Task 1- Textual Analysis

An Investigation into whether the media's seemingly 'heroic' portrayal of sports people during the Olympics or other sports seems to offer a more unified and utopic notion of global cohesion. Or is it just constructed imagery?



The text I chowe to study for my critical investigation is 'Miracle'.When observing this piece of extract, a key element that needs to be considered is mise-en-scene. This is because it helps identify how the media uses techniques to get their portrayals across. Such as costumes, both teams are wearing costumes that represent their nation. This gives the portrayal of the teams being as equals to each other. As it connotes the ideologies of all of them being as one, therefore the idea of unity. Furthermore, unlike the crowd, the players are dressed in brighter colours. The reason for this may be to show the audience that they're the main focus of attention. By having the USA sportsmen in white it allows them to stand out more to illustrate that they're the winners.

The facial expressions and body language also give away of how the characters are feeling at particular moments. This links with camera framing as there are a number of close up shots which help demonstrate this. During the final moments of the match, there is a great amount of yelling and shouting. This represents the anxiety that everyone in the arena is going through which leads on to relief and despair for others. This connotes the similar feelings that opposing fans, managers and players had which hugely contrasts moments later. Furthermore the action of the arms being raised in the air is repeatedly shown to confirm the impact of the victory.

The setting of the scene is taking part in a hockey arena. This is introduced differently to how settings are usually introduced. It is expected for a long shot to show the surroundings of the setting, however instead it goes straight to a close up to show that the audience should already anticipate what is taking place.

The very first thing that is shown in this extract is the timer. This prop plays importance as it is shown from a low angle shot. It shows the audience that it has a sense of power over everyone involved as it controls the end result of the match. This is proven during the last moments when everyone is watching the timer end. Also another prop which enforces the idea of unity is the American flag. A huge crowd of people are seen waving American flags, this promotes the ideologies of everyone coming together. Also after the game, one of the players are shown with a big flag behind them. This presents the 'heroic' portrayal of sports people and the celebration of pride. The final significant prop is the medals which are shown near the end of this scene. By showing this to the audience after the game, the extract shows the rewards of hard work. This links with ideological values and meritocracy. As the film refers to an impossible situation being overcome through determination and effort.

Sound plays and important part in this extract. This is because there is diegetic and non-diegetic sound involved. Diegetic sound included the commentary, the crowd and the sounds of the hockey sticks hitting the ice. The impact of the commentary is to allow it to seem more realistic and believable as if it were a real game. They're also able to build up tension for the audience. Furthermore by hearing crys from the crowd demonstrates the importance of the outcome and what the implications are should their team lose. The extract begins with a soundtrack, which is parallel sound as it is music that would normally be expected to accompany this scene. The reason for this is to let the actual match flow. By the end of the game the soundtrack goes at a quicker tempo to show the sense of achievement. Also there is a voice over near the end of the scene. This maybe done to conclude the events that have just happened or for the audience to gain a better understanding.

The institution of this text is Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group Inc. This can be linked to the point of utopia as Disneyworld sets this idea. Therefore the ideologies of Disney are confirmed in this film as it embraces achieving the impossible. Also the scene reiterates having a dream and believing, which is popular in Disney's animated films.

The genre is a biographical sports film. It focuses on the hockey sports, which may target a niche audience. This is because it may not appeal to everyone, although the film has a different side to it about the struggles of the players. Therefore it may appeal to more audiences rather than just sports fans.

Socially this film promotes ideas of trying your hardest to succeed. Therefore it suggests class isn't a barrier to accomplishing. This may go against Marxism as it is suggesting that class doesn't effect what people can achieve. This scene links to historical as it reveals the traditions of the Olympics. This is because the award ceremony at the end, is something that has taken place for years.

Further Research

Target: 5

"+athletes as heroes"

Essays about athletes as heroes: http://www.megaessays.com/essay_search/Athletes_Heroes.html

Essays on media related topics similar to mines. Could help me on the structure and finding valid information to help me on research. Also it shows different perspectives of sports heroes that are seen as heroes. Therefore it provides more then one argument.

The reinvention of athletes as heroes, stars, and celebrities in contemporary Japan: http://www.intcul.tohoku.ac.jp/~holden/Academic_Papers/Media_Made.pdf

Although this study is investigated on Japan. This still points out relevant points that can be considered for my critical investigation. It refers to 'nationalism' and 'globalisation'. It consists of topics such as the 'heroic' portrayal which directly links to my study.

Essay, Research Paper: Athletic Heroes: http://www.customessaymeister.com/customessays/Steroids/11462.htm

This is another essay but is different. It provides a more contemporary arguement with specific examples. This also provides a analysis of athletes such as the use of drugs. Therefore it shows another view of sports people.

intitle:athletes as heroes

Athletes given heroes welcome: http://www.london2012.com/news/2008/10/athletes-given-heroes-welcome.php

An example of sports people portrayed as heroes.

An Analysis of Current Topics and Issues in Sport: http://www.psychologyofsports.com/couch/couch07_1995.htm

Unified Sports Bring People Together: http://www.specialolympics.org/unified_sports.aspx

5 New Useful Links

1. Sports and Television: http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=sportsandte

2. Boys to Men Sports Media: http://www.la84foundation.org/9arr/ResearchReports/boystomen.pdf

3. An Analysis of Current Topics and Issues in Sport: http://www.psychologyofsports.com/couch/couch07_1995.htm

4. Unified Sports Bring People Together: http://www.specialolympics.org/unified_sports.aspx

5. Tiger Woods sage calls into question sports hero worship: http://www.everydaychristian.com/ap/story/5702/

Bibliography: Books

1. Bennett, Peter. Slater, Jerry. Wall, Peter (2006): A2 Media Studies: The Essential Introduction. Oxon: Routledge.

Pages 10-12

The chapter links to sport and how influential the media is when portraying sporting events. Also reflecting the impact of catchy headlines in newspapers about footballers and what effect it will have on readers. Furthermore it points out that the media was the reason for the increased amount of popularity in sports.

'Television gave extra prominence to top clubs and made celebrities out of their players'.

'Sky attempted to gain control of one of the world's leading sporting brands, Manchester United, a new era had dawned.'

2. Probert, David. Graham, Andrew (2008): Advanced Media Studies. Oxfordshire: Phillip Allan Updates.

Pages 151-155 & 159-160

Refers to media language such as the importance of camera positioning. Furthermore mentions how the media generates excitement and a sense of drama to any particular match. Consequently, it compares how a sporting contest is like a story and what are the typical conventions that come with it.

'Increased money from advertising, sponsorship and media revenues has led to increased player wages/expensive foreign imports.'

'There are heroes and villains, disappointments and triumphs, winners and losers, victory and defeat.'

3. Casey, Bernadette, Casey, Neil. Calvert, Ben. French, Liam. Lewis, Justin (2002): Television Studies The Key Concepts. London: Routledge.

Pages 226-228

Looks at the history of sports and how this has coincided with a number of media forms. It also links this to an extent with globalisation.

'Television corporations are able to influence which sports flourish commercially.'

'Produce sporting narratives that can emphasise drama, spectacle and significance.'

4. Creeber, Glen (2004): Fifty Key Television Programmes. London: Arnold.

Pages 85-90 & 149-153

This title focuses specifically on two sporting events; The Fifa World Cup and The Olympic Games. It mentions the idea of how they bring communities together and creates a unified society, the power of the media to make this happen.

'The Olympic Games is routinely celebrated, not least by its organisers the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as the television event that brings the 'global village' together through shared appreciation of the universal ideals embodied in athletic competition, transcending racial, national and religious differences.'

5. Williams, Kevin (2003): Understanding Media Theory. London: Arnold.

Pages 36-38

This refers to the theory that I will be looking at; Marxism. It mentions how the ruling class own the means of production, such as the media. Links it to the idea of 'false class consciousness.

'Hence the media are instruments of social control whose content is manipulated to mislead people and encourage them to accept their subordination.'

6. Mackinson, Kenneth (2003): Representing Men Maleness and Masculinity in the Media. London: Arnold.

Pages 103-105

Mentions the importance of nations to succeed in sport to enhance their reputations. It will be useful as it talks about the popular beliefs of sport. Such as events strengthening the sense of superior and inferior nations.

'Thus, commentary on the Olympic Games, for example, refers frequently to the way that it is taken to dissolve national boundaries and such formerly competing ideologies as those of communism and capitalism.'

7. Senn, Alfred (1999): Power, Politics, And The Olympic Games. United States: Human Kinetics.

All Pages

A more general overview of the link between The Olympic Games and Politics/Power. It is useful as it talks about the significant role of sports and how this links to wider contexts.

'Drug abuse may occur without the athlete's governement approval'.

'Independent of Nazi propaganda, there was broad opposition to the Olympic Games that crossed ideological boundaries in Germany, ranging from the extreme left.'

8. Andrews, Maggie. Stevenson, Elspeth. Burton, Julia (2009): AQA Media Studies. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.

Pages 50-51

It is useful as it looks at different media theories. These will be used in the essay as theories will be needed when referring to the critical investigation.

'Marx's ideas have been applied to media in contemporary society to suggest that the view of the world constructed in most mainstream media contributes to persuading the proletariat to accept capitalism as natural and inevitable, whilst simultaneously distracting them from complaining about exploitation.'

9. Carmann, Lyan. Mclean, David (2003). Media and Society in the 20th century. Australia; Blackwell

Pages 147-148

It may be useful as it links society with media and shows how one may effect the other. This would have to be brought into with sports. Such as how the media portrays sports athletes to form a unified society.

10. Miller, Toby. Lawrence, Geoffrey. McKay, Jim. Rowe, David (2001). Globalization and Sport: Playing The World, London: Sage.

This book was recommended by one of the previous book that were being researched. Although, I haven't looked at it, I haven't information regarding it that is useful to my investigation. This examines the connections between sport and culture. It argues about if culture is the focal point of understanding sport. And also talks up about globalization.

3)Media Guardian Article: Related to Critical Investigation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mediamonkeyblog/2009/sep/09/bbc-sun-olympics-salford

BBC gets early roasting from Sun on Olympics spend

Come any big sporting occasion – say, the football World Cup or the Olympic games – it is a long-standing tradition for national newspapers to highlight exactly how many people and how much money the BBC will spend on covering it. But then it is licence fee payers' money, after all. It usually happens a month or two before the big event, so hats off to today's Sun for blasting the BBC for the amount of money it will spend on the 2012 London Olympics a full three years before it takes place. "The BBC is to land licence-payers with a £3 million bill to send sport staff to cover the London Olympics from Manchester – just a year after it relocates from the capital."

It always did strike Monkey as peculiar timing to move the BBC Sport department out of the capital a year before 2012. The money will go on "flights, train fares, taxis and accommodation", says the Sun. They forgot the bagels! A BBC spokesman said: "Plans for covering the 2012 Olympics are still being developed and we can't speculate on the costs involved." They had better start – it's not the first time they are going to be asked about this.

2)Media Guardian Article: Related to Critical Investigation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/12/brazil-newspapers-circulation

Brazilian newspapers celebrate a rise in circulation

The historic Olympic Games win for Rio de Janeiro, which prompted thousands of revellers to turn Copacabana beach into a giant party, is not the only reason why Brazilian journalists are celebrating.

In contrast to consumers in Europe and the US, the people of Brazil are reading newspapers in bigger numbers than ever. In fact, print media is noisily booming in South America's biggest economy. The total circulation of Brazilian newspapers rose 12% in 2007, according to the Instituto Verificador de Circulacao, the country's equivalent of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, compared to a worldwide average rise of 2.7%. And last year, despite the woes of the credit crunch, sales of Brazilian papers rose a further 5% to 4.35m newspapers per day.

There has been an explosion in the number of colourful tabloids packing in sports, celebrity and crime news, freesheets are a big presence at railway stations and the country's three established national papers – Folha de Sao Paulo, Estado and O Globo – are all growing.

"There's a new, emerging group in Brazil with much more consumption power than in the past and a great deal of pent-up demand," says Marcelo Salomon, the chief Brazilian economist at Barclays Capital in Sao Paulo, who points out that Brazil's brief recession was over by the second quarter of 2009.

Rapid economic growth has swelled the number of middle-class people with disposable incomes and the standing of poorer Brazilians has improved thanks to a popular family stipend program expanded by the president, Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, and rapid wealth creation in the agribusiness sector: "A very low part of the pyramid has started to crawl up over the last six to eight years."

Newspapers have enjoyed rising advertising revenue every year since 2001. One paper, Super Noticia from the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, has more than doubled its sales within two years, becoming Brazil's third biggest paper.

So, as redundancies mount on Fleet Street, there's always the possibility of a job near Copacabana beach. And at the next international summit, we all know which country's journalists should be shouting drinks for the downtrodden hacks in the press room.

1)Media Guardian Article: Related to Critical Investigation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/oct/18/netball-campaign-olympics-2020

Netball seeks makeover to wow Olympic chiefs

Netball is hoping to follow the example of rugby sevens by campaigning for the inclusion of a cut-down, speeded-up version of the sport in the Olympics, overhauling its image and attempting to banish forever associations with airtex shirts, bibs and windblown playgrounds.

A new version of the sport trialled earlier this month will be used as the catalyst for a long-term push for international growth that will result in a lobbying campaign for inclusion at the 2020 or 2024 Olympic games. If successful it would become the latest to try to follow Twenty20 cricket by introducing new rules, more spectator participation and new outfits.

The so-called "fastnet" version of the sport was tried for the first time at the MEN arena in Manchester last weekend with the blessing of the international federation in a six-country World Series tournament.

Played in four fast-paced six-minute quarters, the rule changes were designed to speed the game up and encourage attacking play. Shots were allowed from outside the goal circle as well as inside, scoring two points instead of one, and teams were allowed to nominate one quarter as a "power play" during which all goals counted double. Supporters were encouraged to vocally back their team and sit in designated areas, which included the England Enclosure, the Aussie Posse, the Kiwi Corner and the Malawi Mezzanine (by which point organisers were presumably running out of alliterative monikers).

England Netball's chief executive, Paul Clark, said it was a "great success" and would help build on progress in recent years that has enabled it to secure a high-profile sponsorship deal from the Co-operative, launch a super league, and secure regular coverage on Sky Sports.

It is hoped that the fastnet format will also help build participation levels and persuade those who have given up the sport due to time or family pressures to return. There are more than 3,200 registered clubs in England and the sport is played in 81% of schools, despite growing competition from women's football.

Earlier this month, rugby sevens and golf were admitted to the Olympics from 2016 ahead of five other sports following a lengthy process of evaluation and a final vote by the IOC members. President Jacques Rogge said that, now the Olympics was back to its maximum capacity of 28 sports, in future a single sport would be dropped and another added in order to continually refresh the programme.

"Twenty-eight sports was the maximum. To keep the rejuvenation of the sports you need a system of elimination and re-entry," he said. "In the future that is what we will do on a regular basis, at times removing one sport and adding another one."

Some of the sports that missed out this time – squash, karate, baseball, softball and roller sports – are likely to try again, along with others hoping for Olympic representation. Not only does inclusion bring kudos, marketing and growth opportunities, it opens up investment in countries such as China and Russia that tend to focus their budgets on medal-winning opportunities.

Netball would tick some IOC boxes in that it would help open up the prospect of Olympic success to new countries. The sport would also help boost female participation in the games. Yet Clark conceded there was much to do before it could become an Olympic sport, particularly in terms of international expansion. "One thing rugby sevens' inclusion does is act as a precedent," he said.

"It's not the traditional version of the sport they have included, but a hybrid. We've got to capitalise and build the sport in emerging African nations, in the US and elsewhere."
One possible route to a campaign for Olympic inclusion would be to follow the rugby sevens model and build a global tour of fastnet events in various parts of the world, said Clark.

"There is still a perception among some that netball is played only in school playgrounds," he said. "If they witnessed the elite athletes playing Super League netball, they would soon see that is not the case. The fastnet version will really start to push the door open for us – if not in 2020 then in 2024."

Emulating the success of Twenty20 is far from guaranteed. Snooker, water polo, athletics, golf, boxing and even three-day eventing (compressed to one day) are among the sports to have had makeovers, with varying degrees of success.

3)The Independent Article- Related to Critical Investigation

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/olympic-judo-star-convicted-of-gun-charge-1829545.html

Olympic judo star convicted of gun charge

A former Olympic judo contestant was convicted today of possessing firearms in his role as 'enforcer' for a £50m drugs gang.

James Waithe, 47, who represented Barbados at the Olympics and England in the Commonwealth Games, worked as a debt-collector for the gangsters, who turned over around £1m a week from cocaine sales.

He was found guilty yesterday of conspiracy to supply cocaine but the jury decided he was not guilty of conspiracy to possess an explosive substance.

Today, after 20 hours of deliberation at Bristol Crown Court, the jury returned a majority guilty verdict on one count of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

But he was found not guilty of five counts of possession of a firearm.

Police were called to a report of a burglary at Waithe's flat in Highridge Green, Bristol, and stumbled on a 10-tonne hydraulic press, white powder and cutting agents.

Officers also found an "arsenal" of weapons, including rifles, handguns, stun grenades and ammunition, which Waithe said he had no knowledge of.

Waithe competed for Barbados in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and taught PE and citizenship at Withywood Community School and Bristol Gateway Special School.

The jury heard that part of Waithe's role is said to have included extreme violence.

The prosecution claimed he once tied a man to a chair, beat him with nunchuks, extinguished lit cigarettes in his ears and put his hands into an electric toaster.

Waithe's co-defendant, Robert Brooks, 63, of no fixed address, was found not guilty of six charges of possession of firearms but guilty of conspiracy to possess explosives, namely stun grenades.

He admitted conspiracy to supply drugs.

Grant Richmond, of Long Cross, Lawrence Weston, and Craig Rodel, 46, of Wexford Road, Bristol, and Luke Downes, 22, of Pevensey Walk, Bristol, have all pleaded guilty to being involved in the conspiracy to supply drugs.

Judge Simon Darwall-Smith remanded Waithe into custody to await pre-sentence reports before adjourning the case for sentencing to a date to be fixed.

He thanked the jury for its work during the 10-week trial.

Waithe's case at Bristol Crown Court concluded a massive police operation to bring the gang to justice.

It can be reported today that 17 gang members are already behind bars for their part in the illegal trade, with a further one man fined.

Meanwhile, five other gang members are awaiting sentencing for conspiracy to supply drugs and firearms offences.

Even after some of the Bristol gang were caught, they continued their business from behind bars by mobile phone, moving the operation to cut the cocaine to Devon.

Over three years and four operations - codenamed Marin, Maltsters, and Maiden - detectives rooted out the remaining members.

The final investigation, operation Malbec, followed Waithe and the gang who had taken over the drug-dealing patch from a father and his two sons after they were jailed.

Philip Pearce, 57, his sons Jamie, 26, and Justin 29, and their team were active in 2007.

Being jailed did not stop Justin Pearce - now serving 20 years - masterminding the scheme from his jail cell by mobile phone.

His girlfriend Leah Murphy - later jailed for seven years when she was eight months pregnant - became involved.

He then moved the operation to Devon with a new crew.

But by 2008 former business associate Craig Rodel, 46, Waithe and the three others had exploited the Pearce family absence and were running the show.

During the entire investigation police seized more than £95,000 in cash, 11.2kg of cocaine, 303.52g of heroin and more than 200kg of cutting agent.

Firearms found included one pistol, two air pistols, four rifles, one small bore shotgun, five handguns and three military issue stun grenades.

Two industrial presses, two tablet making machines, a 15 tonne press and a hydraulic press were also recovered.

2)The Independent Article- Related to Critical Investigation

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/golf-and-rugby-get-olympic-nod-1771479.html

Golf and rugby get Olympic nod

International Olympic leaders selected golf and rugby today for proposed inclusion in the 2016 Summer Games, rejecting bids from baseball, softball and three other sports.

The International Olympic Committee executive board narrowed the field to two from a list of seven, which also included squash, karate and roller sports.

The board will submit golf and rugby sevens — a faster-paced version of the standard 15-a-side game — for ratification by the full 106-member IOC assembly in Copenhagen in October.

The board also gave final approval to the inclusion of women's boxing in the 2012 London Olympics. Boxing had been the only summer Olympic sport without women competitors.

Leaders of the seven sports bidding to be added to the 2016 games made presentations to the IOC board in June in Lausanne, Switzerland, and continued to lobby extensively. The attributes of each sport were contained in a report by the IOC program commission which was reviewed by the board Thursday before the vote.

Golf was played at the 1900 Paris Olympics and 1904 St. Louis Games. The sport's backers say bringing the game back into the Olympics would help it develop worldwide, noting many governments only fund Olympic sports.

Tiger Woods and other top players have indicated they would play in the Olympics if golf gets the nod from the IOC.

"Golf is a truly global sport and it should have been in the Olympics a while ago," Woods said Tuesday. "If it does get in, it would be great for golf and some of the other small countries that are now emerging in golf."

Golf proposes a 72-hole stroke-play competition for men and women, with 60 players in each field. The world's top 15 players would qualify automatically, and all major professional tours would alter tournament schedules to avoid a clash with the Olympics.

Rugby, which was played in four different Olympics between 1900 and 1924 in the full 15-a-side format, proposes the 7-a-side version for both men and women. The International Rugby Board would scrap its Sevens World Cup to ensure the Olympics is the sport's top event.

Final approval of the two sports will require a simple majority vote by the full IOC in October. It's unclear whether they will be voted on individually or together.

Softball and baseball had been seeking a return after being voted off the program four years ago for the 2012 London Games. Attempted reinstatements were rejected by the IOC in 2006.

Softball, a women's event which debuted at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, has focused on spreading the sport among youth and women in the Muslim world and Africa, and staying free of doping scandals. It offered to organize a men's Olympic tournament as well if readmitted by the IOC.

Baseball — which has failed to bring top players to the Olympics due to a scheduling clash with the U.S. major leagues— offered a shortened five-day, eight-team format intended to ensure the participation of big-name stars.

In 2005, after voting to drop baseball and softball, IOC members rejected the five other sports put up for inclusion — rugby, golf, karate, squash and roller sports. At that time, approval required a two-thirds majority.

1)The Independent Article- Related to Critical Investigation

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/de-vos-urges-2012-olympic-athletes-to-aim-high-1809967.html

De Vos urges 2012 Olympic athletes to aim high

British athletes have been set the target of winning 10 medals at the London Olympics in 2012. UK Athletics' chief executive, Niels de Vos, says it is an "optimistic target" but that it was important to aim to do better than Britain has ever done.

"We have to aim for the best we've ever done at our home Games," said De Vos. "I'm perfectly happy to put a target out there that's aspirational. We should be aiming to get a better return that we've had in the past. I've based it on the number of finalists we've been getting in the past four or five years, which has been going up at each major championship. At the last two major finals, the Worlds and the Olympics, we've had 25 finalists. Can we get to 10 medals? We got six at the Worlds, so there is a way to go, but it's possible."

At the Beijing Games in 2008, Team GB's athletes missed the target of five medals set for them by UK Sport, coming home with four – one gold, two silver and one bronze. "Have we got the chance of winning more medals than any other sport? Yes, we have," he added.

Selina stokes a diversity debate that needs addressing

It will come as a surprise to few but a delight to many that Selina Scott is suing Five over ageism in its refusal to hire her for a maternity cover role and choice of younger presenters instead. It is a delight not because Five is worse than anyone else in this respect, but because it stokes a debate which urgently needs to be taken more seriously. Casual sexism, ageism and racism are the collective dirty secret of the vast majority of media institutions, and they represent as much of an industrial challenge as they do a moral one.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission's Report on Sex and Power, published last week, drew a depressing picture for women in the workplace. In general the progression of women at the highest level in the workplace is pitiful and the media are no exception: only 13.6% of national newspaper editors (including the Herald and Western Mail) are women; only 10% of media FTSE's 350 companies have women at the helm; and at the BBC, which has often been held as an exemplar of diversity, women make up less than 30% of most senior management positions. It puts into context Jeremy Paxman's deranged rant about the white male in television. Ethnic minority representation is even worse.

A couple of weeks ago Pat Younge, former BBC head of sports programmes and planning who left to work for Discovery in the US, caused a stir at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival by saying that diversity targets should be like financial targets - you don't hit them, you get fired. I have to say that as board champion for diversity at Guardian News and Media I would currently be firing myself and most of the board for some missed targets. But Younge is right - because diversity targets are not just a feelgood add-on, they are vital to the health of any media business. The temptation to hire in one's own image for most managers is as irresistible as it is subliminal - which is why there are a lot of opinionated women working in digital management at the Guardian, and why we all need targets to remind us to look beyond the mirror.

On screen, any number of unconventional-looking ageing blokes (Jeremy Clarkson, Jonathan Ross, Chris Moyles, Alan Sugar, Adrian Chiles, Jeremy Paxman, Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan) are paid at a top rate for the talent they possess beyond their appearance. For women it is an altogether different story - appearance and age are clearly factors in choosing female presenters in a way that they aren't for men.

The media should be deeply concerned about this un-diversity - not because it represents moral turpitude on our part, but because it represents bloody awful business sense. What is happening to the UK population at the moment? It is ethnically diversifying, and it is ageing. It is also the case that it is, as of the 2001 Census, marginally more female than it is male. And we live longer - so older women, and non-white potential audiences are on the rise. In London, the major urban conurbation and key market for so many media brands, the population is around 37% ethnically diverse, yet this is nowhere near reflected in the management structures of media companies. Or indeed in their on-screen or in-paper representation.

How though, can you hope to address audiences for which you have no instinctive feel, and towards which you show casual discrimination? We are all in danger of becoming irrelevant to the changing demographics of our target audience at a time when holding any kind of audience is key to survival. If white men are so good at solving business problems - and given that they represent well over 80% of FTSE 100 directors we can speculate that this is a skill they must possess in measure - then I'm surprised they haven't grasped this one already.

Titles of Critical Investigation and Linked Production

Critical Investigation: An investigation into whether the media's seemingly 'heroic' portrayal of sports people during the Olympics seems to offer a more unified and utope notion of global cohesion. Or is it just constructed imagery?

Linked Production: A sports magazine cover and article based on the top 10 most influential football players in the last decade.

Ofcom plans spectrum use for Olympics 2007

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/30/olympicsandthemedia.ofcom

Communications regulator Ofcom has today outlined plans for how to manage the use of radio spectrum to enable an estimated 20,000 journalists to cover the London 2012 Olympics.

Ofcom expects the London Olympics to attract around 20,000 accredited media workers, 10 million spectators and 15,000 competitors to the 35 venues hosting events across the UK.

The wide-ranging discussion document, which outlines Ofcom's approach to the use of key radio spectrum, covers all wireless communications for the 2012 games in the UK capital.

Ofcom is anticipating huge demand for radio spectrum including wireless radio links that officials and referees will use, video links for wireless cameras, handheld radios used by organisers and security personal and low-power local broadcasting services for commentary and interviews.

By 2012, mobile media and communications will be much further advanced and the UK's rolling programme of digital TV switchover is also due to be completed during the year.

The regulator, which organised and managed the spectrum requirements for the start of this year's Tour de France in London, is now seeking views on the spectrum requirements and plan.

"We can't see it, hear it or touch it but radio spectrum is absolutely essential to delivering the most technologically advanced Olympic Games ever," said the Ofcom chief executive, Ed Richards.

Ofcom aims to consult on a full spectrum plan following the Beijing Olympics in August next year.

Chris Hoy named BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2008

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/dec/14/chrishoy-cycling

Chris Hoy was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year tonight in a result that surprised many who had expected Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington or formula one champion Lewis Hamilton to win. In the end they were third and second respectively.

Outside the Liverpool Echo Arena, a characterless barn on the banks of the Mersey, it was a cold, grey December evening. But inside 9,000 spectators who had become overnight experts on the keirin and the Yngling and a glittering parade of medal winners gathered to relive memories of a golden summer.

Hoy, 32, is the first cyclist to win the award since Tommy Simpson in 1965. "To win this in this year in particular, it's hard to explain what it means because I think British sport has enjoyed one of its best years in my lifetime," he said. "It's incredible. This really is the culmination of 12 years of hard work for me."

Hoy led the British gold rush in the Laoshan velodrome in the summer with wins in the team sprint, along with Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny, the keirin and the individual sprint.

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year award never fails to provoke debate, but in a year that boasted ­Britain's best Olympics since 1908 and the youngest ever formula one ­champion in Lewis Hamilton all talk focused on the impossibility of choosing a winner rather than the paucity of the shortlist. In those categories decided before last night's vote for the overall winner, Olympians dominated. In any other year, a British team winning the ­Champions League might have expected to pick up the team of the year prize.

But in a reflection of the buzz outside the arena, it was not Manchester ­United's well remunerated stars who were named team of the year but the British Olympic cycling team.

The dominance of the team that took home 14 medals from Beijing, including eight golds, was also reflected in nominations for four of their number for the main prize.

David Brailsford, the British cycling director of performance whose singleminded strategy drove the team to new heights at the Olympics and Paralympics, beat Sir Alex Ferguson and others to the coach of the year award.

Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter, won the overseas sports personality of the year trophy, just beating Michael Phelps, winner of an unprecedented eight gold medals in Beijing.

Sport magazine names BSkyB head as most powerful person in UK sport 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2009/oct/16/sport-magazine-top-50-jeremy-darroch

Sport Magazine has named Jeremy Darroch, chief executive of BSkyB, as the most powerful person in British sport, with a fair smattering of senior BBC and ITV executives also making the free weekly's top 50 list, which is out today.

Darroch is ranked ahead of luminaries such as Lord Coe, the chairman of the London 2012 Olympics organising committee, Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

"The satellite television behemoth polarises opinion," runs copy next to Darroch's entry. "With control over the financial security and coverage of so many sports, Darroch has more influence over British sport than anyone else."

Coming in at number 12, just two places behind David Beckham and four astray of formula one supremo Bernie Ecclestone, is the BBC's director of sport, Barbara Slater.

Simon Fuller, the man behind the Spice Girls and the ...Idol TV franchise, makes it in at number 19 courtesy of deals to represent rising tennis star Andy Murray, handling the PR for the England football team, and masterminding David Beckham's multi-million dollar move to LA Galaxy. Fuller also looks after formula one driver Jenson Button.

One place further back, at 20, is culture secretary Ben Bradshaw, with Adrian van Klaveren, controller of BBC Radio 5 Live, at 28. "Van Klaveren can pretty much take his pick of live sporting events on what we used to call the wireless... he's like an oversized child with the keys to the sweet shop," runs his entry.

And finally, in terms of media entries, ITV's Michael Jermey, director of ITV news, current affairs and sport, sneaks on to the list at 41 – sandwiched between Tiger Woods and Andrew Flintoff, no less. "Though not the controller, the key decisions are made by Jermey, a man with far more influence than budget," runs Sport's entry.

London media 'sideline ethnic minorities' 2007

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/sep/21/raceintheuk.raceandreligion

A report into London's media industry has found it to be dominated by "white middle class" people with business practices that make it hard for workers from ethnic minority communities to develop careers.

The report, supported by the Trades Union Congress, broadcasting union Bectu and industry skills council Skillset, found that while 24% of the London workforce is from ethnic minority communities, just 7.4% of workers in the audio-visual sector in the capital are from ethnic minorities.

London's media industry has a workforce of around 250,000 staff working for employers such as the BBC, Channel 4, BSkyB, Capital Radio, ITV, Channel Five, Discovery and MTV.

The study, undertaken by the Working Lives Research Institute at London Metropolitan University, found that "the industry tended to recruit from limited cultural circles, with a workforce largely characterised as white and from high-income backgrounds."

Overall, 61% of media workers surveyed said they thought there was some form of discrimination in the industry in London.

However, when this figure is broken down, 76% of black, minority and ethnic workers thought there was some form of discrimination, compared with 54% of white workers.

Of all respondents that thought there was discrimination in the London media sector, 30% said it was over issues of ethnicity and 26% said it was to do with gender.

Overall 41% of respondents said they had either witnessed or been a victim of some form of discrimination relating to promotion, pay or recruitment.

But black, minority and ethnic workers in media were twice as likely to be discriminated against as their white counterparts.

A breakdown of figures looking at those who had actually experienced discrimination specifically due to ethnicity found that 32% of black and ethnic minority workers said it had occurred to them - while just 1% of white workers said the same.

Interviews with respondents found that there while were "few references to direct forms of discrimination or racist abuse", "indirect discrimination, or cultural misrepresentations" based on ethnicity were "not uncommon" in the media industry.

"Old boys' networks" and nepotism as a means of getting a foot in the door were regarded as leading to recruitment from "limited cultural circles".

The single biggest barrier to getting a job in the media in London, cited by 66% of respondents, was that there was "too much competition".

Needing good contacts ranked second with 58%, inadequate training in colleges was cited third with 35%.

The TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, said that "getting a foot in the door is often dependent on contacts within the industry, something that many youngsters from low income or ethnic minority backgrounds simply won't have".

"That, combined with the fact that many will have to work for nothing in their first jobs, means it's no small wonder that London's audio-visual industry currently looks the way it does," Mr Barber added.

Gerry Morrissey, the general secretary of Bectu, added: "Too many black and ethnic minority workers meet a glass door when it comes to accessing opportunities for employment, commissions and progression in our industry."

Trevor Phillips: downturn could hit diversity in the media 2008

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/sep/16/raceandreligion.downturn

The economic downturn could hit women and ethnic minorities working in the media harder than their white male colleagues, the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Phillips, said today.

Phillips, speaking at the first MediaGuardian Ethnic Media Summit, said that belt-tightening by companies often led to a shift away from catering to minorities.

He said that the prospect of a four- or five-year economic downturn could "reverse the limited advantages" that have been made relating to women and ethnic minorities in the media workplace.

Phillips said that the first group to potentially feel the impact would be women, as in a downturn they could be viewed as "too expensive, too difficult" in respect of workplace flexibility policies.

He said that history has shown that "belts squeeze disproportionately" in relationship to ethnic minority employees and that this could be socially destructive.

"All is not well, nor has it been for a while," he added. "The media industry promises itself it will get better next year or next decade."

"The faces on the screen may have changed complexion but there is still far too little diversity among those who call the shots," he said.

"Ethnic minorities remain dissatisfied with the offering of mainstream media."

"However, diversity is increasingly becoming a mainstream concern. White viewers now feel most uncomfortable in the absence of diversity of what they see, listen to and read because it doesn't reflect daily life."

He said that the "ugly fact" was that there had not been as much progress on diversity in the past three decades as the media industry might like to believe.

Phillips likened this to a "Dorian Gray effect" - referring to Oscar Wilde's novel about a beautiful youth who stays superficially young but has a hideous portrait that ages in the attic. "[The portrait] needs to be bought out of the attic and shown regularly," Phillips said.

He said that a central question in the next licence fee settlement for the BBC should be to look at whether the corporation was reflecting change in society quickly enough.

Rupert Murdoch doesn't think Barack Obama racist, says spokesman 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/rupert-murdoch-barack-obama

Rupert Murdoch has been forced to deny he believes Barack Obama is a racist, after appearing to back the controversial Fox News presenter Glenn Beck's comments about the US president.

The chairman and chief executive of News Copporation said in an interview earlier this week that Obama had made "a very racist comment" and that Beck's views were "right".

"He does not at all, for a minute, think the president is a racist," a News Corp spokesman tikd the US website Politico.

In the interview with Sky News Australia, Murdoch was asked about the views expressed by contributors to Fox News, including Beck's view that Obama was a racist.

"He [Obama] did make a very racist comment about blacks and whites and so on, which he said in his campaign he would be completely above," Murdoch said.

"That was something which perhaps should not have been said about the president but if you actually look at what he [Beck] was talking about, he was right."

Beck caused uproar in July when he described Obama had "a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture".

His remarks were made during a discussion of Obama's reaction to the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr, an African-American Harvard academic.

Murdoch also said in the interview he thought the Obama presidency was going "badly", citing the defection of independent voters in recent elections in Virginia and New Jersey.

Media- Diversity and Reprsentation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2008/dec/09/disability-assisted-suicide

During 2008, disability has had its fair share of airtime but, as a disabled woman, I'm left wondering where are my role models?

Throughout the summer there were two disabled people on our TV screens night after night thanks to Big Brother. I'm not sure appearing on reality TV is any benchmark of equality in media representation but rather it's a fair indication that disabled people are just as desperate for their 15 minutes of D list celeb status.

As summer came to an end, the Paralympics received unparalleled coverage. That's fine but when the majority of disability TV time is given over to these super athletes, doesn't it just serve to make the rest of us look lazy? Coincidently, two months later incapacity benefit was replaced by employment and support allowance. Perhaps that should be employment and sport.

The only other role model on offer to me these days seems to be the ill and/or disabled person who wants to end it all. I can't switch on my TV, open a paper or log onto the internet without being confronted by yet another story about yet another person who wants assisted suicide to be legalised in the UK. As the law stands, while it's legal to commit suicide in England, if you can't physically do the act yourself then it is illegal for someone to assist you.

My intention is not to use this blog to discuss the issue of assisted suicide, but instead the increasing media coverage afforded to the subject in recent months. It's not that I'm especially pro-life, religious or unsympathetic. It's just that I believe the reporting of assisted suicide is usually dangerously lacking in any in-depth debate, analysis and, most crucially, balance.

At the last count, 725 English people had signed up to Dignitas, the Swiss organisation that assists people to commit suicide. In contrast, there are well over 10 million disabled people in the UK. The vast amount of publicity given to the pro-euthanasia lobby, however, would seem to suggest that it's the majority of us who want to book a one-way ticket to Switzerland. This unapologetic bias only serves to misrepresent millions of disabled peoples' lives.

In our society, the prevailing view of illness and disability is that they're a tragedy and thus the decision to die is often seen as entirely rational, inevitable and even brave. Rarely is this status quo challenged but instead the majority of press reports reinforce it. We are forever hearing about the campaign to assist people to die with dignity, for example, but what about the equally compelling campaign to assist people to live with dignity? Balanced media coverage of this issue is not just essential, it's a matter of life and death.

That is why 2009 has to be the year when simplistic, superficial and one-sided reporting of assisted suicide is replaced with a diversity of stories featuring disabled people who don't necessarily want to meet Davina, go for gold or end it all. They're the kind of role models I've been waiting a lifetime to see.

Research on screen and off screen

On Screen: David Beckham goal from a free kick in a match between England vs Greece that sent England to the 2002 Fifa World Cup.


This gives the portrayal of athletes as heroes as they're able to achieve something inspirational for the audience. Furthermore that sportsmen are positive role models for society and form a unified society due to their ability to succeed when appearing unlikely. Also the power of the media to reflect this to society as they pass on the representation of athletes.

Off Screen: An article referring to the income of sportsmen.

http://www.progressiveu.org/142017-athletes-are-not-role-models

On the other hand, in the year 2004 only 46% of NFL players had a college degree [7]. In 2005 Michael Vick made $37.5 million [4], even though he dropped out of Virginia Tech after only three years to join the NFL [8]. He only lasted 6 years before being suspended for dog fighting and marijuana use. According to Jeff Benedict and Don Yaeger, the authors of “Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL”, 21% of NFL players have been charged with at least one serious crime [1]. These include battery, rape, murder, and drug charges. Why are we paying violent criminals six-figure salaries to practice their craft in the guise of a sport as NFL player?

Even respectable athletes who are upstanding members of the community contribute little to society but entertainment to the masses, tax dollars to the government, and hopefully part of their salary to charity. For example, Tiger Woods pulled in a grand total of $90 million in 2006 [5], and donated $9.5 million (approximately 10.5% of his income) to charity organizations, including his own philanthropy the Tiger Woods Foundation [6]. That sounds great on the surface, but he still has more than $80 million in annual income left over. Even after taxes, that is more money than one family could ever need.

Relations between on screen and off screen

By judging the two texts, they give contrasting ideas of whether athletes are heroes. Therefore it could be argued that 'on the screen' there is a better representation of athletes as heroes. However these two examples are two from many, there could be examples of 'on the screen' where athletes are portrayed in a bad light and a positive represenation of athletes 'off the screen'. Consequently, the key aspect of the research is the media and how they choose to portray athletes, in this case the institution plays a significant role.

Issue/ Debate

Are athletes viewed positively?

The representations of athletes vary from different media institutions. They provide borh positive and negative views of athletes.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/6438478/Footballer-Marlon-King-groped-woman-and-broke-her-nose.html

This article on the actions of Marlon King provides a negative view on sportsmen. As it shows what can happen to people who are given wealth and how they behave. Furthermore it goes against the idea that athletes are viewed as 'heroes'. Also it can relate to economical and historical as in the past athletes were paid less than now. Therefore they found being a role model as more significant to athletes now.

Also this issue could be related to ethnicity. The question could be posed that because he is an ethnic minority it may be viewed more negatively by the media. This is because the media is owned by the white ruling class.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/3228728.stm

This article is based on England winning the Rugby World cup. This shows athletes in a positive way as it views them winning and succeeding. Therefore it portrays them as heroes because they're promoting ideological values such as achieving with hard work and merit. This means it is producing the correct values for society, meaning the media's represenation of atheltes as heroes allows them to influence society.

By producing the article in this way they allow readers to want to support the nation. Thus, it creates a unified society. This is in favour of the idea of athletes as heroes as it reiterates the sense of achievement. Also as it is from the BBC it is likely to be targeted at everyone so therefore creates a unified soceity as it appeals to everyone.

Marxism

Marxism is the theory which looks at the analysis of capitalism, a theory of social change and an athiest view of human liberation. This is from the work of Karl Marx and Frierich Engels. The identity of a social class derives from its relationship to the means of production ; Marx describes the social classes in capitalist societies.

Proletariat: “those individuals who sell their labour power, and who, in the capitalist mode of production, do not own the means of production“. The capitalist mode of production establishes the conditions enabling the bourgeoisie to exploit the proletariat because the workers’ labour generates a surplus value greater than the workers’ wages.

Bourgeoisie: those who “own the means of production” and buy labour power from the proletariat, thus exploiting the proletariat; they subdivide as bourgeoisie and the petit bourgeoisie. Petit bourgeoisie are those who employ labourers, but who also work, i.e. small business owners, peasant landlords, trade workers et al. Marxism predicts that the continual reinvention of the means of production eventually would destroy the petit bourgeoisie, degrading them from the middle class to the proletariat.

Class Consciousness denotes the awareness — of itself and the social world — that a social class possesses, and its capacity to rationally act in their best interests; hence, class consciousness is required before they can effect a successful revolution.

This relates to my study as it looks at how the media owned by the ruling class influence the working class. This allows them to maintain the status quo. Also the heroes maybe seen as the ruling class who dominate society. Therefore the people who look upto them are the working class. This demonstrates that the working class are the subordinates. Also that there is a division and class differences as there is a barrier between the two classes because of the media.

Critical Investigation

Critical Investigation: How has the 'heroic' portrayal of athletes in the media made Britain seem as a unified society?

Media Language: This concept will be significant in the study as factors such as how athletes are framed will be considered. Furthermore when research is undertaken media language will have to be looked at in order to see how 'heroic' portrayals of athletes are implemented in the media.

Institution: A question that would need to be answered is how influential institutions will be when these portrayals are made. In addition, will different institutions have similar portrayals of athletes? This would link to who the particular institution is targeting. As this may affect the representations of athletes.

Genre: The genre is sports related. This would be interesting to look at when considering aspects of the media affecting society. An event that would coincide with this is the Olympics. As this links with society being patriotic and how media texts allow society to be this way.

Representations: This concept would have to be looked at from both sides. Such as how athletes are portrayed as heroes and how they're not. Specific examples would have to be given to this. For instance athletes and sportsmen who take drugs would go in opposition of the 'heroic' portrayal. However an athlete achieving something inspirational would be referred to as 'heroic'.

Audience: The audience involved tends to be young children and teenagers who may look up to athletes. In terms of ethnicity and gender it would target everyone. This is because sport can appeal to a wide range of audiences. Therefore there is different perspectives at whether athletes are heroic.

Ideologies: This would refer to values related to sports. Athletes would be seen as role models so would be expected to behave in an appropriate way. Moreover it would reinforce the hegemony of the significance of success. This is because it would give the idea that hard work would pay off as you're victorious. This would relate to media as when success is achieved this would be referred to in media texts.

Narrative: Propp's theory would be looked at is it would give athletes the role as heroes. This would introduce the function that a referee or representative of enforcing the rules would play. How they may be portrayed in the media? The narrative would show how events enfold to introduce an athlete as a hero.

Social: This aspect would be key as the issue relates to society. It would refer to the effect that sports people have on society and how it makes people come together. The media would be seen as influential in this process by allowing the public to be aware of athletes.

Historical: Were athletes portrayed as 'heroic' in previous years? The investigation would have to consider the difference in representations of athletes from other eras. This would relate to the importance in the role of the media from years ago to now.

Economical: This aspect would be difficult to consider in the investigation. Although it could go against the idea of athletes as heroes. As it could point out athletes are more concerned about their financial well being rather than being seen as a 'hero'.

Political: Issues would regard, do media institutions consider their political allegiances when creating a portrayal for athletes? Furthermore whether politics affects audiences to unite when viewing media texts that portray athletes as 'heroes'.

This study fits into the contemporary media landscape because it looks at issues regarding how the media is affecting society currently, also how the portrayal of athletes has changed down the years.

Research on Marxism & Hegemony

10 Key Words:

• Karl Marx
• Exploitation
• Friedrich Engels
• Proletariat
• Bourgeoisie
• Revolution
• Alienation
• Class Consciousness
• Antonio Gramsci
• Values

5 Red Herrings:

• Mesopotamia
• Liberal Marxism
• Eschatology
• Hegemonising
• Max Weber

Marxism is the political philosophy and economic worldview formed by Karl Marx. He analysis capitalism and the theory of social change. The three primary aspects of Marxism are; the dialectical and materialist concept of history, the critique of capitalism and the advocacy of proletrian revolution.

Hegemony is the leadership or predominant influence exercised by one nation over others, as in a confederation. This construction of consent by the powerless through cultural values. The predominance of one political unit over the other units in a political group. Examples include a province within a federation ; one person among a committee ; or one state in a confederation such as France in the EU.

Research on Representations & Stereotypes/ Media Effects

Represenations and Stereotypes:

Represenation is the process whereby the media construct versions of people, places and events through media texts to an audience. A stereotype is the social classificatin of a group of people by identifying common characteristics. This is applied in a generalised way, such that judgements and assumptions are made about the group concerned.

'Issues and Debates'

Media stereotypes are inevitable, especially in the advertising, entertainment and news industries, which need as wide an audience as possible to quickly understand information. Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.

But stereotypes can be problematic. They can:

• reduce a wide range of differences in people to simplistic categorizations
  
  
• transform assumptions about particular groups of people into "realities"
  
  
• be used to justify the position of those in power
  
  
• perpetuate social prejudice and inequality
  

More often than not, the groups being stereotyped have little to say about how they are represented.

Media effects:

The media effects involve aspects such as the mass mesdia. This involves content designed to inform, eduacate, entertain or persuade members of a target audience. The media is based around three platforms; print, broadcasting and more recently, e-media.

'Issues and Debates'

The Media play a crucial role in forming and reflecting public opinion , connecting the world to individuals and reproducing the self-image of society. Critiques in the early-to-mid twentieth century suggested that media weaken or delimit the individual's capacity to act autonomously — sometimes being ascribed an influence reminiscent of the telescreens of the dystopian novel 1984. Mid twentieth-century empirical studies, however, suggested more moderate effects of the media.

Current scholarship presents a more complex interaction between the media and society , with the media on generating information from a network of relations and influences and with the individual interpretations and evaluations of the information provided, as well as generating information outside of media contexts. The consequences and ramifications of the mass media relate not merely to the way newsworthy events are perceived (and which are reported at all), but also to a multitude of cultural influences that operate through the media.

The media have a strong social and cultural impact upon society. This is predicated upon their ability to reach a wide audience with a strong and influential message. Marshall McLuhan uses the phrase “the medium is the message” as a means of explaining how the distribution of a message can often be more important than content of the message itself.

It is through the persuasiveness of media such as television, radio and print media that messages reach their target audiences. These have been influential media as they have been largely responsible for structuring people's daily lives and routines. Television broadcasting has a large amount of control over the content society watches and the times in which it is viewed.

This is a distinguishing feature of traditional media which New Media have challenged by altering the participation habits of the public. The internet creates a space for more diverse political opinions, social and cultural viewpoints and a heightened level of consumer participation. There have been suggestions that allowing consumers to produce information through the internet (user-generated content) will lead to an overload of information.

Suggestion for Critical Investigation/ Linked Production

The critical investigation was 'marketing methods used by the radio'. This would be an interesting critical investigation as the medium chosen is in decline. Therefore not many other students would choose the radio, this could allow an investigation that may stand out.

The linked production is of an 'opening to a reality chat show'. This would be difficult to carry out as there would be nothing visually to look at. However it would be something different to what most students would do.

Audience: Groups targeted by producers as the intended consumers of media texts. This would be an important factor on who exactly the reality chat show would target. Also in the critical investigation, they would need to consider what kind of audience the marketing methods appeal to.

Censorship: Way of monitoring media content by removing elements deemed offensive. It is important for radios to broadcast appropriate topics. In this case, the opening of the chat show can't have abusive language.

Commercial Radio: Radio broadcasts that are licensed. This is important to consider what kind of marketing methods do commercial radio stations use compared to pirate radio stations. Also aspects such as how commercial radio stations may be drawing audiences away from the BBC.

Gendered Consumption: The way that gender affects our consumption of media texts. Women may get a different perspective than men to particular marketing methods aimed at them. Also depending on gender, you may be able to identify to the issues mentioned in the chat show.

Genre: A category of media products classed as being similar in form and type. Genre is a factor that always needs to be considered regardless of what media text is being discussed. The genre of the reality chat show would need to be known as it would need to appeal to the target audience.

Self Evaluation of Presentation

WWW:

• good use of keywords e.g hybrid.
• good expression
• very good slides- use of images
• good pace
• fluent presentation
• good vocbabulary

EBI:

• weak opening (why did you choose film?)
• ending
• timing- too short
• other key concepts- genre, audience

Significance: 2
Structure : 3
Simplicity : 1
Rehearsal : 3

Total : 9

Overall it was a mixture of good and bad. This is shown through my score, as it isn't the best. However didn't do too bad. A personal EBI would be too read the task properly. As I thought the presentation only involved talking about the research, not about key concepts. Therefore I would've had more too talk about.

Review of The Guardian and The Telegraph

www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/sep/12/comedy1

Only news of a Freebie and the Bean remake directed by Terrence Malick could have astonished me more. David Gordon Green, who secured my swooning admiration for his serenely beautiful first feature George Washington in 2000, and a basic level of fandom ever since for his high arthouse cine-Americana, has taken the directorial reins, or maybe just taken the cheque, for a stoner comedy thriller produced by Judd Apatow. Seth Rogen and James Franco play two dopeheads on the run from serious bad guys.

Really, it could have been directed by anyone, although one gentle mini-montage of Rogen and Franco clowning around in a forest at dawn does look a bit like what I must now think of as the Master's early work. Watching this without having got stoned first is like watching a 3D movie without the special glasses. There are a few moderate laughs (and a nice Jude Law gag) but the full-on gory violence is disconcerting and unfunny.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/sukhdevsandhu/3560321/Film-review-Pineapple-Express.html

"Pineapple Express, another thundering juggernaut of bad taste, post-teen humour and arrested development from the team responsible for Knocked Up, Superbad and Drillbit Taylor."

"The film is disjointed and out of whack. It never settles on a style or a rhythm."

"There's no way that someone like Angie would be going out with Dale, and no reason story-wise for even pretending that she might."

"Pineapple Express has its fair share of laughs, but it's a fundamentally heartless and unlovable minor work from Team Apatow."

Research

Review

http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/pineapple_express/

"While it might sound outlandish to speak of THE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS in the same sentence as CITIZEN KANE, in its own little neck of the cinematic woods the Judd Apatow/Seth Rogen comedy is perhaps just as groundbreaking."

"In fact, it's nearly impossible to think of another film that blends so seamlessly pitch-perfect stoner babble with high-octane action sequences."

"Indie director David Gordon Green (SNOW ANGELS) brings a subtle auteur's touch to the proceedings, approaching the smoking scenes with his distinctively loose feel and giving the action sequences a wonderfully dated sheen that makes them look more like a fight from KNIGHT RIDER than the empty flash of 21st-century blow-‘em-ups."

"There's only so many ways to play a stoner, but Franco puts his own endearing, lovable spin on the type, portraying Saul as a kind-hearted, well-intentioned yet hardcore dope smoker."
Tomatometer:68%

The review states how the film may be a hybrid genre. This is because it mentions how they've combined action and comedy. The review provides audiences who have not yet seen the film, what to expect and if it is worth watching. Also for audiences who have seen it, they may agree or disagree with the overall review. They will also be able to give their own review of the film and a rating.

Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2YlJX68sUw&feature=player_embedded

The interview is with producer Judd Apatow and the two main actors Seth Rogen and James Franco. It is important as it allows the people involved to give their own views about the film. Furthermore they're able to talk about the process of producing the film. They're also able to promote the film to audiences by talking highly about it.

Article/Review
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/sukhdevsandhu/3560321/Film-review-Pineapple-Express.html

"Pineapple Express, another thundering juggernaut of bad taste, post-teen humour and arrested development from the team responsible for Knocked Up, Superbad and Drillbit Taylor."

"The film is disjointed and out of whack. It never settles on a style or a rhythm."

"There's no way that someone like Angie would be going out with Dale, and no reason story-wise for even pretending that she might."

"Pineapple Express has its fair share of laughs, but it's a fundamentally heartless and unlovable minor work from Team Apatow."

The newspaper article is from the telegraph. This, in contrast to the review gives a more critical view of 'Pineapple Express'. The article also may suggest what kind of audience the film is suited to. This is because it is a 'quality' newspaper so it is targeted at A/B class people. Therefore by criticising the film it is suggesting the film won't appeal to the readers but to more C2/D class people.