without the need for login information. Furthermore, it could be seen as a tactic for BBC iplayer to reach the levels of Netlfix or Channel 4 for example, a personalised iplayer would bring in a greater audience and this would increase the funding for the BBC. 

TV industry could face 'harder diversity targets', says Ofcom chief

This article discusses how Broadcasters could face tougher penalties and “harder-edged” regulation if they do not improve diversity according to the Ofcom chief executive Sharon White. The article states that the television industry has made some progress since Lenny Henry, an actor, called for legislation in 2014 to boost the low numbers of black, Asian and minority ethnic people on and off screen, yet White said broadcasters are not yet doing a “good enough job” and that ofcom will “look at enforcements” if the issue is not resolved

• The number of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people working in the UK television industry falling by 30.9% between 2006 and 2012. They now make up just 5.4% of the broadcasting workforce, 

Personally I do believe there is a decent amount of representation of minorities within the TV industry as this is required by the BBC for example. Although not all positive, I do believe that White has a point as this does not go for all channels. In terms of the workforce, I do believe that this depends on the person as not all people decide to go into the media industry therefore there may be a limited amount of diversity, on the other hand one could say that its due to discrimination.

NDM case study: How has news changed?

Statistics: 

• Two-thirds of adults say they use TV for news, compared to three-quarters in 2014 Nine in ten adults in the UK (89%) say that they follow news (on any platform) 67% of UK adults saying they use TV as a source of news. However, there has been an eight percentage point decrease since 2014 (75%), following a three percentage point decrease between 2013 (78%) and 2014.
• The number of people who use the internet or apps for news has remained the same since 2014, with just over four in ten (41%) doing so, compared to just under a third in 2013 (32%).
•  Newspapers are used by three in ten (31%), which represents a decrease of nine percentage points since 2014 and 2013 (when 40% of UK adults said they used newspapers for news).
• One in ten (10%) of adults say they don’t follow news, compared to 5% in 2014 and 7% in 2013 (figure 1.2).
• Those aged 55+ are more likely than those aged 16-24 to use TV, newspapers and radio for news consumption, while the opposite is true for the internet/ apps
•  Men are more likely than women to use any of the four main platforms for news (TV, internet, newspapers and radio).
• People in the AB socio-economic group are more likely than those in the DE socio-economic group to consume news on any of the four main platforms: TV (71% vs 67%), the internet (50% vs. 29%), newspapers (38% vs. 26%) and radio (46% vs. 23%).
• the majority of those who consume news use no more than three providers (77%), unchanged since 2014; 32% of them use only one provider
• BBC One is by far the most-used (at 48%), followed by ITV/ ITV Wales/ UTV/ STV News, with just over a quarter (27%) of people saying they use it as a source of news. BBC One has had a five percentage point decrease in reach since 2014 (53%). The BBC website or app remains the third most-used news source: just under a quarter (23%) of people say they use it.
•  The most-used radio stations are BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 2 (both 8%), while the most-used newspapers are The Sun and the Daily Mail (both 6%) 
• The majority of TV news viewing in 2014 was on BBC One or BBC Two (65.8%), with a further 12.9% on ITV, 11.2% on BBC News and 4.9% on Sky News. Taken together, news on the BBC main channels and BBC News accounted for 77% of all viewing of the genre. 
• People aged 16-24 each watched just 25 hours of news on television in 2014, compared to 189 hours for those aged 55 and over. Total hours of viewing of news among 16-24 year olds has decreased each year (by eight hours since 2010). In the same period, viewing hours have fluctuated for over-55s, with an overall decrease of five hours between 2010 and 2014 
• Around a third (32%) of UK adults say they consume news through radio. Of these, seven in ten (71%) say they use any BBC radio station for this purpose; similar to the figure in 2014 (75%). Just over four in ten (41%) UK adults say they use commercial radio to consume news, compared to 39% in 2014
• When print and online readership is combined, the Daily Mail is the most widely-read news title in the UK, with around 5.5 million users (compared to just over six million in 2014). The Sun follows with 5.2 million users, compared to 5.8 million in 2014. Looking at readership levels of print-only newspapers, The Sun was the most popular (with just under 5.2 million users vs. 3.5 million for the Daily Mail)
•  Online news consumption varies considerably by age, socio-economic group and gender. Four in ten (41%) UK adults say they use the internet for news. Six in ten (59%) UK adults aged 16-24 say they use the internet or apps for news, compared to just under a quarter (23%) of those aged 55+. Over half (53%) of those in the ABC1 socio-economic group use online sources for news, compared to a third (32%) of those in the C2DE socio-economic group. Men are more likely than women to say they use internet for news (45% vs. 37%).
• Of those who use the internet or apps for news, around half (51%) say they use the website or apps of TV and radio companies to get news. More than two in five (43%) respondents say they use social media sites
• When asked which types of news they got from social media, over half of those who did this chose breaking news (55%)

2) Television is by far the most-used platform for news, with 67% of UK adults saying they use TV as a source of news. However this is continuing to decrease since 2014 when 75% of adults used their TV's to watch news. This is most likely due to the use of apps and the internet to access the news. 

3) How one accesses news in the UK differs in terms of their age. Those aged 55+ are more likely than those aged 16-24 to use TV, newspapers and radio for news consumption, while the 16-24 year old's prefer internet/apps

4) Socio-economic status does change attitudes to the news, People in the AB socio-economic group are more likely than those in the DE socio-economic group to consume news on any of the four main platforms: TV (71% vs 67%), the internet (50% vs. 29%), newspapers (38% vs. 26%) and radio (46% vs. 23%). 

5) Nine in ten adults in the UK (89%) say that they follow news on any platform. This differs between the groups such as age where around half (51%) of people aged 16-24 use TV for news, compared to 86% of those aged 55+. Conversely, consumption of news online through any device is considerably higher for those aged 16-24 (59%) than for over-55s (23%). In terms of socio-economic groups people in the AB socio-economic group are more likely than those in the DE socio-economic group to consume news on any of the four main platforms

6) News consumption through television has decreased in the recent years. Figures show that each adult watched 108 hours of national and international news on television in 2014. This is a decrease of seven hours since 2013 (when the average number of hours was 115) and 13 hours since 2011 (when the average was 121 hours)7 . People aged 16-24 each watched just 25 hours of news on television in 2014, compared to 189 hours for those aged 55 and over. This is most likely due to the easier and quicker ways of accessing news i,e, mobile sites/apps 

7) News consumption through newspapers has declined by more than 27 percentage points since 2005

8) Reach of national newspapers varies by age group: 29.3% of 15-24s are print newspaper readers, compared to 67.9% of over-65

9) The most popular newspapers and websites in the UK are are The Sun and the Daily Mail, followed by the Daily Mirror (13%), the Metro (12%) and The Times (9%). In terms of websites the Daily Mail had 1.8 million users, while The Sun had 0.06 million. The political viewpoints of all these newspapers are mostly left wing/ 

10)  In terms of age, consumption of news online through any device is considerably higher for those aged 16-24 (59%) than for over-55s (23%). In terms of gender, men are most likely to consume news online, (45% vs. 37%), and in terms of socio-economic status people in the AB socio-economic group are more likely than those in the DE socio-economic group to consume news online (50% vs. 29%)

11) More than two in five (43%) respondents say they use social media sites to access news. Those in the DE socio-economic group are more likely than those in the AB group to use social media sites for news (52% vs. 40%), and by age those aged 16-24 are most likely to use social media to access news (61%)

12)10% of online news users use only social media sites for news

13) The most popular online sites for news are the Daily Mail and The Sun. 

14) According to statistics about six in ten (61%) 16-24s who use the internet/ apps for news say they use social media sites and of that 16% of those aged 16-24 use only social media sites for news, 

15) According to the research most audiences use an app to go direct to the home page of a news provider. 

New/digital media: audience and institution

16) Audiences benefit from the changes that new and digital media has on the news industry. The audience can now access news more easily as it is everywhere, from mobiles to tablets and also 24 hours on TV. Also, apps such as Facebook allow tailor-made news to be readily available for audiences, so each user can access the sort of news they prefer to read.

17) Large-scale news institutions do have some benefits from the changes of new and digital media. The introduction of the internet can allow news institutions to widen the platforms they are on, making their news more accessible thus giving them the capability to reach a large-scale audiences. Majority of the apps we use today have some form of news available such as Facebook or Snapchat due to this convergence that is taking place on mobile devices and apps, this gives the news industry a better opportunity to get their news to everyone. 

18) Some of the downsides for audiences as a result of new and digital media in the news is the lack of censorship and gatekeepers for news online, as the news may be false or biased which is a reason to stick to traditional media institutions. Also, audiences may have to pay for news such as The Sun which has a paywall for their online site, which is another reason to stick to newspapers or TV as its cheaper. 

19) Some of the downsides for institutions as a result of new and digital media in news is the loss of revenue from advertising for example. The loss of revenue has meant many newspapers have had to close down or either sell their newspapers for free. Also, traditional forms of accessing news such as through TV and Radio had to adapt to make sure they are compatible with phones and the internet, which the majority of audiences are now on. This is not always cost-effective 

20) I personally believe that audiences have benefited from the changes in new and digital media and the news industry. News is more easily accessible now and there are many sources available online in which the audience can choose which one fits their political perspective and also view points. The fact that news can also be now tailor-suited is a positive for the audience. However, this does have an impact on news institutions as it does mean losses in terms of revenue.

How has news changed in the last 20 years?

How has news changed in the last 20 years?

The change in news has had a major impact in the last 20 years. The sudden shift in the way news is represented i.e. CNN being the first form of rolling news, the internet has had an impact in how audiences receive their news. The introduction of the 24 rolling news has made news easier to access, as in the past news would only come on at a specific time i.e. 6 o'clock. Many other channels have followed idea of rolling news and this has lead to many channels representing different news and values. 

The event of 9/11 has been a pivotal point in the way news is also presented, many news broadcasting stations took part in the 24/7 coverage, which showcases the change in the way news is presented. Many people from this point on started to turn to TV news as a form of getting their information rather than reading newspapers, as rolling news was available and up to date all the time whereas newspapers had to go through the process of being printed as so on. 

The internet has had a major impact on how news is presented. Although it could be argued that traditional forms of media have adapted to present their news online, the introduction of citizen journalism has brought about a positive change for the news industry.  Audiences could set up their own blogs and sites to report their viewpoint of news, and social networking sites such as twitter allow audiences to 'tweet' under a hashtag. Twitter allows news to spread far more quickly, and allows audiences to have a voice in issues. Furthermore, the introduction of tailor-made news through networks such as flipboard and Facebook means that audiences can now read the news they want and the news they believe that fits their political preferences. Journalism as a whole as seen changes as shown through the Washington Post and the Watergate scandal which was the first investigative journalism of its kind. 

Large conglomerates such as Google and Facebook have benefited from the change in how news is distributed. The gradual shift in advertising revenue towards online sites for example has increased the overall revenue for Google. This however has lead to the decline of printed media as many newspapers are being forced to shutdown as all the advertising revenue has moved online. 

Weekly news article

Why Facebook is public enemy number one for newspapers, and journalism

This article discusses how Facebook's algorithms narrows users’ news agenda by advising (or “telling”) us what to read through the 'trending topics' feature . These choices are made by algorithms, which can monitor users’ interests and then “feed” them what it believes they wish to read while filtering out material they are supposed not to want. This system therefore creates an “echo chamber” or “filter bubble” effect. The article also mentions how users “willingly pour endless personal information about themselves into Facebook” and that enables the site “to sell targeted advertising around them.” This creates greater competition with other news sources as people would inevitably prefer to stay on Facebook as it is tailor suited for them. It becomes difficult to secure enough digital ad revenue to fund journalism for others. Users of Facebook would rarely come in contact with material offering a different perspective, which isn't necessarily a good thing

• According to a Pew Research Center study released in May, 66% of Facebook users get news through the site

Personally, I believe that the trending topics feature and the idea of tailored news can be a positive thing as these algorithms make it easier for one to read news that they enjoy. However, this also blocks out alternative views, which I believe we all need to read every once in a while, and these algorithms may also block out news that may be important. The fact that 66% of users get their news through the site is quite alarming as Facebook isn't part of the gatekeepers of journalism.

Senior News of the World staff 'misled' Parliament over phone-hacking, committee finds

This article discusses how News of the World executives deliberately misled Parliament in their investigations following the phone hacking scandal. Mr Myler misled the Culture Comittee when giving evidence as a witness back in 2011 by answering questions falsely about his knowledge of other News of the World employees being involved in phone-hacking

• Allegations that News International journalists were involved in hacking people's phones for information led to the closure of the newspaper and a trial costing reportedly up to £100m
• The News of the World was closed down in 2011 after 168 years of running

Personally, I think the fact that senior staff had mislead Parliament over the phone-hacking scandal is quite immoral and offending to those who were affected by the phone-hackings and an act of injustice.

New and Digital Media: News case study introduction

Major players in terms of UK news providers

BBC

Broadcast - BBC news, BBC1, BBC2,BBC 4 (TV news has to be politically neutral)

E-media - BBC News online, BBC iPlayer, BBC radio news

News Corporation 

2013 - 1/3 of the newspaper market
Radio - Fox Film Music Group, Fox News Radio, Wireless Group Plc

Print - The Times(paywall) The Sun (conservative supporter), The Sunday Times

BSKYB 

Broadcast - Sky news, Sky sports. The joint ventures i.e. Nickelodeon

E-media - On-demand

ITN

Broadcast - Channel 4 News, Channel 5, Channel 4, ITV

E-media -  ITN has expanded its video news service providing news, sport and showbiz content to a wide range of broadcasters, newspapers and websites. Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Star, Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Independent.

Detailed statistics on readership of newspapers

http://www.nrs.co.uk/downloads/pdf/newspapers_201608.pdf

The impact of Google

1)Google has led to the decline of the newspaper industry because they invested billions of dollars in advertising revenue 

2) More than $40 billion of advertising money has disappeared from the newspaper business over the past decade or so, or about 60 percent of the ad revenue the industry generated at its peak in 2000. Google had grabbed about $44 billion by 2012, from virtually nothing in 2000 - the Newspaper Association of America

3) According to the graph, 2012 has seen the steepest decline in newspaper advertising revenue.

4) Personally I do not think that google is to blame for newspapers closing and journalists losing their job as Personally, I do not believe Google is entirely to blame for newspapers closing and journalists losing their jobs as the world has encountered many changes since entering the digital age. Advertising for example has a growing presence online as many people read newspapers online more than they do with print newspapers.

Agree:

"The irony is that Google is probably more of a savior than a killer of journalism and editorial content. How many thousands of blogs, fan sites, writers, startup outlets, etc., have been discovered by Google’s search algorithms? How many talented artists and great stories have found a launching pad on YouTube and other Google outlets? How much content has been spread into new languages due to Google translate?

Google has forced journalistic outlets to innovate and search for new ways of doing things. It has made information dissemination more efficient. While at times that has been bad for the average journalist trying to make a buck, from a big picture perspective, it has been good for helping people get access to information, and that includes journalism."

I agree with this comment because I do believe Google has allowed the journalism to grow. Despite the fact it may have had an impact on certain outlets, Google has forced these outlets to become more creative and innovative which is necessarily not a bad thing. Google as a whole has allowed journalism online to flourish and made accessing information and news more easy. 

Disagree

"The vast majority of Google’s revenue comes from searches with commercial intent I.e. “cheapest coffeemaker” or “Miami hotels”. They dont earn very much from news related searches like “benghazi interviews”. I would argue they make their money on the backs of commercial enterprise, not journalists. Sergey and Larry owe the news industry nothing."

Year 13: Weekly New/Digital Media homework

Are mobiles changing how we shop? - Telegraph

This article discusses how new industry data suggests that, for the first time, the majority of online shopping sales in the UK are now conducted through smartphones and tablets. This could be a seen as a milestone in our ever changing buying habits. A reason for this surge in shopping on-the-go could be because of the combination of the arrival of bigger screens on smartphones and improvements by retailers themselves in making their online shopping sites easier to use. Also, the fact that we are using smartphones for managing so much more with everyday life makes it understandable that the rate of completing purchases on retail sites would increase over the years. Despite the majority of customers being more likely to visit shops through their mobile phone than any other type of device, they are still more likely to make purchases on tablets.

• 51% of online sales between November and January in the UK involved hand-held devices rather than traditional computers or laptops - IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group), the trade body for internet retailers,
• 66% of visits to retail websites between November and January came through mobile devices - IMRG
• 49% of online sales came through traditional computers, whether desktops or laptops, with 51% on hand-held devices. That breaks down as 33% through tablet computers and 18% on smartphones.

Personally, I am not surprised at the fact that more people are completing purchases online through mobiles and tablets as I also do this myself. With our generation being raised in the digital age technology is quickly improving making it easier to buy things without the hassle, especially with mobile phones which have recently become "smart" making them a useful tool to have. Mobile phones and tablets are almost always with the person, so with it being easier to access and with there being improvements on mobile sites it is not surprising that many people are preferring mobile phones and tablets over computers. 

Culture secretary will raise issue of hate crime with newspaper editors - The Guardian

This article discusses how culture secretary, Karen Bradley, has said she will talk to newspaper editors about how they can tackle a rise in hate crime and improve social unit. The role the press have in creating a charged atmosphere that could contribute to hate crimes is discussed by the Labour MP Paul Blomfield during the parliamentary questions, and continues by saying “The media plays a big part in shaping public attitudes. They have a particular responsibility to reflect on the consequences of headlines and stories in provoking fear and anger between different groups". I agree with his statement as the majority of today's society read news articles and at some point do come across negative articles, and this will inevitably provoke hate and fear, which lowers the chance of social cohesion.

• 49% rise in incidents to 1,863 in the last week in July when compared with the previous year - National Police Chiefs’ Council
• Large sections of the press, led by the Daily Mail and Daily Express, had since the 2010 general election regularly lead with negative stories about refugees and asylum seekers - Research published earlier this month by the former Sunday Times journalist Liz Gerard 

I understand why there has been an increase in hate crimes as I have come across several articles that portray refugees for example in a very negative matter, and I believe that this contributes to the other factors that do fuel hate crimes. I also agree with the statements that Labour MP Paul Blomfield has made as the media does indeed play a major role in shaping public attitudes.