Week 3 - 'British men describe how they 'trolled the world' with fake story claiming they accidentally caught boat to Syria'

'British men describe how they 'trolled the world' with fake story claiming they accidentally caught boat to Syria' 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/british-men-trolled-the-world-with-fake-story-caught-boat-to-syria-from-ayia-napa-after-night-out-a7071176.html

• 3 British men posted a picture on Facebook with a fake news story about how they ended up in Syria 
• The men also posted snapchats and sent them to journalists as 'proof' 
• They said "we have literally trolled the world media and we are so proud of ourselves"
• "They report bollocks all the time and people never check the facts. As soon as they posted it that was it - it went viral"
• They thought they were making a valid point about international press coverage 

This story reflects the negatives of the news and social media. New digital media enables anyone and everyone to post a news story and to contact journalists, this story has therefore made audiences realise that everything that they read by journalists may not be true as there is the matter of manipulation. This reveals the negative effect of social media as the social networking platform enables people to manipulate situations; it also shows that the quality of facts are deteriorating as journalists create a news story about these British men when they do not know all the facts and they are only aware of the information that these men have told journalists. It makes us question the reliability and accuracy of news stories and the quality of journalism. 

Week 3 - 'Met investigates filmed confrontation between driver and police officer'

'Met investigates filmed confrontation between driver and police officer' 
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/17/filmed-confrontation-between-driver-and-police-officer-goes-viral

• Police officer attacked a car after the driver refuses to get out - brutal footage was leaked 
• Clip was shared on social media and viewed over 40,000 times 
• The footage was shared by a former member of So Solid Crew 
• Video has been shared thousands of times on Twitter and Instagram 
• This footage has now become evidence 

From this news story we can see the importance of new digital media as camera phones have enabled footage that can be used as evidence to emerge. The fact that this footage is also able to be streamed globally through the social media platform enables audiences to be aware. The act of sharing this video online has an instant response from thousands and even millions of people, which benefits audiences to receive a response from important videos. It also allows first hand assessing as evidence in criminal situations; this idea of citizen journalism therefore allows more authentic sources of information to be shared online, offering benefits for audiences. 

Blog task: Ofcom report into news consumption 2015

1) Read this Ofcom 2015 report on the consumption of news in the UK. Note down the key statistics and changes that Ofcom document.

• Primary source is a news survey commissioned by Ofcom
• metrics on television viewing from BARB
• newspaper readership figures from the National Readership Survey
• online consumption metrics from UKOM/comScore

2) What are the most popular platforms for audiences to access news and how has this changed in recent years?

• Television  - most popular
• Apps/internet
• Newspaper
• Radio  - least popular 

3) How do different age demographics access news in the UK?

• 9 in 10 adults in the UK say that they follow the news 
• 67% of adults use television as a source of news
• Those aged 55+ are more likely to watch news on television, newspapers and radio than those aged 16-24 
• around 51% of 16-24 year olds use TV for news; around 86% of 55+ use TV for news 
• 21% 16-24 year olds use newspapers; 44% of 55+ use newspapers
• 23% 16-24 year olds radio; 37% 55+ radio 
• 59% 16-24 year olds news online; 23% over 55 news online 

4) Does socio-economic status change attitudes to news? If so, how?

• People in AB socio-economic group more likely than those in DE socio-economic group to consume news on any of the 4 platforms 
• TV = 71% AB; 67% DE
• Internet = 50% AB; 29% DE
• Newspaper = 38% AB; 26% DE 
• Radio = 46% AB; 23% DE 

5) How many different sources of news are used on average? How does differ between different groups?

• Number of sources people use has remained the same year on year 
• 44% of TV users said they used just one source (42% in 2014) compared with 43% of internet users (45% in 2014), 34% for newspapers (35% in 2014) and 60% for radio (62% in 2014) 
• 71% of those who consume news use no more than three providers and 30% use only one provider
• 48% of UK adults watch BBC One News; 27% use ITV 
• BBC Website/app is third most used source - 23% 
• Most used radio stations are BBC radio 4 and BBC radio 2 both at 8% 
• Most used newspapers are The Sun and The Daily Mail both at 6% 

6) How has news consumption through television changed in recent years?

• BARB figures shows that in 2014 each adult watched 108 hours of national and international news - decrease of 7 hours since 2013
• News on the BBC main channels and BBC News accounted for 77% of all viewing 
• 16-24 each watched just 25 hours of news on television in 2014; 189 hours 55+
• 16-24 18% on ITV; 12.5% for 55+ 
• Channel 4 = 16-24 5.8% and for 55+ 2.3% 
• BBC one most used = 72% of adults 
• ITV second most used = 41% of adults 
• BBC News Channel third most = 20% of adults 

7) How much has news consumption through newspapers declined since 2005?

• Reach of newspapers has decreased more than 27% since 2005 
• 72.4% in 2005 would have used newspapers and in 2015 45.4% use newspapers
• When print and online readership combined The Daily Mail most widely read with 5.5million users; The Sun = 5.2million 
• Ofcom survey - newspapers; The Sun 20%, The Daily Mail 19%, The Daily Mirror 13% 

8) How does newspaper reach differ by age group?

• 16-34 year olds more likely to read The Sun = 27% - The Metro 25%
• 55+ 15% say they read The Sun - The Metro 5%
• Older readers are more likely to read The Daily Mail 27%; 16-34 year olds = 14% 

9) Which are the most popular newspapers and websites in the UK? What do you know about those newspapers' political viewpoints?

• Most popular newspaper is The Sun 20% of UK adults; it is a tabloid newspaper that supports the Labour party 
• The Daily Mail 5.5 million users combined with print and online - right wing tabloid newspaper, supporting the conservative party 

10) How does online news consumption differ for age, gender and socio-economic status?

• 59% of 16-24 year olds use internet or apps for news; 23% of 55+ 
• ABC1 53% use internet or apps compared to 32% C2DE 
• Men 45%; women 37% 
• 25% of UK adults say they access news via phone 
• 20% of UK adults use laptop/netbook 
• 13% of UK adults use a tablet 
• 42% of 16-24 year olds access news via phone 
• 8% of 55+ access news via phone 

11) What percentage of people use social media to access news? How does this differ by age and socio-economic status?

• 61% of 16-24 year olds access news through social media 
• 26% of 55+ use social media to access news 

12) What percentage of users only use social media sites for their news?

• 43% of users use social media sites for their news 

13) What are the most popular online sites for news?

• 56% use BBC website or app compared to 59% in 2014 
• 29% use Facebook compared to 17% in 2014 
• 15% use the Google search engine 
• 14% use Sky news website or app 

14) What percentage of 16-24 year olds access news mostly from social media?

• 43% of 16-24 year olds access news mostly from social media 

15) How do audiences find stories online? Do you follow links or go to the homepage of the news provider?

• The most popular way is to go on the app 36% 
• 28% go from a link from a friend on social media or website links 
• 27% use URL and search for website directly 
• 26% use the aggregator of online news such as Google 

I personally would either use the aggregator for example Google news or I would find my news online through social media, most likely Twitter 

16) What are the benefits for audiences from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry?

51% of 16-24 year olds use a website or an app to access their news showing the importance of new and digital media on younger audiences in particular as elder audiences 53% said they use a TV channel to access their news. The benefits of having websites and apps to access news is the accessibility and readily available sources; you are able to access a greater variety of sources from different online providers, making it easier and quicker for audiences. 

17) What are the benefits for institutions from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry?

New institutions are able to be formed and to incorporate news sources into their apps, for example Snapchat now has a news source function which allows the amount of users to increase due to the fact that users are able to use Snapchat and be updated with news stories simultaneously. Advertising is also a benefit for institutions as the amount of advertising on websites has increased due to data mining and cookies, therefore advertising suits the individual using the news source. 

18) What are the downsides for audiences as a result of new and digital media in news?

We do not know how reliable and trustworthy news sources are. BBC News was rated highly for trustworthiness, reliability and accuracy. Although online news sources allow users to access a range of opinions, the accuracy is also questionable as anyone is able to post sources; can you ever trust everything online? The accessibility and ease of getting the information makes audiences not question whether it is of a high quality, however due to anyone being able to post anything on the internet, the reliability is questionable unless directly from a trusty source such as BBC news. This therefore has a downside as audiences are not able to trust everything they see online. 

19) What are the downsides for institutions as a result of new and digital media in news?

The print platform is unquestionably in decline and the broadcast platform is now suffering too, therefore institutions have to find ways to keep them updated, therefore are now going online or updating the look or feel of their broadcasting. The downside of the print media in decline is the fact that no one will be buying newspapers anymore, therefore institutions will suffer as they won't make any money from advertising as no one reads a newspaper due to the accessibility through mobile phones and tablets. Broadcast; television is being less watched by the younger generation, however the news channels such as BBC one according to Ofcom reports are still being watched by over half of UK adults, showing promise for the channel for a couple more years at least; however BBC have already had BBC 3 go online, showing that the platform is suffering. 

20) Who has benefited most from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry - audiences or institutions?

Social media has enabled both audiences and institutions to benefit through this new and digital media. In journalism, newsgathering is much easier to get as journalists are able to gather more news from different online sources and from other journalists, therefore could better the report as material could be better. The audience engagement is able to be suited to the different audiences across the media platforms through this as institutions are able to include a range of sources within their reports to create a more accurate and further developed new story. Through social media, institutions are also able to see what audiences like about their stories and what they can change to improve; it allows their stories to go viral in a quick amount of time due to the efficiency of social media. Institutions make money from their websites through selling advertising space, therefore the amount of money that they can make from being online is vast as the more popular the website the more advertising it would get and therefore make more revenue. Institutions therefore benefit from the changes in new digital media due to the increase of advertising.Social media also allows institutions to have accounts on a variety of websites to make it easier for audiences to engage with the institution from different websites and apps, for example BBC News not only has an app and a website but they also have a Twitter/Facebook and Instagram page which allows younger audiences to benefit from this as they are able to keep up to date with news stories and be exposed to the same institution through different online sources. This therefore helps both audiences and institutions; in terms of audiences the variety of different sources they are exposed to would range, allowing them to access a variety of ideologies. Convergence culture benefits audiences as they are able to keep updated through their phone devices and tablets - convergence means that all digital media can be accessed from one place at the same cost through their broadband or through phone contracts. Overall the impact that social media has had on audiences makes it easier for them to access a variety of ideologies; dominant and alternative. 

Furthermore, the idea of citizen journalism also benefits audiences as they are able to democratise the media and make it free from traditional gatekeepers. Blogs and forums also allow audiences to post news stories for others to see. The advantages of citizen journalism are that the quality of journalism would be more raw and authentic than that from a large institution such as Sky News as their news stories would go through an editing process, whereby selected information is shown to audiences. This idea of manipulation is an issue that does not benefit audiences however benefits an institution to reveal what they want as they can manipulate their news stories to suit them. The benefit of citizen journalism is the fact that the sources are authentic, there is of course still the issue of manipulation, however this is not a huge case as most would want to reveal the events live. This therefore links to social media again as citizen journalism is most likely seen on social networking sites and on Periscope or YouTube. The fact that someone is able to post a video directly and instantly online for several to see benefits other audiences as they are able to be exposed to news events that are happening live even before journalists have covered the story. This is a disadvantage for institutions as they would need to reveal a clear story of the events due to information already being revealed by other sources. It also poses a problem as if an audience member has already seen coverage of the story from a citizen journalist video then they are less likely to go onto a news channel or website to get more coverage of the events. 

Overall, I think that audiences have benefited more so from changes in new digital media due to the fact that audiences are able to choose the source of news that they use. Although audiences may be exposed to a variety of ideologies through different news sources on social media or through website links, the power is still held by the audience member as they have the option to consume that media source. 

NDM Baseline Assessment: LR

WWW:

• There are some impressive sections to this and it's great to see a selection of theories and examples

EBI:

• Overall this lacks question focus, there are whole chunks in the middle that are hard to relate to the question. Keep focused on the key words
• Consider institutional power more. You mention it in a couple of places but don't really get into the debate whether audiences really have any freedom 
• Develop your examples e.g Soundcloud and always link back to the question 

Developments in new/digital media mean that audiences now have access to a greater variety of views and values. To what extent are audiences empowered by this development?

Social media is unquestionably a development that has enabled and perhaps even empowered audiences as they are able to access a greater variety of views and values. The inclusion of opinion leaders makes audiences more influenced by the ideologies of those people that they admire. The two step flow model theory relates to social media as the information that audiences get are influenced by the opinion of others. This would offer a variety of views to be exposed to audiences; this is also reinforced by the act of retweeting on Twitter as followers who may not necessarily access or be interested by particular views would be exposed to new ideas. This would impact an audience in a number of ways as if something that is influential is being retweeted by an opinion leader it may effect an audience member and empower them as they are able to be influenced by these ideologies. However, this could also be seen as a negative influence on audiences as opinion leaders hold majority of the power, therefore this could be seen as a manipulative technique as opinion leaders have the control to sway an audience in a particular direction. For example with political debates such as the EU referendum J K Rowling, who has over 8.3 million followers, tweeted that people should vote remain and compared campaigners to Lord Voldemort. To tweet such an explicit tweet to reveal her views on the referendum would have influenced millions of people; this would therefore empower audiences to follow the opinions of those opinion leaders or perhaps may cause controversy due to their own views challenging Rowling's for example.
There is also less censorship due to the fact that what is now classed as unethical or derogatory differs from person to person; this could effects audiences and the views and values that they are exposed to as there could be more unethical data and unreliable sources as we cannot trust everything on the internet. Less censorship also leads to the idea of more freedom of speech as you are able to portray personal opinions without it being removed due to your portrayal of personal views and values. Countries like North Korea have denied access to any form of social media, therefore blocked access to outside information, this reveals how that country are unable to access a greater variety of views and values due to the power of the leader being corrupt, however it could also be seen as a way of not being manipulated by the media and the influence it does have on audiences as they are empowered by others and could potentially cause a rebellion or the production of a new found voice. This idea of manipulation and influence also relates to the Hypodermic Needle model as audiences can be effected by the media. The influence of citizen journalism enables audiences to be part of the media and provide a raw, authentic news coverage - camera phones have made this possible and the easy access to social media enables audiences to quickly post incidents even before they have been released by the press; this would therefore aid audiences to be aware of a wide source of information with news, from raw authentic sources before actual news channels cover the cases. Audiences would therefore be empowered by citizen journalism as they are able to access the authentic clips and facts from other people instead of the broadcasting channel. Furthermore, social media also has the ability to bring groups together to form opinions and counteract big government and political issues, the most recent being the Black Lives Matter campaigns. The case of Alton Sterling, July 5th, generated the hashtag #blacklivesmatter globally, which reveals the influence that user generated content has as audiences are able to voice their own ideologies, which other users are able to be positively or perhaps negatively be influenced by. The fact that a hashtag is able to trend globally on Twitter allows large groups of people to understand the issues that are at the forefront of the world today and would therefore expose nearly all Twitter users to important views and values; this allows audiences to be up to date with news stories and important, relevant information that is happening around the world today, empowering audiences to be able to access such information at ease; this makes e-media and in particular social media, a great platform for audiences to become empowered and to access a great variety of views and values.

Week 2 - 'Wireless signals can detect your feelings with new device'

'Wireless signals can detect your feelings with new device' 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/wifi-emotion-sensor-1.3770436

Researchers believe that technology can be used by advertisers to keep an audience interacted. A new device called the EQ- Radio has been created at the Massachusetts Institution which can detect a persons emotions using wireless signals

• MIT and AI researchers said that the device is 87% accurate in measuring whether someone is excited, happy, sad or angry
• As accurate as an electrocardiogram monitor, which uses senses on the body to measure your heartbeat 
• Can be used in film studios and advertising agencies to gauge audiences reactions 
• Can be used in homes to adjust temperatures based on mood or even in health care 

I think this new technology is really interesting in terms of what it can do but I also think there are many ethical issues with this device as if the applications are applied at workplaces, workers may not want their employer knowing how they're feeling and this could raise a lot of issues as some people are not comfortable with speaking about their emotions. Similarly, with advertising the same issues are raised. 

Week 2 - 'Why Facebook is public enemy number one for newspapers, and journalism'

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

https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/sep/20/why-facebook-is-public-enemy-number-one-for-newspapers-and-journalism

There has been criticism around Facebook and how it is luring away readers and advertisers. 

• Jemima Kiss, in her article, "A Giant May Eat Us," says she contends that the world’s leading social media site is exerting both an “increasing domination of internet advertising revenue and control of a significant part of a critical distribution platform.”
• Users put loads of information about themselves online in order for advertising to be targeted at them through the idea of data mining and cookies, newspapers are unable to do this
• Social media is killing all other traditional means of media and journalism 

I personally do think that social media is killing traditional media platforms as everything is accessible on one site now so why would we need to go and buy a newspaper when we can be updated with news stories on Facebook. It makes it easier for us and in a generation that is lazy and wants everything within the touch of a button, it makes it easy to see what choice we'd rather make. 

Week 1 - 'How young viewers are abandoning television'

'How young viewers are abandoning television'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/11146439/How-young-viewers-are-abandoning-television.html

Broadcasters are now fearing that the broadcast platform may be suffering and in decline like the print industry. 

• Britons watched an average of 11 minutes less television in 2013 than the previous year, when total viewing was boosted by the London Olympics
• First decline across the board since 2010
• Television consumption by 16 to 24-year-olds fell for the third year in a row. On average they watched 148 minutes per day last year, compared with 169 minutes in 2010
• biggest declines in viewing by young people are in the north and Scotland, where they watched more television to begin with
• "All traditional media companies are affected by technological changes, so in this country whether it is newspapers or magazines or television, the increase in penetration of tablets and smartphones has had a substantial effect on consumption, particularly in younger demographics."
  - Claire Enders
• "But they are by far the biggest viewers of TV watched on other devices. However, we don’t have the figures for this yet as BARB is still in the process of beginning to measure non-TV set viewing. So we need clarity on overall volume. But what is clear is that TV remains the dominant youth medium both in terms time spent watching it, reach and culturally."
  - Lindsey Clay
• EE, which launched its new television service on Wednesday, is aiming to capitalise on the trend with a system that is built for multiple screens