MEST
3: The Impact of New & Digital Media Case Study
STUDENT NAME: Rohit Kahlon
TEACHER: Mr. Halsey
In A2 MEST 3 you will study two distinct topics, ‘Representation’
and ‘The Impact of New & Digital Media’. For each topic
you will each be required to produce an individual case study of
your own choice (the exam board does not permit groups of students to have the
same focus). Your ‘New & Digital Media’ case study must examine the
impact of new and digital media on another aspect of media production,
exhibition and/or distribution on one or more platforms.
This case study will be in addition to the
teacher led case study you will do in class regarding ‘The Impact of New &
Digital Media on News’. Your own choice of case study topic must not duplicate
what you have learned in class and gender/ representation of women in any genre
of text and/or platform and the study of News and Digital Media are therefore
not permissible as topics for an individual case study. You will be able
to (and should) refer to both the teacher led and your own study in the MEST 3
exam (Section B) to demonstrate a range of examples and application of a range
of theories, issues and debates as applicable to the question set. This
will be worth 60% of your A2 exam grade.
MEST 4 NOTE OF CAUTION: Please
also be aware that as you are studying ‘Representation’ and ‘The Impact
of New & Digital Media on News’ in this unit you are not
permitted to use representation or digital media and news as a main focus for
your MEST 4 Critical Investigation (2,000 word study with linked
production). There is scope however to cover the concept of
representation but from a different angle e.g. the investigation title ‘Magazines
are a site of contention regarding ideologies of body image’ covers
the contentious representations of women and body image but these are explored
in this study through the key concept of ideology, exploring what
ideologies are constructed by the media representations, how they are
constructed and why the ideologies which are formed from these representations
are an issue in contemporary society. The word representation must
not therefore appear in your investigation title.
New and Digital media includes: The internet (web,
email, VoIP, chat), mobile telephony (txt, 3G, smart phones), gaming, new media
technologies like MP3, High Definition, PVRs (Sky+, Freeview+ etc.)
You could in this unit for example carry out a case
study of a chosen new media area e.g. YouTube or Wikipedia.
Within this you might study a variety of new/digital technologies over
the period of a term such as the impact of mobile phones and the changing modes
of consumption of media products that are a consequence of such developing
technology, or the impact of social networking sites on the internet such as MySpace.
This would allow you to investigate a variety of media issues and debates such
as globalisation, ownership and control and the digital revolution and its
consequent effect on production and exhibition. Candidates might consider how
new technologies affect the way we consume (and produce) media products and
therefore affect the ways that media products are produced, distributed and
exhibited. They could widen this approach to study the impact of new media
across different media platforms. You will also consider the changing
role of audiences and the decline of the mass audience in the new interactive
age, and how this mainly affects media institutions now and in the future.
EXAMPLE: A CASE STUDY OF YOUTUBE
A case study of YouTube might look
at a variety of issues all linked with the list above but would also examine
the nature of the site, its content, the implications of a medium where we are
all producers of media texts, the debate over whether a site such as Youtube is
part of a democratisation of the media or whether media institutions have
forestalled the power of the audience by purchasing such sites. There are also
considerable implications for all media producers (and audiences) in the sense
that now, it can be argued, creators of media products can control the
distribution and exhibition of their own products.
How
will I use this case study in an exam?
Here are some examples of typical exam questions on
the topic of new and digital media:
- “Digital
media have, in many ways, changed how we consume media products.”
Who do you think benefits most – audiences or producers?
- “Media institutions are right to feel threatened by new/digital
media.” Consider this statement and show how media institutions are
reacting to technological developments.
- The development of new/digital media means the audience is more
powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the
arguments for and against this view.
- “The new generation of UK media power players are going stratight
to their audience via the web” www.mediaguardian.co.uk Monday July 14 2008. How have media institutions
responded to the opportunities offered by new/digital media?
- Developments in new/digital media mean that audiences can now have
access to a greater variety of views and values. To what extent are
audiences empowered by these developments?
- Why and with what success are traditional media institutions
adapting to the challenge posed by new/digital media?
In the exam you will be given a choice of two questions
on ‘Representation’ and two on’ The Impact of New &
Digital Media’. You will select just 1 question to
answer, on either of these topics, dependent upon which you feel most
comfortable with in the exam and use examples from these, applying relevant
theories and issues and debates from both the teacher led and your own case
study. This section of the exam will last for one hour and will be worth 60% of
your A2 exam grade (30% of your overall Media Studies grade).
Step
One - Generating Topic Ideas for Individual Case Studies:
A
study of the impact of new and digital media on………
- Music promotion and the charts
- The role of the distributor and exhibitor
- The internet & social networking sites
- The role of media institutions
Now try brainstorming a few of your own……..
- Impact of new and digital media has had on the
coverage of Sport
- Impact of new and digital media has had on the
coverage of Football
- Role of record labels and how this has
changed through new and digital media
- Impact new and digital media has had on the
speed of breaking news
Step
Two: Identifying relevant theories/ issues & debates
Some well-known theories/ issues and debates on the
topic of new and digital media include:
- Hegemony
- Marxism
- Pluralism
- Cultural
Imperialism
- Globalisation
- Post-colonialism
Not all of these will be appropriate for your own
individual study but a good starting point is to identify the key areas that
each of the above theorists covers
Use the table below to help you gather information
and sources on each of the theorists/ issues and debates above and identify
those relevant for your study. You may find additional theorists
and/or issues of your own which you wish to refer to and should also
include these below:
Theorist/
issue or debate
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Topic Covered
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Theorist/ issue or debate
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Topic Covered
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Key Quotes
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Step
Three: Choosing individual topic area and relevant theorists
Write here what your case study will
involve. Remember it should be about the impact of
new and digital media on.......
My case study
will involve the impact that new and digital media has had on the coverage of
sport. This will involve the hegemonic and Marxist views on how sport is
reported. By using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook and the
rise in mobile phone apps due to the up rise of Smartphone's, I will illustrate
how new and digital media has had an impact on the coverage of Sport. There
will also be a section on how new an digital media has had an impact on the
broadcast aspect of sport and how broadcast has changed due the way uprising in
new and digital media. Institutions such as Sky and BBC and their inner
sections of Sports.
Explain why you have chosen this topic
and why you think this will be a rich area for study.
The reason
why I have chosen the topic of Sport and the impact new and digital media has
on the way sport is reported is due to the fact that majority of my new and
digital media stories have something to do with Sport and a every week there is
a new Sports story coming out. It will be a rich area for study due to the fact
that the coverage of sport is extensive and due to there being a new story
coming out nearly every day and the power in the institutions going through a
major change now portrays how it will be a rich area for study.
Identify at least three media
texts/ products that you will use as your primary sources of evidence to
demonstrate the impact of new and digital media in your topic area.
Sky Sports
BBC Sports
Twitter
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PLATFORM (broadcast, print, e-media)
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YEAR OF PRODUCTION
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List here the theorists you have identified
in your research table above that you will need to refer to for your study:
Karl Marx -
Marxism
Gramsci - Hegemony
Katz and
Blumler - Uses and Gratifications
Hall -
Reception
Butler -
Feminism
Pluralist
Elitist
Approval by teacher and comments:
Signed:
Next
steps:
1.
Has new and digital
media had an impact upon ownership and control of the media institution(s) involved
in your case study area? Explain in detail any impact and what exactly
has changed.
For the past 20 years the coverage of Sport has gone
from being shown on terrestrial channel's such as BBC and ITV to being shown
live on Sky Sports, a sector of BskyB owned by Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch has been
known to have used sport as a key factor in the upbringing of digital Sky, he
brought about the channels Sky Sports 1,2,3,4 and Sky Sports News, all were
paid channels, and held rights to major sporting events from Champions league
football; to the Cricket World Cup and for many years, Sky has had many rivals
but has outplayed them, this had varied from Setanta Sports to ESPN, but none
have been able to compete with the amount of games shown by Sky. All channels
would also have to pay Sky to be allowed to broadcast and it showed how Sky
Sports was a major factor in the broadcasting of news, however in the last two
years, we have seen the introduction of BT Sports, BT sports now show more live
football and Rugby games than any other channel with the exception of Sky did,
and they have recently signed a deal to show Champions League Football. This illustrates
how through the use of the advertising of their new BT Infinity internet and
the BT app, which allows Sky users to have free BT Sports with infinity
internet has had an impact on the
ownership of coverage. Sky also used Sky Go which allowed viewers to watch
channels live wherever they are from any internet devices.
2.
What impact has there
been on the way in which the audience now consume the media products/ texts
involved in your case study? How does it differ from what went before?
Consider (SHEP)
In the past
few years thanks to new and digital media, the way in which the audiences
consume sport which is reported or shown on TV has changed majorly, this is
thanks to Sky's new aspect of viewing which is On-demand letting you watch any
of their channels on a Smartphone or any other internet enabled device. Thanks
to Sky Go, viewers who have a full Sky subscription are able to watch sports
live on their device and even the sports news. Another way in which audiences
have been able to consume media texts and products is through the rise of new
and digital media which has allowed the production of apps and social
networking websites straight onto our Smartphones and this allows up to date
news which has altered the way we now consume media products, most sports fans
now use social networking sites or mobile phone app's to find out what is going
on in the sporting world rather than wait for the newspaper the next day.
S- Social
networking sites, creating a community online for sports fans.
H -
Remarkable change historically, from waiting till next day for news, to getting
news that very moment
E - Bad for
newspapers, demand for newspapers slowly decreasing.
3.
What impact has there
been on how the media institution now has to produce the texts and the way in
which the texts/ products are distributed and exhibited? This should
involve a detailed textual analysis of at least 3 texts to demonstrate the
point.
There has
been a large impact on how media institutions now have to produce the texts and
the ways in which the texts are distributed and exhibited. One of major media
institutions is BskyB and they are famous for their sporting channels, but
worldwide football fans gather up every 31st of January and 31st August
watching anxiously as their teams go out to buy players on the final day of
transfer deadline day, an exciting day for many sports fans who have began to
regard it as 'Jim White Day' thanks to BskyB's news presenter Jim White known
for his long hours on these two days, and when transfer deadline began majority
of the transfers were either heard through the radio or read the next day in
newspapers, after this we began to see the broadcasting of sports channel Sky
Sports News who dedicated a full day to Transfer deadline day. This in the last
5 years has also changed and the day is quickly evolving to allow people to see
the events of transfer deadline day as quickly as they come. Now audiences are
able to access transfer deadline day through their mobile phones permitted they
are Smartphone's and any other internet device or they can watch it broadcasted
live. If they are unable to do either then they can read live updates of
transfer deadline day on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook
or even read up on Smartphone applications such as BBC or the Sky sports
application which allows readers to get live blogging updates. (Need
to add more)
4.
Is the size of the
audience any different now than before the impact of new and digital media (or
has the pattern of usage changed)?
The size of the audiences has not changed
vastly, for example this past weekend the Liverpool game between Norwich City
and Liverpool had 1,653,000 viewers compared to 2001 where the same time had
resulted into 1.22 Million viewers, so there has been a slight increase in the
last 13 years which could have been impacted by the way sports is now
broadcasted and also the way new and digital media has helped enhance the
viewing experience for viewers through high - definition channels.
5.
Who are the primary
target audience now and has this changed? Who was it before and how do
you know?
The primary
target audience has always been Sports fans and depending on what Sport they
prefer, the channel varies between Sky Sports 1 - 4, the age group has also
always been the same from 12 year olds where you begin to understand the sports
more better to whatever age you can go, and they will also most predominantly
be males. The sport does not usually depend on ethnicity either unless there is
a match between two countries then you could argue that it would be the ethnicity's
whose team is involved. The target audience has always stayed the same and this
is due to the fact that Sports has not changed much.
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CURRENT TARGET AUDIENCE
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ORIGINAL TARGET AUDIENCE
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HOW DO YOU KNOW?
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6.
How have the audience
responded to the changes? Is there more customer choice? Is there
evidence of a more pluralistic model? What evidence do you have to
support this?
Audiences
have obviously responded positively to the changes involved with Sports and
this is evident through the increase in audience for the channel Sky Sports 1. There is also a great variety of customer choice, from the choice of sport on channels such as BBC, Sky and BT to the variety of sports reporters, with sports apps increasing and the downloading of these apps also increasing it shows how one can easily get news about anything within the realms of the sporting world, one doesn't have to look far to find out about sports history and thanks to the new and digital media there is not only viewings on demand at anytime for nearly every sport but there is also news reported whenever and wherever, so it can be argued that there has been a positive impact made by new and digital media. There is also slight evidence of a pluralist model due to the way institutions such as BskyB, BT and BBC have listened to audiences for the developments of there products and the audiences have in a way enhanced viewing experiences to a degree.
7.
What concerns/
considerations are there (if any) for the media institutions involved in your
case study as a result of the impact of new and digital media? (e.g. deskilling or multi-skilling of the
workforce/ decline in workforce etc)
The concerns regarding my case study for the media institutions isn't anything major, but they must consider the vast audiences wanted to watch different things so they must be able to adapt there sports channels on demand through new and digital media but other than that there isn't many major concerns.
8.
What are the
political and social implications of the new technologies and the methods of
their consumption? E.g. moral panics etc?
One of the political and social implications could be said to be Moral panic, this is due to the fact that Sports is seen as an entertainment factor and anything in sport can entertain audience members due to it being so unexpected and if there is bad news for example the decay of football club Portsmouth, could shock an audience member or news organisations could create moral for the institutions but showing the competition in the sporting world for broadcast.
9. Consider the effects so far, and possible effects in the future, on media institutions involved in your case study (media production).
In my opinon the effects and possible effects in the near future on media institutions involved in my case study could be through the development of new and digital media. As new and digital media grows, there becomes new ways to broadcast and report sports coverage to audiences and with the rise of 3D TV's and 3D smartphones in the near future, this could enhance viewing experiences for many members of the audience and as we have already seen the change can come unexpectedly and fast, if we look back 3 years, there was no On-Demand ways to watch sports through your mobile phone device but it conveys how there may be many possible effects for new and digital media in the near future.
10. What issues may there be regarding media effects and /or regulation/ censorship as a result of changes due to new .
There aren't many issues in regards to media effects and censorship/regulation but broadcasters must be aware of who they are using to report news and when a news story is written up online the editor must make sure that there is nothing explicit on the webpage, just like they would if they were reporting news for example when a German broadcaster came on sky sports 1 and refered to Arsenal player Per Mertesacker as the "Big Fucking Giant" Sky had to issue an apology to all it's audiences for the inclusion of explicit content, as they would have to do if the same had been something explicitly posted on there webpage/App
11.
Are there any
cross-cultural factors and /or effects of globalisation involved in the impact
of new technology on your case study? E.g.
the internet has been said to be ‘globalising culture’ through its promotion of
the English language.
It could be argued that Sport is part of globalisation due to the way that Sports allows inner relations due to tradings. With the rights of majority of Sports given to Sky, Sky themselves have channels worldwide which show Sports through the channel. So it could be argued that Sports coverage is a part of globalisation
12.
Consider theoretical
perspectives in relation to the impact of new/ digital media in your case
study. E.g. Representation of certain groups as a result of changes,
Marxism & Hegemony, Liberal Pluralism, colonialism, audience theories etc.
