DME - Dyari Media Exams

1) What example news story does the Factsheet use to illustrate Galtung and Ruge's News Values? Why is it an appropriate example of a news story likely to gain prominent coverage? "British servicewoman dies after Afghan bomb blast" It's an appropriate example as it's showing a fellow British resident dying, and it's quite intense as she is the first female officer to be killed, which makes this news story surprising and unusual.  2) What is gatekeeping? Gatekeeping is the process of filtering information prior to dissemination. 3) What are the six ways bias can be created in news? Bias through selection and omission, bias through placement, bias by headline, bias by photos/captions/camera angles, bias through use of names and titles, and bias by choice of words. 4) How have online sources such as Twitter, bloggers or Wikileaks changed the way news is selected and published? Online sources have changed the way news is selected and published as typically stories...

Task One: Media Magazine article and questions Read the Media Magazine article: From Local Press to National Regulator in MM56 (p55). You'll find the article in our Media Magazine archive here. Once you've read the article, answer the following questions: 1) Keith Perch used to edit the Leicester Mercury. How many staff did it have at its peak and where does Perch see the paper in 10 years' time? 130 journalists; Perch thinks it'll get expensive and have a very small circulation. 2) How does Perch view the phone hacking scandal? He thinks the biggest issue is the fact something massively illegal was going on behind the scenes when it should not have happened in the first place. 3) What does IPSO stand for and how does it work? Independent Press Standards Organisation - they're one of the bodies responsible for regulating newspapers. 4) What is Perch's view of newspaper ownership? He believes regulators shouldn't exist and that newspapers should regulate them...

Audience Read this App Store description and the customer reviews for The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:   1) What game information is provided on this page? Pick out three elements you think are important in terms of making the game appeal to an audience. A brief synopsis of the game and its features. Synopsis, gameplay features, and a call to action. 2) How does the game information on this page reflect the strong element of participatory culture in The Sims? The game heavily reinforces choice and customizability. 3) Read a few of the user reviews. What do they suggest about the audience pleasures of the game?  The reviews enjoy the game for being a portable Sims game, however many complain about how frustrating or unfair it is. Audience pleasures would probably include escapism. Participatory culture Read this academic journal article - The Sims: A Participatory Culture 14 Years On. Answer the following questions: 1) What did The Sims designer Will W...

Audience Look at this YouGov blog on the console gaming audience and answer the following questions: 1) What statistics can you find for the number of male / female players for the major consoles? PS5 - 71% male to 29% female Xbox Series X/S - 68% male to 32% female Nintendo Switch - 54% male to 46% female PC - 61% male to 39% female 2) What is the difference between 'hardcore' and 'casual' gamers - and which do you think would play Horizon Forbidden West? The difference between "hardcore" and "casual" is how seriously the gamer in question is taking the game. A casual gamer, as the name implies, is a person who plays games casually, while a hardcore gamer takes games more seriously and plays more intensively. 3) What are the different reasons YouGov researched for why players play games? Which of these would apply to Horizon Forbidden West? To relax and wind down To pass the time To escape from reality for a while To challenge myself To complete cha...

Part 1: Background reading on Gamergate Read this Guardian article on Gamergate 10 years on. Answer the following questions: 1) What was Gamergate?  2) What is the recent controversy surrounding narrative design studio Sweet Baby Inc?  3) What does the article conclude regarding diversity in videogames? Part 2: Further Feminist Theory: Media Factsheet Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or here using your Greenford Google login. Find Media Factsheet #169 Further Feminist Theory, read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions: 1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’? 2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’? 3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work? 4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this? 5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regard...

Language / Gameplay analysis Watch The Sims: FreePlay trailer and answer the following questions: 1) What elements of gameplay are shown? Designing your character/house, pets, relationships, family, and the vast world to explore 2) What audience is the trailer targeting? Possibly young adults/teens, due to its similarity to, but parody of real life 3) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer? Escapism, identity Now watch this walk-through of the beginning of The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions: 1) How is the game constructed? The game follows typical mobile game conventions; it tries its best at times to get you to spend money 2) What audience is this game targeting? Primarily teens to young adults. 3) What audience pleasures does the game provide? Escapism and identity 4) How does the game encourage in-app purchases? It encourages in-app purchases through upgrades and DLC. Representations Re-watch some of the expansion pack trailers and answer the followin...

Language and contexts Homepage Go to the Voice homepage and answer the following: 1) What news website key conventions can you find on the Voice homepage? Articles, minimalist design, navigation bar, logo, subscribe button 2) What are some of the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content, values and ideologies of the Voice? News, Sport, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Competitions, Opinion, Faith 3) Look at the news stories on the Voice homepage. Pick two stories and explain why they might appeal to the Voice's target audience.  "Making Black history today: the leaders shaping innovation in public health" Appeals to the Voice's target audience as they'd want to see other black people succeeding and doing good for the world. "Anne Mensah, Kanya King, among the winners at this years Black British Business Awards" Similar to first one; showcases and highlights the success of black people 4) How is narrative used to encourage audience...

1) OSP: Clay Shirky - End of Audience blog tasks 2) OSP: Influencers and celebrity culture 3) OSP: Taylor Swift CSP - Language and Representations 4) OSP: Taylor Swift CSP - Audience and Industries  5) Baseline Assessment learner response 6) OSP: Postcolonial theory - Gilroy and diasporic identity 7) OSP: The Voice - blog case study

1. Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential). WWW: Dyari, your Q2 is logical and clear. I can understand your line of argument with some explanation of how both OSP CPSs have incorporated convergence through production, distribution and consumption. EBI: Not detailed enough examples or theories to support your arguments for Q2 essay. See mark scheme for indicative content. Remember this is a synoptic Q so reference other CSPs too. Just not enough textual analysis with your Q1 - more on connotations + use of myth would have improved your response here. 2. Read the whole mark scheme for this assessment carefully (posted on your Google Classroom). Identify three specific aspects from Figure 1 (the Bioshock Infinite game cover) that you could have mentioned in your answer (e.g. selection of images, colour scheme, text etc). 3. Now use the mark scheme to identify three potential points that you could have made in you...

Factsheet #107 - Fandom Read Media Factsheet #107 on Fandom. Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or log into your Greenford Google account to access the link. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions: 1) What is the definition of a fan? A person who likes a specific text and consumes it regularly 2) What the different types of fan identified in the factsheet? Hardcore/True - Fans who spend a lot of time and money on a specific text Newbie - Fans who just started to like the text Anti-fan - People who hate/dislike the text 3) What makes a ‘fandom’? While it is now used to apply to groups of people fascinated with any subject, the term has its roots in those  with an enthusiastic appreciation for sports. 4) What is Bordieu’s argument regarding the ‘cultural capital’ of fandom? Bordieu argues a kind  of ‘cultural capital’ which confers a symbolic power and status for the fan, especially within ...

1) How does Gilroy suggest racial identities are constructed? He has consistently argued that racial  identities are historically constructed – formed by colonialization,  slavery, nationalist philosophies and consumer capitalism. 2) What does Gilroy suggest regarding the causes and history of racism? He argues race isn't the external cause of racism but its complex, unstable product. Racism isn't isn't caused by race, racism causes race. 3) What is ethnic absolutism and why is Gilroy opposed to it? Ethnic absolutism is a line of thinking which sees humans  are part of different ethnic compartments, with race as the basis of  human differentiation. Gilroy is opposed to ethnic absolutism as it is  counter to his argument that racism causes race. 4) How does Gilroy view diasporic identity? He considers a transatlantic diasporic identity, where groups across the  Atlantic share cultural practices – a “single, complex unit” of black  cultural practitioners...

Audience Background and audience wider reading Read this Guardian feature on stan accounts and fandom. Answer the following questions: 1) What examples of fandom and celebrities are provided in the article? Julia Fox and Alexander Wang 2) Why did Taylor Swift run into trouble with her fanbase?  Fans were angry and were harassing people over her concert tickets. 3) Do stan accounts reflect Clay Shirky's ideas regarding the 'end of audience'? How?  More or less - this is because media companies/producers don't control the audience as much as they did before. Stan accounts are more of a closed minded community of people that talk to each other about their favourite artist. Read this Conversation feature on the economics of Taylor Swift fandom. Answer the following questions:  1) What do Taylor Swift fans spend their money on?  Concert tickets 2) How does Swift build the connection with her fans? Give examples from the article. She handpicks fans for "secret-sessions...

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential). WWW: Q1 is accurate and concise; you understand the BBC's mission statement in relation to the Newsbeat CSP EBI: Q2 - Which other media effects theories could be considered as useful when commenting on the CSP? Q3 missing content/focus on core audience + industry details for both CSPs and doesn't mention examples from the editions you studied 2) Focusing on the BBC Newsbeat question, write three ways it helps to fulfil the BBC's mission statement that you didn't include in your original assessment answer. Use the mark scheme for ideas. - Newsbeat informs Radio 1 listeners about the news – important events going on in the UK and around the world including breaking news and developing stories. - Newsbeat offers educational content through some of the news stories selected to be in the daily bulletins. - The news topics in a Newsbeat bulletin tend to off...

Narrative Go to our Media Magazine archive (issue MM79) and read the feature All Too Well on Taylor Swift and how she controls her own narrative. Answer the following questions:  1) Why is Taylor Swift re-recording her earlier albums?  She's re-recording her earlier albums to take control of her music and be in charge of her own narrative. 2) Why did Taylor Swift choose to make the short film 'All Too Well'?  She made "All Too Well" as Taylor Swift has largely led a very public romantic life, and that  has historically been the source of much of the criticism  levelled at her: that she "goes on too many dates", and "can’t  make ‘em stay". She made it to further take control of her narrative. 3) What other examples are provided in the article of Taylor Swift using media to construct her own image?  1989, Shake It Off, and Bad Blood Taylor Swift textual analysis Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of Taylor Swift...

1) Media Magazine reading Media Magazine 72 has a feature linking YouTube influencers to A Level media theories. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM72 and scroll to page 60 to read the article ‘The theory of everything - using YouTubers to understand media theory’. Answer the following questions: 1) How has YouTube "democratised media creativity"? Ordinary users upload their  own content: they are ‘producers’  and ‘prosumers’ . Content is  published first and then filtered or  judged later by audiences. 2) How does YouTube and social media culture act as a form of cultural imperialism or 'Americanisation'?  A majority of influencers and/or online culture are American based, which is the hegemonic influence spread around social media 3) How do influencers reinforce capitalist ideologies?  They promote products and services to their audiences 4) How can YouTube and social media celebrity content be read as postmodern, an example of hyperreality?...