NDM - Sun political editor in Page 3 Twitter row over Labour MP's choice of skirt

This article focuses on a Twitter argument over the Page 3 ban between Tom Newton Dunn and Stella Creasy. Tom Newton Dunn is the political editor of The Sun newspaper who criticised the way MP Stella Creasy was dressed at the Commons question time.

"In the meeting she asked David Cameron whether his lack of support for the 'No More Page' campaign was based on the perspective of Tom Newton Dunn, who argued that Page 3 provides jobs for girls". In response to this, Newton Dunn tweeted "Boldly, @stellacreasy has just asked the PM to justify Page 3 - while wearing a bright blue PVC skirt in the Commons chamber". As a result, Creasy fired back by tweeting, "@tnewtondunn and of course look forward to your commentary on Cameron's shiny blue tie too in failing to answer it tom ...#sauceforthegoose". The conflict between the two individuals on Twitter establishes the importance of this issue. Notably, Dunn stated that, "We allow our readers, rather than politicians, to be the judge [on Page 3]" followed by, ""I fully support ALL equal opportunity; yours to wear what you want - and p3 girls to express themselves as they want." However, Creasy was supported by the Twitter group Everyday Sexism which  posted a variety of pictures of Newton Dunn and commented about his dress sense.

Overall, to a great extent, The Sun's Page 3 column should be banned as the images objectify women, thus having an negative impact on young teenage girls. This is because, if young girls see these explicit images they may begin to believe that they have to look this certain way and it may influence them to take on jobs which exploits their sexuality.

NDM - Sexting: Victoria makes it an offence to send explicit images without consent

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/12/sexting-victoria-makes-it-an-offence

This article focuses on new laws being placed for sexting in the city of Victoria, Australia. Victoria has become the first state to censor its law on this issue and making it a offence to distribute explicit images without consent to anyone. However, this approach is also to protect young people from child pornography offences.

The government claimed that this approach has been accept by 11 of  14 recommendations from the parliamentary inquiry into sexting. He stated that the law is there to create an offence for "non-consensual sexting". This is more likely to be common with "jilted lovers maliciously send intimate pictures of their former partners to others". On the other hand, Coalition MP Clem Newton-Brown, chair of the parliament's law reform committee, argued that sending explicit pictures can have serious consequences  for the victims who are embarrassed and humiliated. Thus, the government ensured that children who distribute  the images will not be charged with children pornography. As a result, under the new laws, sexting between individuals with  two years age difference will not be illegal. However, forwarding pictures to individuals who are much older  will be illegal but the penalties for this offence are being decided.

Moreover, Robert Clark who is Victoria's attorney general stated that the issue of sexting is to make sure the appropriate penalties apply to individuals who misuses the technology. Ultimately, this new approach would make it clear to citizens that sexting will not be tolerated, while not treating young people who distribute such images as child pornographers. Thus, Clark stated that the government should do more with schools to ensure that children are being educated on how to use technology appropriately.

Overall, to some extent I agree with Victoria's new laws being placed on sexting as it does prevent child pornography and therefore protecting children. Even though the children who distribute explicit images will not be arrested or individuals between a age gap of two years, the government should acknowledge that their are couples with an age difference of more than two years. Thus, would they be arrested if they distribute explicit images?. However, this new law may be effective in protecting young people.

Arab Spring: How has Facebook changed the world? Documentary Notes

Task One
Quotes on Tunisia

• The first country which the Arab Spring occurred in December 2010
• "The internet revolution has tipped the balance of power"
• The incident started with a citizen called Mohammed who was treated harshly by the Tunisia police force. He was stamped and spitted on. Thus, Mohammed made a complain to the Town Hall, however the government Ben Ali did listen to him. As a result, Mohammed burnt himself alive infront of the Town Hall which began a conflict amongst the Tunisia citizens against the regime.
• Ben Ali was a dictator as he did not listen to his citizens, thus society was a police state which made citizens furious that there was no democracy.
• Mobile phones was a toll to show what was happening in Tunisia. This is because, press was censored and therefore citizens would capture footage on their phones to show the outside world that Tunisia has become corrupted.
• Activist Slim Amamou stated that "were are not animals so why are we being ignored". He was frustrated that citizens could not speak freely in their own countries. 
• More than 5 years individuals shared their feelings and messages on to blogs about their hatred towards their dictators.
• 25% of homes had broadband
• 90% of individuals had mobile phones. However, if citizens were caught using one they would be tortured by the police force.
• 2 million Facebook users (25%) which highlights a high lever of penetration.
• The footage of protests went viral and was picked up the Tunisia news channel Al Jazeera. As a result, this led to copy cat demonstration in other countries.
• The union was on the side of the government but the activists overcome this by jacking the union website and telling people they are going to protest.
• Warnings on the routes the policies was taking on the day of the protest was announced on Twitter.
• Live mobile streaming was available to make sure people saw what was happening. Thus, this generated an unstoppable force which led to a downfall in hierarchy.
• Ben Ali conducted his own public relation campaign revealing that there would be more democracy. However, this was a fail as he promoted it through traditional media which is no longer effective.
• On the 14th July Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia. He was ruling for 24 years.
• On the 15th July there was a fall in the regime - it took 28 days for Tunisia to become more democratic, thus highlighting the impact of new/digital media.

Task Two

Would the revolution in Tunisia happen without Facebook?

It can be argued that the revolution in Tunisia would not of happened without  Facebook as that was the source to generate awareness of the corruption occurring in the society. The government Ben Ali was a dictator and censored the press and therefore people was unaware if there was conflict between citizens or the police force. Thus, this establishes the under the regime of Ben Ali Tunisia was not a democratic society as citizens did not have the opportunity to express their views, instead they had to conform to the government orders. However, the social networking site Facebook gave citizens the opportunity to challenge the power of the heirachy by posting up messages and forming an activist group. Notably citizens were able to capture the footage of protests or incidents and publically post on to the Facebook, allowing people across the world to view it. Thus, this generated an unstoppable awareness which led more people to challenge the power of the regime and this led to copycat demonstrations in other countries associated with the Arab Spring. As a result, this highlights the concept of user-generated content which gathered millions of Tunisian's to protest against the regime in order to fulfill their goal by having a democratic society and being treated equally. According to a Pluralist perspective, the revolution of new/digital media illustrates that individuals are no longer passive users of media texts, instead they are challenging or rejecting the hegemonic values of society. This refers to the Arab Spring as citizens are actively challenging Ben Ali values and distribution their own media products (citizen journalism) to provide an awareness of the corruption taking place in their country  Ultimately, the illustrates the impact new/digital media has on the Arab Spring as social media gave activists the opportunity to protest against the dominate ideologies of Ben Ali which shifted the balance of power. 

Task 3

Quotes which support the argument for/against

Against

• A study conducted by Juergen Pfeffer and Kathleen Carley at Carnegie Mellon University found that, “the pattern of spread of the revolutions was not related to the pattern of social media usage. In other words, the social media did not cause the revolutions". http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/10/debate-flares-over-impact-of-social-media-on-arab-spring-and-other-revolutions/

For

• In Phillip Howard book 'Democracy's Forth Wave" him and colleagues stated that digital media was "consistently one of the most important sufficient and necessary conditions" for the Arab Spring movements. http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=57426

• Phillip Howard revealed that new media has made a difference as it "has so fundamentally changed the way people think about their options." http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=57426

How to tweet without ending up in prison.

This article focuses on the Peaches Geldof and  tweeting about the mothers who allowed their children to get sexually abused by Ian Watkins who was convicted for rape last year. As a result, both individuals have to face the consequences of tweeting confidential information publically. Thus, this article establishes how individuals should tweet safely without getting in trouble with the law. The steps are:

1. Do not name and shame: 19 year old women victim of Chad Evans was named more than 6,000 times on Twitter by people who thought he was innocent.
2. Do not assume it is already out there: Peaches Geldof found the names of the women on different websites and believed that they were already released by the courts. As a result, the HM Courts and Tribunals Service had published them by mistake.
3. Do not re-tweet if you would not tweet it.
4. Do not try to be clever for it.
5. Do not forget the allegedly.

This article is significant in establishing the power that individuals have to share their thoughts through social networking sites, such as Twitter. Thus, it can be argued that new and digital media gives people democracy to express thier views globally.

NDM - UsVsTh3m more than doubles its traffic in a month to 7m

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/dec/02/usvsth3m-traffic-trinity-mirror

This article focuses on Daily Mirror Buzzfeed-style social content UsVsTh3m, which doubled its traffic in a month with 7 million users in November. This establishes that the website is extremely popular with people as it includes a variety of games, videos, quizzes etc which is effective in keeping users actively engaged with the content. Notably, Trinity Mirror described this increase of traffic as a "massive boost as the site hit million users in October for the game North-o-meter. As a result, more than 3.8 million users so far had played the game and at one point 20,000 user were playing the game at the same time. Significantly, this establishes the popularity of this game amongst users which has increased the traffic.

Furthermore, seven in 10 users accessed UsVsTh3m from the UK with the average time on the site of 6 minutes and 70% of the visits came from  UK. Notably, the digital product developer Malcolm Coles stated that, "this is an amazing achievement by the team to have grown so quickly in such a short space of time and shows the importance of experimentation for publishers". Thus, this conveys that the creation of  UsVsTh3m was a effective and beneficial approach as it has become one of the popular sites with the users.

To conclude, the article clearly establishes how beneficial the website is with users the number of traffic has doubled in a month. This could be because of the different features available on the site such as a variety of games, videos, quizzes etc which keeps the users fully engaged and interacted with the social site. Notably, users can also visit the site on their tablets, Ipads or smartphone which is significant in changes that new and digital media has brought about in society, allowing individuals to use the site whenever. 

NDM - Children's tablets vulnerable to hacking, experts warn

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10494361/Childrens-tablets-vulnerable-to-hacking-experts-warn.html

This article focuses on the negative issue of children tablets as there is little protection to keep them safe online and a chance of hacking. The NCC Group stated that the result of this analysis showed that there is "little to no security and privacy engineering happens in the device marked aimed at children, putting theirs as well as your security and privacy at risk”. Significantly, this establishes that the content available online to children have be harmful for them and therefore this issue must be solved to protect them. 

Notably, the first tablet they assessed which was from a manufacturer in the Far East, the passwords on the device were sent to the manufacturer over unencrypted  connections which were "easily crackable". This conveys a negative issue of the children's tablet as companies can easily hack into their accounts and find out personal information. Furthermore, researchers recommended that "children do not use these tablets in public Wi-Fi networks or on networks where there are people you do not know or trust". This is vital in protecting children's vulnerability and keeping them protected. Additionally, a survey which was published last month highlighted that half of the UK toddlers aged between two and three are regularly using their Ipads and other tablets. One could argue that this 'digital revolution' has impacted children as well as they are frequently using technology to keep them engaged.

Overall, this article establishes the negative issues of children's tablets as little protection can put them in danger. Thus, manufacturers and companies should change their policies in order to make sure that children are protect online.

'The Virtual Revolution' Episode 2

Quotes highlighted in bold.

This part of the document focuses on the how the internet is a powerful tool in the world. The presenter Krotoski stated that "already a quarter of our population is connected, providing individual users  access to knowledge and to each other". Similarly, "the web makes openness easy and closeness more different" (Sir Tim Bernes- Lee).  This establishes that the internet is beneficial in allowing people to stay connected and the fact that many individuals are using the internet shows it is a vital source of information. Notably, the main advantage of using the internet is that it has made a society more democratic in some countries. This is established in the documentary which focuses on the protest occurred in Iran. The protest led to devastating situations of many Iranians being killed and badly injured. The result of the protest was caused by the social networking site Twitter, which was first development in San Francisco 2006.

Effectively, "It is a web phenomenon, known as the social network"(Kroteski) which led the Iranians to use Twitter to fill the rest of the world on what is happening. Additionally, the first 18 days of the protests in Iran over 2 million tweets were sent out of Iran by half a million of people. (Kroteski) Significantly "2000 tweets about Iran was posted every hour" (Kroteski) which reinforces the idea of a 'digital revolution' as social networking sites has now become the main source for individuals to express their views publically. Thus, this led to a Arab Spring which increased democracy for citizens as the "web is like a tool box or protest" (Kroteski).

 Furthermore, Wikipedia has giving individuals the opportunity to challenge the authority in society by editing the information online. Notably, the government of Iran blocked social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to stop citizens from communicating to each other. However, Austin Heap developed a software called 'Haystack' which gave the Iranians the opportunity to use the social networking sites freely without the government tracing them. Significantly, this establishes the power of the web as it "gives power for citizens to root around censorship"(Kroteski). Similarly, "the web is a fantastic resource for transmitting information and gathering people together around the issue" (Runciman).

China has the highest population of internet users compared to any nation, however the government banned citizens to use the social media. This is because, the government believe that social interaction threats the state  state and therefore he banned all western sites.

Development of new/digital media means the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the argument for and against for this view.

New and digital media can be defined as a multimedia experience where individuals can access any content portably, such as through smartphone, tablets, IPad etc. Pluralist’s argue that the mass media offers a range of products, giving consumers across the world a diversity of choice and the opportunity to create and distribute their own media products. For example, Web 2.0 is significant in allowing the audience to become producers of their own media texts. However, Marxists take a different approach on the development of new and digital media, as they argue that the media maintains the ideological hegemony and the power of the bourgeoisie in society. For instance, the government still has a large amount of control over the internet. This essay focuses on whether audience are more power in terms of producing their own texts due to the developments of new/digital media or has this ‘information revolution’ done little to empower the audience.

According a Pluralist view, one of the ways in which the audience are more power is through the manipulating the media. The development of new and digital media has made the audience actively engage with media texts as they now have access to plural views of society. For instance, the audience can now conform (accept dominate values if they wish), accommodate (question society’s values) or reject (have an alternative lifestyle). Significantly, this establishes that the audience are more power in terms of consumption and production because the rise of new and digital media has given them the opportunity to manipulate and reject the dominate ideologies produced by the mass media. Notably, the development of new and digital media has made the “internet an empowering tool” (Al Gore) which establishes that the audience have more freedom to ‘pick n mix’ whatever point of view suits them and they have more choice and knowledge available to them. Similarly, Krotoski (2012) stated that the “web is more than an empower tool as it shows no authority”. This shows that resist authority conveys that there is no hierarchy on the web which would give increase democratization in society as individuals have more freedom in expressing their views. Thus, it can be argued that the audience have come more power through the development of new and digital media. This is because, they can manipulate and challenge the dominate perspectives in society and not passively accept the ruling class ideologies.

However, Marxism criticises Pluralists view as they argue that this ‘information revolution’ has not made the audience power. This is because, the mass media still maintains the dominate ideologies of the ruling class. According to Marxist Millband, the media plays a vital role in spreading the dominate values of the ruling class as they have control access over the knowledge the audience receive. Thus, this encourages the audience to accept that there is an unequal society which makes them powerless. One could argue that the development of new/digital media does not entirely mean that the audience are power in terms of consumption and production as the mass media ensures the dominance of certain classes. An example of this would be The Frankfurt School Study (1930’s). A group of philosophers were concerned with the impact of the rise of the media industries on society. They argued that capitalism controls everything and culture is processed through the mass media, thus the audiences are powerless as they are indoctrinated by society. This could be linked to the hypodermic needle model as it further portrays the audience passiveness in accepting mainstream values and the hegemonic view of the bourgeoisie which refers to Gramsci concept. Evidently, the audience are not powerful in consumption and production despite the developments in new/digital media, as they still conform to the dominate ideologies transmitted through the mass media.

On the other hand, Pluralists argue that the media content is not driven by dominate ideology or the interest of owners, but caused by audience figures. This implies that the media will serve what is right to satisfy audiences taste. The rise of citizen journalism and user generated content (UGC) has made the audience more powerful in terms of consumption and production through the developments of new/digital media. This is because, individuals can now make the news themselves because of developments in technologies such as smartphones. Thus, this establishes the concept of UGC as consumers are now creating their own content. An example of this would be the Rodney King incident (1992) as an individual took the footage from his phone. As a result, this led to a rise in UGC as people across the world was able to access the video through the social networking site, YouTube. In contemporary society, majority of people are citizen journalists as they film videos on their phones and upload it on social networking sites for people to produce a discussion and socially interaction. In relation to Katz and Blumler Uses and Gratification theory, the audience would use the media for diversion, personal relationship, surveillance or personal identity, thus highlighting that they are active agencies. Significantly, according to Pluralists, this establishes that individuals are empowered by the development of new/digital media, as they are actively producing their own content instead of being restricted by social agencies.

In relation to this point, Chad Herly (Co-Founder of YouTube) stated that “YouTube has increased UGC” as there is “more than 1billion hits per year”. This is vital in highlighting that audiences are more power as they are producing their own content on to social networking sites and therefore they are actively engaging with the developments of new/digital media. Additionally, the Arab Spring further shows how a development of new/digital media has made the audience more power because of UGC. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter gave individuals the freedom and power to politically express their views. As a result, this triggered the protest in Egypt and Libya. According to Phillip Howard the “new media has made a difference to countries in the Arab Spring as it has changed the way people think about their options”. Thus, this has created more democracy in countries as citizens are rejecting the dominate values and are promoting their own alternative ideologies. Moreover, through UCG and citizen journalism the “web is inventing society” (Krotoski 2012), giving people more power to create and share their content through new/digital media. Evidently, this shows that owners do not have direct control over the content of the media, as consumers are producing their own. Thus, this establishes that the audience are in power.

One could justify, that the development in new/digital media has done little to make the audience more powerful as the fail to challenge the power structure in society. This is because, there are still many conglomerate in the society which has an influence on the media. For instance, the ‘Mail Online’ owned by Rupert Murdock is the most popular and successful website in the UK which recently had an increase of 150million users in October. The print edition takes a conservative right wing perspective on fundamental issues around gender, sexuality, race and favours some of the British National Party policies as well. Significantly, some of the audience passively accept the Daily Mail print and online edition values which establishes that they are not powerful. Moreover, Daily Mail chief columnist Jane More wrote a homophobic article about the death of Stephen Gatey (2009) which caused an outrage on social media. According to The Guardian, the article attracted more than 500 comments on the Mail website as the public was livid about this issue. However, the ‘Daily Mail’ did not change the editorial process based on More offensive article, thus allowing gatekeepers to keep control over the newspaper. Thus, it can be argued that the “web mirrors the hierarchy of the real world” (Krotoski 2012). According to a Marxist perspective, most journalist are white, middle class and are socialised into a set of professional values which share assumptions in maintaining the dominate values. The audience are exposed to a limited range of opinions which are associated with the dominate ideologies and are unconsciously persuaded to perceive the dominate ideologies as the view of the world. As a result, the hegemony of the ruling class ideas are maintained which establishes that the development of new/digital media has not made the audience powerful in terms of consumption and production.

In contrast, developments of new/digital media has made audience more powerful as they are now actively producing their own content on the internet and therefore have more freedom. Online blogs, forums, global information and social networking sites has increased self-expression for the audience which establishes that they are active consumers and therefore are powerful.  Through the developments of new/digital media “the web has the power to show people’s different views” (Kroteski 2012). It could be suggested that the audience are no longer passive as they can now actively challenging to dominate ideologies through social media. Significantly, “shared activity or crowdsourcing on the internet has enabled people to come together and to solve problems” (Wesch 2008). An example of this would be the 2011 Twitter campaign which caused thousands of citizens onto the streets of London to help clean the mess after the London riots. Thus, it can be argued that the development of new/digital media has empowered the audience. This is because, they can now actively produce content through social media which allows them to get their messages across to the public.

Conversely, society has become media-saturated as the media has become an important source of information and entertainment, which has made the audience passively accept mainstream ideologies. The USA reality show ‘Keeping up with the Kardashian’ focuses on the ordinary life of a wealthy family, allowing the audience to feel entertained and divert from their everyday routines. One could argue that this show presents Marxism dominate ideologies of the ruling class such as, capitalism and the traditional family type. The Kardashian family are represented as the desirable group in society which is made evident through their have a luminous house, cars, clothing’s, and jobs. It could be suggested that this representation brainwashes the audience into accepting that there is a social class divide in society of the bourgeoisie and proletariats. Thus, this highlights that the audience are passive consumers of the media. Similarly, Big Brother also establishes that audience are powerless as individuals are monitored by surveillance cameras. As a result, their behaviour is control by technology and therefore they are not free agents. Furthermore, in China the government heavily censors and filters web content which establishes that the individuals have little freedom. Thus, this makes the audience powerless in terms of production and consumption.

Overall, it can be argued equally whether developments in new/digital media has made the audience powerful in terms of consumption and production. Some may agree with this statement as the audience have more freedom to actively engage with the media. This is clearly established through Pluralist perspective as “the audience are seen as capable of manipulating the media in an infinite variety of ways according to their prior needs and disposition” (McQuail). In contrast, others would argue that the developments of new/digital media has done little to give the audience power as they are still passive consumers of the media. Marxism makes an important contribution to the issue as they recognise that the media plays a vital role in brainwashing the audience to accept the dominate ideologies of the ruling class. Evidently, this shows that the debate over this issue is still unresolved.

NDM - BBC turns One Direction's way as they woo a more mature audience

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/27/bbc-one-direction-story-my-life-radio-1

This article focuses on the successful boy band One Direction new song 'Story of my Life' which attracted the older demographic on Radio 1 and 2. A BBC spokesman stated that both Radio 1 and Radio 2  make the decisions on what to play based on what the audience want to hear. Thus, One Direction album 'Midnight Memories' has become popular amongst the older audience. Notably, The Observer Kitty Empire gave One Direction album three stars and stated that it "does the job" and "looks certain to cement them as global phenomenon".

However, The Daily Beast revealed that the album is not great and "in the finest pop culture it's not  really suppose to be". Also, they stated that the album is just "really a bunch of aspiring singles jumped together, jostling for attention". This clearly establishes that One Direction album has mixed reactions on Radio 1 and 2 as some people dislike it. Moreover, a review from Michigan Daily also stated that is is "really surprisingly how terrible executed Midnight Memories is. Additionally, "the record's artificial and  over done style is the musical equivalent of putting a poem through five different languages in Google Translate and then seeing what it looks like again in its original tongue.

Overall, this "tug of war"  highlights the mixed reviews over One Direction album. Personally, I believe that there is no issue with playing One Direction song on Radio 1 and 2 as it gives people a new variety of songs which may appeal to them.

NDM - BT to add music service to TV offerings

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/28/bt-tv-music-service-universal-music
This article focuses on BT launching a music streaming and karaoke service which would be supported by the Universal Music. The service will offer about 150 albums of music tracks, which subscribers can listen to through BT TV service. Notably, the service is available for free for existing BT TV Unlimited customers and £3 a month for other BT customers who want to add it.

Moreover, BT executives stated that this approach may hope to bring other major music companies and independent record labels. In October 2009 BSkyB launched a "much hyped music downloads subscriptions service" which they hope to attract millions of users. Additionally, on Thursday BT Sport announced its latest deal signing a multi-year contract with the National BasketBall Association.

Personally, it is a good idea for BT to launch a music stream and karaoke service as it would attract and appeal to the audience. Also, this approach may bring music companies and independent record labels together which is beneficial.

NDM - David Cameron defends opposition to Page 3 ban

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/22/david-cameron-page-3
Quotes highlighted in blue.
Important information highlighted in purple.

This article focuses on David Cameron disagreeing with the issue on banning  Page3 despite that effort to tackle online pornography. He argued that there is a difference between newspapers which parents can keep away from their children, and the children teenagers can watch legal pornography whenever they want. Similarly, in a BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour he argued that there is a difference between images online and the images show in newspaper. 

Cameron revealed, "I've said what I've said about Page 3 and the Sun and I haven't changed my views. But should we do more to try and help parents to protect their children from legal pornography on the internet? Yes I think we should, and again last week we made some big progress on that". This is followed by, "You can control your children's access to newspapers and books and magazines. The problem with the internet is that our children are all online and they're using YouTube and they're searching for videos and the rest of it and there's a danger that they can stumble across really quite, sometimes hardcore legal pornography."

Furthermore, he stated that the plan is for BT, Virgin, Sky and Talk Talk to make sure that every household offered a default-on filter to stop those images coming through. This would be useful as parents would have the control on stopping their children to seeing harmful images. 

Personally, I disagree with David Cameron's view that newspaper images and online images. This is because, both newspaper and online pornography objectifies women which is unacceptable, especially for young females.  Thus, newspapers should be equally banned as they portray sexualised images of women which is soft porn and harmful for teenagers as well.

NDM - Universities should use Twitter to engage with students

http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/nov/22/universities-twitter-engage-with-students

This article focuses on the social networking site Twitter and if universities should use it to engage with their students. The journalist Maria explains why this approach would be useful as at her university there has been an explosion of social media. For example, in facilities, societies, libraries and even the security have Twitter accounts. Notably, universities are acknowledging this fact and according to research, "75% of students in Europe admit using Twitter all the time" and "42% of under 20-year olds use social media mainly to stay up-to-date".

Furthermore, Andrea Sella professor at UCL stated that, "There's a real need to make sure that students remain engaged"Finding innovative ways to get students interested and connected is a crucial part of what I think teaching is becoming." Thus, this shows that it would be a good approach if universities would use Twitter to engage with their students. Notably, Twitter could use another approach to reach to students which would be to share content and provide information. Thus, students can ask questions, having conversations and joining discussions or debates.

However, a postgraduate student from UCL stated, ""I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable discussing any queries or academic difficulties on social media. It forms a personal record that can be used to define you". Similarly, professor Sella says, "some of my colleague very skeptical" and thus this shows that they would not be happy with using Twitter. 

Overall, to some extent, it would be useful for universities to use Twitter to engage with their students as society has now entered a digital age. Thus, most people are now using social media to contact individuals and find out information. However, to a greater extent, I would not be in favor of this approach because it wont be appropriate for students discussing any of their difficulties on social media as it would be personal.

Plan: Why and with what success are traditional media institutions adapting to the challenges posed by new/digital media?

Focusing on News Corporation

What does this question mean? 
1. How has Murdock changed his strategy to make News Corp dominate online.
2. What has News Corp done to remain in hierarchy despite of the changes in new and digital media (how has Murdoch remained competitive)

Introduction

• Define what is ment by traditional media and what is new and digital media (giving examples)
• State a clear argument - Are traditional media institutions adapting to the challenges posed by new/digital media or are they failing to remain in hierarchy because of this digital evolution? 
• Give a brief outline about News Corporation which would state that I will be focusing on this media institution.

Agreeing with the question

Paragraph one

 Focus on The Sun+

• Print media must conform to this digital evolution into to make their products successful in society.
• Print institutions need to make sure that their consumers are happy with their online content in order to maintain their readership figures.
• Example: The Sun Newspaper
• Largest circulation of any daily newspaper in the UK
• January - June 2012 on average it had 7.3 million readers - 34% ABC1 / 64% C2DE demographic.
• Murdock - adapting to this digital age - introduced Sun+  (August 2013) available for individuals to access smartphone apps etc.
• He is still successful through the pay wall.
• BBC article quote about The Sun+ pay wall.
• Sun+ offers videos of all premier league goal videos appeal to the male audience/ includes a page3 link as well.
• Subscribers cost - £2
• App Price - 69p
• The Sun Ipad editon - £4.99
• Adapt to new/digital media can be seen through the variety of features.

Paragraph 2

Digital Time

• Guardian Article - subscribers rose  by 7.5% (2012) between September and January.
• 35% are reading the news on their tablets.
• Access The Times and The Sunday Time - £1 per day or £2 for a week to access both.
• Subscription depends on which 'pack' the audiences' are interested in. 'The Web Pack' - cost £2 per week and 'The Digital Pack' - £299 with a free Nexus 7 for 18month.
• Primary audience - ABC1 middle class.
• Ipad and Android edition of The Times.

Paragraph 3

• State Murdock's quote about technology shifting power away from editors.
• The Sunday Times Ipad app was named the newspaper app of the year at the 100 newspaper.
• BBC article - online news has become easier to sell. This is because, consumers are willing to pay.
• Digital payment has become norm - offer exclusive news which would not be available on a print copy.
• Guardian article - 2013 55% of adults use the internet to read  or download content from the newspaper.
• News online has caused a decline in most newspapers/magazine.

Paragraph 4

• Audience no longer have to reply on traditional media - UGC (interact with the online edition) / citizen journalism/ empowerment of the audience. 
• April 2012 Murdock stated " Apple's Ipad may well be saving the newspaper industry"
• However - Murdock stragedy of increasing the pay wall in order to adapt the challenges of new/digital media caused problems.
• Guardian Article - Times pay wall went up there was a massive decline in traffic. - The Times almost lost 90% of its online readership. This shows that Murdock is adapting to this new and digital evolution however it s hard to remain in hierarchy and maintain wealth if consumers are unhappy with the price.
• Murdock purchased Myspace for $million which was one of the companies first major internet purchase.
• April 2008 Facebook overtook Myspace in the rankings. 

Conclusion.

• Summaries my argument
• To what extent I agree with this statement and why.

Research: Why and with what success are traditional media institutions adapting to the challenges posed by new/digital media?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

NDM - Adult video-on-demand website closed for failing to protect children

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/15/adult-video-on-demand-site-closed-jessica-pressley

This article focuses on the negative issues of  what is available on the internet, in this case pornography, and the impact it has on underage children. Ofcome suspended the website 'Jessica Pressley' for offering free hardcore pornography as it would have negative effects on under 18's. The website broke the rules as it was providing a free to view adult content without a pay wall which is unacceptable as it is not protect young children from viewing harmful videos.

A spokesman from Ofcome stated, "we take the protection of under 18's from inappropriate content extremely seriously. This an area of key concern for us, reflected in the swift action we took to suspend this particular website". In relation to this quote, parents may agree with Ofcom as it is harmful to show adult content videos online for free which would have negative impacts on children, thus it is their duty to shut the website down in order to protect their children. Notably, the protect of under 18s from inappropriate content is a priority for Ofcome and therefore they have every right to shut the website down.

Evidently, I agree with Ofcom closing the website down as it is wrong for them to provide free sexual adult content videos which can be harmful as children from a young age can access it. Thus, in order to protect children, website showing pornographic videos should not be providing it for free access as they could be aware of young children.

NDM Weekly - Mail Online tops 150m monthly users

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/14/mail-online-monthly-browsers-top-150m

This article focuses on the digital edition of the newspaper Daily Mail which has rapidly topped 150 million users in a month, October. The Mail Online focuses on a variety of world wide news such as TV & ShowBiz which focuses on celebrities, to current issues such as health, sport etc. Thus, this establishes that the Mail Online has become increasingly popular amongst users because it provides the spectators with a variety of issues which they can be read about. Also, majority of individuals' read the Daily Online because of TV & Showbiz to keep up-to-date with pop culture and therefore this increases the Daily Online users. 

Notably, The Daily Mail website reported 153,914,803 monthly browsers in October, up to 5.25% on the previous month which highlights the rapid increase amongst users. The article includes a statics on the monthly users amongst different newspapers which is effective in comparing which newspaper has decreased and increased amongst users. (The Data is shown in the picture below)

From the data, Mail Online is still popular amongst people as the daily average browsers are 9,606,963; whereas, The Metro has the lowest daily average browsers of 686, 735 users. The factors which may influence the amount of users could be, class, gender and occupation. For example, The Daily Mail targets class demographic of middle class individuals' usually in the age demographic early twenties and thirties. However, the newspaper includes issues for older people as well which they may be appealed in. Thus, this is more likely to be popular compared to other newspapers as The Daily Mail includes stories which would appeal to a wide demographic from young demographics to older demographics.

To conclude,  The Daily Mail online is more likely to be successful amongst other newspapers online editions because it is a world wide newspaper which covers different stories to appeal to a wide demographic. Thus, this would increase their users even more. Notably, I read the The Daily Mail more compared to other newspaper online edition for the Showbiz&TV stories because they include a wide range of issues which other newspapers do not.

NDM Summary 14/11/13

1. 15/09/13: 'Beeban Kidron' :We need to talk about teenagers and the internet.

2. 22/09/13: Plan to block payments to websites that allows children to view pornography & Sun on Sunday's Tony Parson: why I left 'dying' Daily Mirror.

3. 26/09/13: Media need to stop portraying women simply as 'touchline totty'

4. 1/10/13: Mail on Sunday in Kenya photo slip up

5. 11/10/13: BBC unlikely to debut EastEnders episodes on Iplayer before TV 

6. 17/10/13: Facebook loosens privacy restriction to allow under-18's to post globally.

7. 23/10/13: The digital subscriptions to the Times and Sunday Time stop 150,000.

8. 27/10/13: Sun apologises over 'inappropriate' Madeline McCann X Factor joke.

9. 1/11/13: Google: Policing digital content for kids does not require legislation.

10. 5/11/13: Strictly Come Dancing steps further ahead of the X Factor & ITV broke alcohol advertising media rules in You've Been Framed, says WatchDog 

11. 7/11/13: Printed Newspapers go out of fashion but have a legacy value

12. 16/11/13:  Adult video-on-demand website closed for failing to protect children

13. 16/11/13:  Mail Online tops 150m monthly users

Total: 13

WWW

• I frequently post the NDM articles every week which would benefit me in my class work and exams as I can use the examples to link to the exam question. Thus, this shows that I am up-to-date with the latest media issues in society. 
• The NDM articles I post on to my blog varies from 'Newspapers and Magazines', 'Digital Media' and 'Television'. This is beneficial for me because reading a variety of media areas expands my knowledge about the media industry and how the impact of news and digital media has impacted the audience.
• The quality of my research for each of the  the NDM articles are good. This is because, I have produced a  clear outline of the different debated and important information which would be useful for in for the exam.

EBI

• To highlight key information in the article such as statistic and academic people, which would benefit me when I prepare for the exam as I can refer to the information.
•  To produce a more detailed analysis of NDM articles and include other peoples' comments on the article from the comment section and to compare it to my own personal opinion.  

The Virtual Revolution Documentary (2010) Notes

This documentary focuses on how the internet has had an impact in different countries around the world. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of the internet and also includes expert opinions on the topic.

Important quotes from experts.

• Sir Tim Berners - Lee, "The web is about connecting humanity".
• Founder of Apple, "The internet is like the brain".
• Stephen Fry, "Celebrate the web".
• Bill Gates, "It is how mankind communicates".
• Al Gore,"A empowering tool".
• The female journalist of the documentary, "Paradigm shifts and par with the printing press.
• Al gore refers to the internet as a "exciting" and "revolutionary prospect".
• John Perrry Barlow, "The internet was the challenge to traditional authority" (Online freedom, campaignes in society, self expression should have no limits)

Statistics/ Facts

• 35 million people in the UK use the internet everyday
• 1 billion per week is spent online.
• 5 million people in the UK use dating websites in Manchester and London.
• 40% of men watch porn.
• 18 million of people in West London read online blogs which could suggest that they are educated and more interacted.

The first half of the documentary focused on the creation of the world wide web and the revolution of the internet. The example included in the documentary was Africa to get the latest broadband. This is also known as these digital divide as it shows the difference between western countries, also referred to the digital haves/have not's. As the documentary progresses, it highlights the positives of using the internet which is giving citizens the opportunity to challenge and question authority. However, the negative of the web is that some governments use it to spy on citizens therefore there is no censorship.

The Great Levelling - Does the internet give everyone freedom?

• The web allows people to publish anything virtually.
• "Wikipidea is the most importance source of the world"
• More than 65 million people use Wikipidea every month and the fact that they can edit information shows that people have power. (Shape knowledge)
• The Well (1979) was first introduced in San Francisco. Without this, social networking would of not existed.
• Blogs, online shares show freedom of speech.
• According to society it is the most powerful change,
• Compared the industrial revolution to the internet revolution (great leveller, challenge business model, power to people/equal access voice)

Second half of the document

• Ushanidi (means witness in Swahili Kenya) shows the power of the internet in making sure that the weak and vulnerable are protected. In Kenyan this web allows people to report offences.
• The web has the power to show people's different view.
• Email was created in 1969.
• The web is a "global information network"
• 1981 Tim Berners -Lee wrote the paper, invented the internet but took a while.
• 6th August 1991 the first world wide web went live.
• Being connected around the world is empowering people.
• The web is more than an empowering tool, also shows no authority. Resist authority as there is no hierarchy on the web which would lead to radical issues. This allowed people to be very free.
• The internet is a "open source" (free) no one making profit out of it.
• Bill Gates saw potential in making softwares which differs from Tim Berbers Lee. (Microsoft - monetize the internet)
• 90% of the market is virtually a monopoly.
• 1991-2001 Napster allowed people to share music for free which was illegal.
• Music privacy - 95% of music has been unpayed.
• Chad Herley - 2005 YouTube was published and increased UGC.
• More than 1 billion hits per day.
• Aleks Krotoski, "The web is more than a reflection of society, it is inventing society" 
• Aleks Krotoski, "The web mirrors the hierarchy of the real world"
• "38 million people use Google as their search engine ... Ebay  21 million... 16 million Amazon .. 1 in 3 have a Facebook account"
• 90% of blogs are dormant"
• The web has been conolised by Gatekeepers"

UsvsTh3m

1. Test Result 
http://usvsth3m.com/post/62895994604/how-much-are-you-hated-by-the-daily-mail

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/oct/30/daily-mail-quiz-usvsth3m-users-mirror-buzzfeed

2.Why this website is a good idea for newspapers in the digital age.

The digital age refers to digital media being the dominate source of information for the audience. This article focuses on how the company Daily Mirror published a Buzzfeed-style social content called UsvsTh3m which allows the audience to interact with the different games. The different games are based on on current news and events and also encourages audience to share their scores on social networking sites. Thus, highlighting the concept of user-generate content. 

This website is a good idea for newspapers in the digital age because there is a rapid development in technologies in society and therefore, the young demographic could more likely be intrigued in interacting with this website. This is because, news is unlikely to appeal to the young demographic but this website gives them the opportunity share their scores on social media (concept of UGC) which would entertain them as there are games about current affairs. Thus, the young demographics are being entertained as well as being informed. Additionally, this highlights that the UsvsTh3m is effective in the digital age is because it conveys how the people are empowered by the use of the internet as it gives them the opportunity to interact with the content and share information virally. Thus, it could be argued that this approach is beneficial in the digital age as people can read the newspaper as well as actively engaging with the different features on the website. For instance, 1.25million users, came from people playing and sharing the 'tongue-in-cheek' Daily Mail quiz.

3. My three ideas for the Us Vs Th3m feature are:

• To include a comment section about peoples' opinion on the website or about specific games etc.
• To include more videos clips which would be more entertaining for the audience especially for the young demographic.
• To produce a Youtube channel dedicated to UsvsTh3m which focuses on news and current affairs but making it more entertaining for the audience.

NDM - Printed newspapers go out of fashion but have a legacy value

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/05/printed-newspapers-go-out-of-fashion-but-have-a-legacy-value

This article focuses on the issue on how even though print newspaper is in decline it still has a legacy. For example, the Newsprint circulation on both sides if the Atlantic have been falling steadily over the 13 years. Thus, this highlights the decrease in print sales over the years. Notably, Britain's newspaper's has also decreased sales figures which could be because of the development in technology.



Additionally, the downward trend has decreased dramatically down from the total of 4.5 sales to just over 2m. The author's are aware that here is a decrease in print but they do not take in to account of the audience's are switching to online news. Furthermore, the article conveys that "60 years of daily paper sales trends up to 2010" , the authors stated that the "business model was undergoing a fundamental restructuring". Overall, I agree that there is a decline in newspaper as the development in technology has giving the audience the opportunity to read the news online or on their smartphones. Thus, majority of individuals would not be purchasing a newspaper anymore as they are aware they can access it online for free. 

NDM - Strictly Come Dancing steps further ahead of The X Factor & ITV broke alcohol advertising rules in You've Been Framed, says watchdog

Strictly Come Dancing steps further ahead of The X Factor

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/04/strictly-come-dancing-rachel-riley-x-factor

This article focuses on how the BBC1's show 'Strictly Come Dancing' had the highest viewers which was averaged 9.98million between 6:30pm and 8:15pm. This was the season's high peak of 11.1million. The Sunday's night results show became the first programme in the new series with an average of more than million viewers between 7pm - 8pm. This was a contrast with ITV's popular show 'The X factor' as Sunday night's show attracted 8.69 million viewers, but down 9.2 million viewers for the same results show last year. Additionally, Strictly Come Dancing has increased their audience continuously year after year which suggest that many of the audience now prefer watching BBC1's hit programme compared to X Factor.

In my opinion, the reason why Strictly Come Dancing has had more viewers each year compared to X Factor is because  of the age demographic. For instance, as Strictly Come Dancing is broadcast on BBC that has a wide demographic appealing to young and old demographics therefore they may be likely to be appealed to watch the show. Also, the contestant which appear on the show are celebrities therefore this may increase the viewers especially if they are fans of a celebrity. In contrast, XFactor more likely appeals to the young demographics and sometimes the contestants are not that appealing therefore it can get boring watching it each year.

 ITV broke alcohol advertising rules in You've Been Framed, says watchdog

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/sep/11/itv-alcohol-advertising-youve-been-framed

This article focuses on how ITV has been caught by Watchdog by broadcasting alcohol adverts during shows which are likely to appeal to children. For example, Watchdog discovered that alcohol adverts has been shown during  You've Been Framed and therefore ITV went against the rules for long run show (known as series average test). The Advertising Standards Authority found 38 episodes of You've Been Framed which is broadcast on ITV2 and therefore they broke the rules on alcohol advertising. Under UK rules ads are banned from appearing in or around programmes targeted at or likely to appeal to under 18 viewers. Notably, the broadcaster stated that in March it decided to slightly restrict alcohol ads in the show after 8pm weekends, bank holidays and over Easter. Thus, the ASA stated that ITV2 needed to make sure it reviews series data on a regular basis.

Overall, to some extent is partially bad to broadcast alcohol adverts around shows which is targeted or likely to appeal to viewers under the age of 18 because is its very unlikely that it would influence more children to drink. However, to a great extent, alcohol adverts should not be allowed to be broadcast around children programmes as it may give the wrong message about drinking and therefore it is better to broadcast these adverts after 8pm as that is the time where mostly parents watch programmes. 

NDM Weekly - Google: policing digital content for kids does not require legislation

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/oct/30/google-digital-content-kids-legislation

This article focuses on how more children are now using the internet on a regular basis and therefore parents need to make sure that their children are not viewing harmful content. According to the company Google, parents, filters and warnings should play  protecting their children to watch harmful content on the internet rather then legislation. Similarly, the Government is looking at this issue as part of it's communications policy strategy. This is because, there is a rapid change of technology and therefore children re more likely to use the internet. Additionally, Ofcom agree with this issue as children are in a high risk of watching harmful content online and therefore this needs to change.

Furthermore, the governments paper, Connectivity, Content and Consumers: Britain's digital platform growth states that "parents want to know that their children are safe  when they are online just as they want to know they are safe playing outside. We will act to provide  the protections and the standards that people want and expect". This is effective in showing that citizens are concerned with children safety when it comes to the internet. 

Overall, to a great extent I agree with this article as there should be filters, warning and parents should check on what their children get up to on the interest especially if they are kids because they could be in danger. For instance, there have been many headlines in the news regarding the safety of children using social networking sites and how some teenagers have been stalked, murdered and bullied online. As a result, it is the parent job to make sure that their child is safe when using the internet.