Story #69

http://fortune.com/2016/12/05/social-media-ad-spending-newspapers-zenith-2020/

"Social Media Ad Spending Is Expected to Pass Newspapers by 2020"

The article addresses how the amount of money spent on advertising on social media is set to catch up with newspaper ad revenues by 2020, as leading forecaster said. There is discussion about how the rapid expansion of the digital age has lead to a huge change in the way how consumers get their news through more convenience via the world wide web. Consumers are targeting themselves to much easier and "lazier" ways of getting information which just so happens to be from the Internet, leaving no room for newspapers which require money, plus the need to read.

• global advertising expenditure on social media will account for 20% of all internet advertising in 2019, hitting $50 billion and coming in just one percent smaller than newspaper ads
•  It expects social media to overtake newspapers comfortably by 2020
• global advertising expenditure will grow 4.4% in 2017, the same rate as in 2016, which it said would be a strong performance given that big events like the Olympic Games, Britain's EU referendum and the U.S. presidential election boosted advertising this year
• Online video advertising is also rapidly growing and set to total $35.4 billion across the world by 2019

Case Study Summaries

Class case study summaries: 

Ladan - Social network Twitter

Twitter's 140 character limit simplifies politician's expression

Mentioning of "Black Twitter", where #BlackLivesMatter is popularised

Echo chamber of politics and the effects the audience/society can have on it 

Social media to voice their opinions 

Abayomi - Spotify Music streaming

'Unification of citizens' come together from different countries and come to listen to music 

75% of users using Spotify's free trials 

CD/DVD albums are susceptible to the effect caused by Spotify's streaming services

Amrit - Social media Instagram

Pluralism - Good for Instagram as it can be used for expression

Hyper-reality - fake reality 

Unrealistic expectations of beauty standards set

Sunny - Social media and American politics

UGC of Internet "memes" spread across, humouring Donald Trump

Use of Reddit "The front page of the Internet" where users express politics for social change

Fake News causing havoc in communities and misinforming to support the creator's intended agenda

Callum - Gaming industry - Activision and Blizzard

PC community building "mods" to create maps

$118.6 billion forecast 

The impact the gaming community has on the new and digital media - aids the marketing process

Katie - Documentaries/Netflix

Piracy of shows and movies damage the nature cashflow of the industry

A show called 'The Crown' spend £750k in a day to budget the one episode

No distribution costs when uploaded to the Internet online

Khadijah - Netflix

Founded in 1977

Globalisation of Netflix - everyone is attracted to it

Binge watchers gained because of its huge attraction

Harkiran - Film industry and distribution

Lionsgate

1 cinema trip = 7 months of Netflix

Marxist argue that the economic power lies to the distributors 

MEST3 PPE - Learner Response

1.) 
WWW: Some use of media terminology and theories.
EBI: Section B is too short - need to be 3+ pages!

2.) I did not meet my target grade - I need an additional 16 marks to meet my target grade.

3.) 
For Section A including questions 1-3, I made the following potential points:

• Use of a narrative voice over
• Use of soundtrack to establish tone
• Opportunities for audiences to express their own values and beliefs
• Role of audiences in providing feedback to media products
• Changes in media technology / impact upon audiences and producers

4.) 

My strongest question in Section A was 2. Question 2 'How do media products encourage audiences to agree with a certain set of values and beliefs?' I think I did particularly better in this question than the others due to the fact that I incorporated other media products such as 'Gone Too Far' by Destiny Ekaragha. I also demonstrated some use of media terminology such as the uses and gratifications of both media products.

5.) My weakest question in Section A was 3. Question 3 'Should the media provide accessible platforms for alternative or oppositional voices?' This was due to the fact that my answer was relatively short.

6.) For Section B I chose question 6 and covered:

• Impact upon, and responses of, traditional media producers
• Recent developments in new and digital media
• Changing demands of audiences

However, my answers were short and vague, and needed more elaboration to gain marks

7.) 

Q1.) As in the examiner's report stated, I missed out using the word 'media'. My paragraphs also were lacking media terminology.

Q2.) Missing more use theory and set of values offered by other media products, such as 'Gone Too Far' in my case.

Q3.) Missing out conclusion and comments on whether that the media 'should' provide platforms for alternative or oppositional voices.

Q6.) Made use of only one media product (Ill Manors in my case), and therefore lacked content to discuss about

8.)
Section A question 3:

The media's accessible platforms allows for alternative or oppositional voices. An influence that fuels this is new and digital media's social networks. Social apps ranging from Twitter to Facebook allows a demonstration of "free speech". Whether that the media "should" give the audience this opportunity is a question of how the audience themselves would want to use and consume information from the Internet. 

The role of media on people's everyday lives is a huge catalyst towards what hegemonic beliefs are set in the status quo. Objectively, specifically in the UK of the 18-to-24-year-olds surveyed, 28% cited social media as their main news source, which may seem like a relatively low number at first sight but once social media's endless synergy and links start to get involved, the numbers can quickly arise and have an impact. Fake news is the issue derived from this, and is rapidly growing causing a moral panic.

An example of this includes director Ben Drew or known by stage name "Plan B", who released ILL Manors a film presenting the slums of London and the hardships of life involved within the urban and "ghetto" teenagers/young adults, involving drug dealing to prostitution. He demonstrates his own passion and ethos of this film in his TEDx lecture, explaining his use of the media's platform to raise awareness on how misrepresented these types of characters are in the real world by the media. Ben Drew as a result acts as an opinion leader that is creating this new "echo chamber" that spreads a more positive view of the slums of London. Ben Drew even could be seen to be a model figure and pioneer for the unheard voices of the teenagers of London themselves, given the media is constantly casting them a bad name with derogatory headlines and their involvement with anti-social behaviour. This as a result demonstrate's Ben Drew's use of certain platforms that give an alternative and oppositional reading to audiences, particularly those foreign to the UK who might be interested in the country's history and context. 

His use of social networks such as Twitter has fueled this. Previously mentioned, not only did the TEDx talk and his other interviews vocalise the issues derived from the underclass youth and post riot London, but it also encouraged him to start a campaign called '#TAGLONDON'. The hashtag in Twitter is known to create a synergy of links throughout the Twitter universe, ultimately attracting attention. Twitter's special features such as the 're-tweet' button also influenced the campaign's awareness. This platform as a result gave users the opportunity to voice their opinions whether it was alternative or oppositional. Simply, they could re-tweet, like and comment on the official Ill Manors Twitter account post to show their support, which as a result means the audience themselves are collectively empowered to use these media platforms in order to allow their alternative/oppositional voices. 

story #68

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/french-voters-deluge-fake-news-stories-facebook-twitter-russian-influence-days-before-election-a7696506.html

story #68 "French social media awash with fake news stories from sources ‘exposed to Russian influence’ ahead of presidential election"

As the article states, French voters have been deluged with fake news stories on their social media feeds ahead of the country's presidential election, many from sources "exposed to Russian influence", new research has found.  

Researchers from Oxford University found up to a quarter of the political links shared on Twitter in France were based on misinformation. They were identified as deliberately false and expressed “ideologically extreme, hyper-partisan or conspiratorial" views with logical flaws and opinions presented as facts.

Another study published this week from the private research group Bakamo shows many of the fake news reports came from sources "exposed to Russian influence”. Facebook recently suspended 30,000 suspected automated accounts in France with many of the profiles distributing politically driven misinformation and propaganda. On Twitter, where automated accounts are allowed, many accounts that were used to promote Donald Trump have now turned their attention to pushing conspiracy theories and far-right ideas, according to Kevin Limonier, who is studying the manipulation of social media in the French election and and Clinton Watts, a former FBI agent and now a senior fellow at the George Washington University Center for Cyber and Homeland Security.

story #67

https://tribuneonlineng.com/media-icon-tasks-stakeholders-collaboration-save-print-media/

story #67 Media icon tasks stakeholders on collaboration, to save print media

As the article states, Malam Kabiru Yusuf, Chairman, Daily Trust Newspapers, on Saturday called on editors, journalists and media owners to work together  to bring  the nation and the media  out of recession.

Yusuf made the call at the Biennial Convention of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in Lagos. The Convention Chairman said that the media industry began to experience recession long before it hit the nation’s economy.

He lamented that newspaper readership was on the decline and called on stakeholders to adopt strategies to save the print media.

Yusuf, however, noted that the social media was not responsible for the decline, as according to him, the decline started long before the advent of the social media.

He urged the stakeholders to collaborate to rekindle the interest to read newspapers again in Nigerians, in order for the media to continue to remain relevant.

He said that due to the decline in the purchasing power of the Naira, Publishers now published fewer copies and scrambled for adverts to survive.

story #66

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/apr/15/journalism-faces-a-crisis-worldwide-we-might-be-entering-a-new-dark-age

Story #66 Journalism faces a crisis worldwide – we might be entering a new dark age

As the article states, Australia’s two largest legacy media organisations recently announced big cuts to their journalistic staff. Many editorial positions, perhaps up to 120, will disappear at Fairfax Media, publisher of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, and News Corporation announced the sacking of most of its photographers and editorial production staff.
Both announcements were accompanied by corporate spin voicing a continuing commitment to quality journalism. Nobody in the know believes it. This is the latest local lurch in a crisis that is engulfing journalism worldwide.
Now, partly thanks to Donald Trump, many more people are turning their mind to the future of news, including “fake” news and its opposite.
News media for most of the last century appeared to be one relatively simple business. Gather an audience by providing content, including news. Sell the attention of the audience to advertisers. The internet and its applications have brought that business undone. As any householder can attest, the audience no longer assembles in the same concentrations. The family no longer gathers around the news on television. Most homes have multiple screens and news is absorbed as it happens.