Media AS Cards

Madeleine McCann case - May 3rd 2007. Private investigators, Scotland Yard Enquiry. GB police - believe she was stolen in a botched burgulary job or as part of sex trafficking. 

Shannon Matthews case - 18th February 2008. Karen made a public plea. The Sun offered £20,000 for information, increased this to £50,000. She's found hidden under a bed, scheme by the mother and karen's uncle. 

The BBC 

• 53% of people said they were likely to turn to the BBC for impartial news coverage.
• Biggest threat = social media, youtube
• 2008 - 2014 no 16-24 yr olds watching live news decreased by 29%
• Producer of news, drama and entertainment - creates jobs, educates, entertains
• Decreasing no of journalists and newspapers
• CENTRAL to British culture
• 2013 - BBC Trust oversaw BBC running, 2017 - Trust closed, now BBC follow Ofcom regulations

Heterosexual Males - dominant ideologies, traditionally a majority social group in terms of power 

• HUNTER GATHERER - they provide so the family can prosper
• PROTECTOR - dominant ideology, they are a source of rescue - like Tony searching for his son
• OBJECT OF DESIRE - for the female gaze
• SOCIAL THREAT - menance to society, violent, rebellious, angry young men idea

THESE HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY OUT OF DATE! "masculinty in crisis" "toxic masculinity" ie these archetypes are poisoning the male or making him poisonous to others. 

Heterosexual Females - traditionally a minority social group in terms of power 

• NURTURERS - good housewife and mother, provide for males
• OBJECT OF DESIRE - for the male gaze, blonde hair, blue eyes! Appearance as a sex symbol
• VICTIM - physical or emotional 
• SOCIAL THREAT - /destroyer of the male - often linked to sexuality

• Crime Drama - one of the most popular TV genres, sub genres - individual detectives, teams of officers, twisted and dark, lighter e.g. Death in Paradise. Each appeals to different individuals.
• Nordic Noir - sub genre of crime drama. Origins in Scandinavia and literature > developed into TV/film productions. Rising popularity with Eng audiences. 

The Killing - Danish drama - aired on BBC 4 four years after og broadcast. > 0.5 million tuned in each week, across 20 episodes - AMAZING! Niche channel, subtitled foreign drama!! Since then more European TV has been broadcast by BBC and Channel 4. 

Broadchurch - Nordic Noir style TV - 2013 - 8/9 million viewers per episode!

Feminist Theory - Van Zoonen - belief that the media transmits sexist values/stereotypical potraits of women to maintain social order. The media do this because they believe it reflects dominant social values. A core part of Western patriarchal culture is to display women as a spectacle to be looked at, for the male audience. Masculine voyeurism of the male body is prevented by codes that signify action and control by the male. In Western society to be looked at is the fate of women, while tha ct of looking is reserved to men. 

• storytelling = standardised form, problem posed and ultimately solved, commercially successful meaning experimentation was limited
• films were classified into genres to appeal to certain markets e.g. Musicals, Western - due to the large capital investment in these every effort is made to try and ensure box office success hence the categoraization of films

So genre is important to the US film industry as it reduces the element of risk of capital investment. WHY? Films can piggyback other successful films through genre, providing them with a built in audience. ALSO genre provides screenwriters with a framework of codes and conventions, though it still allows them creative license.

POSTMODERNISM - often these texts cross reference other media texts but are also recognisable through 1) high art and popular culture 2) lack of clear time/space 3) tendency to expose production process.        20's 30's and 40's = Hollywood's GOLDEN AGE

MPAA = Motion Picture Association of America - Censorship body for US film. NC-17 = No children under 17 admitted. PG-13 = parents cautioned, some material not suitable for children under 13. R = restricted, under 17's require an adult. 

Victim hero noir - the femme fatale - her sexuality is lethal and a source through which she is able to gain power.

Phallic female - Sex and the City, Samantha Jones.

Sasha Fierce and Rihanna - scantily clad, powerful but limiting roles.

Blurred Lines and Wrecking Ball - attracted negative publicity due to the objectification of women.

PhotoShop and the cult of youth and beauty are current issues surrounding women's representation in media texts.

• Production - Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production 
• Distribution - Marketing and Distribution 
• Exhibition - Release Strategy - In Cinemas Everywhere/At Selected Cinemas Only 
• Merchandising - (under Distribution, DVDs, Video Games, novel from film, MOST INFLUENTIAL STAGE)

"Dream ticket" = film with high marketability and high playability

Platform Release = in country of origin - if it is accepted well the film would then be crossed over to mainstream audiences. 

US film industry = most powerful and influential film industry. Film is a capital-intensive investment industry. It could be argued that American Film is not the only thing exported but also American Culture. 

A film must be exported into other markets, going beyond it's geographical borders. 

BBFC = British Board of Film Classification 

• U = suitable for anyone 4+ 
• PG = suitable for approx 8 +
• 12A = Under 12's must be accompanied by an adult 
• 15 = No under 15's
• 18 = No under 18's

Codes and Conventions of Female Lifestyle Magazines:

• model = typically female
• head tilting downwards, looking up towards camera but through the audience
• passive female - object of desire for male gaze
• female audience encouraged to aspire to and admire this beauty icon - in reality her flawless complection is unobtainable

• originally aimed at families
• established in 1897, purchased by David Brown in 1972 for his wife Helen who proceeded to turn it into the first female lifestyle magazine
• strap line: For Fun Fearless Females
• Median age: 27, aimed at single young women with a career

Denote the:

• Masthead (kerned? sans serif? upper case? colour? font?)
• Signifier (male? female? midshot? position? cropping? - appearance; ethnicity, facial features
• Coverlines (kerned? sibilance? instructional/cult of femininty? sensationalism? memorable? hyperbole? intertextual reference? inside knowledge implied? clipping e.g. glam not glamourous? r.question? direct adress?)

The cult of femininty - Marjorie Ferguson - It is a set of practices and beliefs that reaffirms a common feminity. Magazines instruct women/novices on how to achieve these ends e.g. what to wear. Ferguson notes this is unique for female lifestyle magazines, mens magazines assume they know how to be 'male.' - However her study is now dated.

• Purpose: inform, instruct, persuade, entertain PIIE
• Types of sentence: statements - sexiest film of the year - questions - is this the worst boyfriend ever? - directives - look inside to find out - exclamations - the sexiest film of the year!!
• What is their effect? S = illusion of fact, prevent reader q the truth. Q = engage, intiate a response. D = encourage action. E = excitement/urgency
• Forms of Adress: 1st (I,me,us), 2nd (you, your) , 3rd person (he, she, it, they)
• Effect? 1st = personal. 2nd = engages, closes gap between writer and reader. 3rd = less personal, more distance between writer and reader.

Repetition - emphasise, foregrounded in the reader's memory. Lists - give weight to an argument. Most persuasive form of adress = 1st person plural combined with 2nd person adress e.g. we know you will love this dress. RQ = interaction between reader/writer. Directives = 'hard sell' e.g. but two get one free. Hyperbole, comparatives (better) superlatives (the best.) Antithesis (low vs high, life vs moment.) Non-standard spellings, punctuation. Slang, colloquialisms. Intertextual references - to film, music, TV, often creates humour. Cliches - well known phrase, writers try to avoid them but do sometimes modify them. Puns.

Figurative Language - metaphors, similies, alliteration etc

Why have print sales declined?? 1) Readers are able to find their content with ease online, just as easy as turning a page - major news sites publish their stories for free to stay relevant e.g. Mail Online > diifucult to charge readers for a print magazine that will be offering old news! 2) Celebs tend to share their news themselves on instragram - it often doesn't require anaylsis and is just bite sized content. "No one wants to wait a week to read about it in a print magazine" - Ian Burell, columist for the i. 3) Competition from vlogs, podcasts, blogs as well so craving for celebrity news can be satisified for free online.

Positives of technology: companies can print material that may have never appeared in the print magazine as they couldn't afford it. Reduces marketing & production costs. Reaches wider markets (instant distibution after one click) leading to greater sales (if the online content is priced?!) Can read articles online/dowload/screenshot for later viewing so customers can get an instant fix as content is available anywhere! 'Go green' - eliminating printing and transport costs. Huge potential for creative writers - more freedom as writing for print/tablet/online. Independent Magazines - never been easier to build an audience!! Younger generation, who have grown up online are more likely to view publications. Personalised feed for consumers.

Magazines based aruond news and politics, such as Prospect, have seen an increase in sales (37% in 2017)  as consumers are aware of the presence of 'fake news' online.

BUT : Major incentives for print magazines remain!! Feel of the pages, ability to turn them yourself, cut out articles, keep the copy - Vogue = high value collectibles. TECHNOLOGY CANNOT YET SETTLE THESE NEEDS!!

Founded in 1892, reviewed books and music - high quality publication, seen as an innovator of fashion. Conde Nast purchased it in 1909. "if it wasn't in Vogue. It wasn't in Vogue."  In August 2017, Vogue had lost 3% of it's sales from the previous year. 

Channels: iPad, Print, Mobile, Vogue.co.uk, Vogue Video channel, instagram, twitter, snapchat, you tube, pinterest, Facebook. GLOBAL BRAND published around the world: editions in UK, Italy, Paris, India, Saudi Arabia! 2 offshoots: Teen Vogue and Men's Vogue.

2018 Stats: Mean age of reader = 38, luxury consumers - 93% buy designer fashion. Website gets 62.7 million monthly page views. Circulation (print and digital) = 190,000 approx

Cosmopolitan: circulation = 400,000 approx.

Dominant Ideologies of Youth 

• Objects of desire for the adult gaze
• Victims in need of protection by adult order
• Objects of ridicule - dismissed, patronised
• Social Threat to the established order/catalyst for change - REBEL, swearing, smoking 

Dominant Archetypes of Homosexual Males: 

• Objects of desire - muscle men, buff young males
• Victim - emotional - lonely, in the closet, introvert - physcial - beaten/abused because of sexual identity
• Object of ridicule - theatrical campness, exagerrated mannerisms, sissy stereotype, non-threatening 
• Social threat to the heterosexual order 

Broadsheet - tend to be focused on political and social issues

Redtop Tabloid - use of sensationalism, often promote celebrity gossip

Techincal Codes of Newspapers: 

• Flag/Masthead = newspaper name
• Skyline = above masthead, describes content inside 
• Headlines/Photographs/Captions
• Byline = accompanies article, gives the name of the journalist
• Body text organised into coloumns 
• Standfirst - between headline and body text - introduces story with further attention grabbing details 

Inside: 

• Folio = header describing section of newspaper e.g. Education 
• Sidebar = contains graphics or pictures, adds info
• Standalone = image that has a caption and little supplementary information 
• Pull quote interview extract 

Variation in house style but certian reccuring elements:

• Masthead = name of magazine
• Strapline = make claims about mag/give info about it's contents 
• Coverlines = pick out most appealing content, entice the audience by showing what's included, often use a personal mode of address  
• Lead Article
• Puff = feature, may be a promotion/other item that adds value to purchase
• Primary image 
• Secondary images 

Inside: Technical Codes: 

• Slug = appear in large typeface than the main body text, provide info, can act as a hook/narrative engima 
• Pull quotes 
• Columns  - visually break up text for the eye 
• Drop Caps - first letter enlarged for stylistic effect, aesthetic device but can also signal to the reader where to begin reading the article 

AIDA - Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action - model defining the aims of print advertisers who many only have one or two pages to sell their product/service. 

The consumer's eye needs to be stopped and cast over the product or brand name! - Awareness that turns into Interest then desire. Action = viewing other material e.g. on social media or lokking up reviews, visting the website, purchasing the product.

• Composite Images - common in film posters, it's the presentation of images using a montage effect
• Advertorials - appear in the body of a mag, tends to replicate to some degree the house style of the publication. BY LAW adverts must be labelled as such.
• Lexical coding - name of product, slogan, social media, web links or clear reference to brand values 

Other styles of print advertising (not image led): Conceptual - conveyed thorugh a feeling/idea. Informative - product shown in action. Technical - showing the product as technologically advanced through graphics. Narrative - reader taken on a journey through the advert. 

Logos will contribute to brand recognition. ANALYSE THEM!

• Recency - just in, try and report it as it happens 
• Continuity - stories that are likely to continue for a long period of time
• Shock
• Sensationalism
• Negativity - bad news will always be prioritised 
• Relevance - happen close to home, or global events that involve people close to home

Judith Butler - Gender Trouble 

• It occurs when someone doesn't fit into the socially constructed ideas of gender e.g. women are domestic, whilst men are suited to the world of politics and power 
• She says gender is nothing more than a performance and that our gender performance is fluid and can change depending on the context
• Gender performances ( women = domestic ) are simply patterns formed over time 
• They can be subverted which makes gender trouble 
• Andrognous and effeminate people cause 'gender trouble'