Applying media theories to media text.

 Applying media theories to media text.

In this section of my blog I will be applying some media theorist’s views to certain areas of media text. One such article is the medias coverage of the late Jade Goody, her life story and how she became a household name almost over night. A lot of people may think that Jade Goody’s first step into the lime light was on Channel 4’s reality Tv show Big Brother, but in fact like most contestants chosen for the show all have had some insight in one form or another of trying to sell themselves publicly. Jade Goody appeared on many televised talent shows before big Brother was even thought of. 

When jade Goody stepped into the big brother house it marked the beginning of the end within a matter of weeks. She was caught up in everything from public sexual humiliation, racist’s slurs, to being renowned as completely clueless and the unfortunate circumstances that lead to her death. Within a matter of weeks the media had completely shredded everything Jade Goody had stood for and the public were engrossed with the new allegations produced by the media on a daily basis.

Jade Goody’s story interested the public because it fitted perfectly into the catorgies of news that so interest the public. A theorist called Mc Shane set out 5 central tenets that journalists tend to follow to make a news article captivate the audience. Jade Goody’s reported antics in the big brother house suited all 5 catorgies.

Mc Shane

      1.    Conflict – Jade was the centre piece of the show and constantly being televised     crying, fighting and arguing with other housemate and the media portrayed her as if this was her everyday day behaviour on the outside world.

      2.    Danger to the community – Jade wasn’t exactly a danger to the community as such but when she was caught up in the racial slur with fellow house mate Shilpia Shetty it caused quite a stir between many Countries not to mention communities closer to home.

      3.    The unusual – Jades clueless attitude to life itself made her unusual. The famous phrase “ginger minger” was broadcast by the media on an hourly basis.

      4.    Scandal – The awful, un-romantic pictures of jades carry on with a fellow housemate conducting sexual acts for the world to see.

      5.    Individualism – once the media tapped into the unfortunate circumstances of Jades fight with cancer, they began to portray her as a hero and roll model only months after slating her every move.

Applying media theories to media text.

Another theorist called Dutton gave 12 of the most significant news values from the work of Galtung and ruge (1973) that can be applied to Jade Goody’s life in the public eye through the media.

1.     Frequency – The media printed a new story on Jade Goody on an hourly basis in order to sell papers. Over a matter of weeks she turned from villain to hero with amazing contrasting stories printed by the same newspapers.

2.     Threshold – Reality Tv was just taking off at the time of Jade Goody’s involvement in the public eye. Big Brothers ratings were through the roof and the media locked on to this in order to sell papers. This contributed to the fact that millions of people were effected by what channel 4 televised and what the media wrote about Jade.

3.     Unambiguity – Almost every single person in the world could relate to Jade Goody in one way or another. She was a simplistic girl next door, with feelings and worries like everyone else.

4.     Meaningfulness – Jade Goody’s story involving the racial slurs and her rise from villain to hero had major impacts across the board in both senses. Her unfortunate death has risen huge awareness of the dangers of cervical cancer for women today.

5.     Consonance – Jade Goody lived her life no different to any other average girl and the media wanted everyone to familiarise themselves with her so that the public would want to read their articles and buy their papers.

6.     Unexpectedness – the unexpectedness of Jade’s cancer fight was a whole new turning point for the media and how they would portray her. If they continued to slate a young woman fighting for her life it could easily cause public up roar, so did they take the easy route out?

7.     Continuity – Jade’s story has become world renowned and without her even knowing, she created a legacy that she will be remembered for in rising awareness of the dangers of cervical cancer.

8.     Composition – Again Jade’s time in the big brother house and all the controversy surrounding her certainly added to the value of composition news, not to mention when the news broke that she had cancer. 

9.     Reference to elite nations – The only way jades story comes into this value is were Jade was accused of racial abuse against famous Bollywood actress Shillpa Shetty. This caused a lot of upset between nations and people of different race and cultures.

10. Reference to elite persons - The medias involvement in Jade Goody’s life transformed her into the elite person covered in every news story. Her husband Jack Tweed only got a mention because of her fame and when he was accused of cheating on her.

11. Personalisation – Jade Goody’s whole big brother experienced televised daily for the world to see.

12. Negativity – The medias coverage of Jade Goody and the reports that where published out-weigh the bad over the good by a large number. For weeks upon end the media printed and reported shock story after shock story.

 

 

Effects of voilence through media essay

The Effects of Violence through Media

“You have to show violence the way it is. If you don't show it realistically, then that's immoral and harmful. If you don't upset people, then that's obscenity.”[1]A quote from Roman Polanski a Polish film director. The media is at the head of the cue for a large proportion of blame in bringing the ill effects of violence to the entire human race through means of television, newspapers, films, video games and even cartoons. We live in a world where violent acts occur each and every day and every new day that turns a new story is published and reported on for the world to see. During the course of this paper we will look at various reported stories on how forms of media have caused people to commit violent acts in the past, the different theories and the arguments put forward by different studies carried out.

Research such as a 2008 editorial in medical journal the Lancet concluded that discussions of media violence effects were exaggerated where as some researchers have suggested that the pathway to aggression and violence is largely genetic.[2]  Where as some studies have shown that connections between children playing violent video games can cause later aggressive behaviour problems. Tests carried out on children that are heavy users of violent video games which is four hours a day or more, put less effort in their school work, tend to have poor reading skills, play and tend to be more aggressive with the friends, have little or no interest in hobbies or interactive activities and are more lightly to be overweight thus leading the media to believe they are loners. It could be argued that this relates heavily to the reports suggested after the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton Colorado. On the 20th of April 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered the school they were attending and began to randomly shoot and kill as many students and teachers as possible before turning their guns on themselves. The media hype after this tragedy suggested that violent video games and heavy rock music was the driving force behind their crazed rampage of killing but further research shows a number of possible causes. Eric Harris attended a psychiatrist where he complained about depression, anger, and suicidal thoughts. He was prescribed medication which may have resulted in “increased aggression, loss of remorse, depersonalization and mania.”[3] In the months leading up to the killings Klebold and Harris acquired two 9-mm firearms and two 12-guage shotguns. They also bought another gun off and local man named Mark Manes for $500. Maines was later jailed after the killings for selling a gun to a minor, as was Philip Duran, who had introduced the duo to Manes and also supplied Harris and Klebold with weapons. The ease of access to guns and weapons , heavy medication and known physiological problems between both Harris and Klebold may have been the main catalyst behind the actions of the boys on that day.

A report by CBS news in American covered once such crime relating to a world popular computer game. Imagine if the entertainment industry created a video game in which you could decapitate police officers, kill them with a sniper rifle, massacre them with a chainsaw, and set them on fire. On first impressions most people who think a game of that description would never be allowed to be thought of never mind get to market but the vastly popular game Grand Theft Auto is exactly that and has sold more than 35 million copies and with worldwide sales of up to $2 billion.[4]

 This very game was at the centre of a multi-million dollar law suit between its makers and marketers, claiming that months of playing the game led a teenager to go on a rampage and kill three men, two of which were police officers.

 “They were gunned down by 18-year-old Devin Moore, who had played Grand Theft Auto day and night for months. Attorney Jack Thompson, a long-time crusader against video-game violence, is bringing the law suit. "What we're saying is that Devin Moore was, in effect, trained to do what he did. He was given a murder simulator," says Thompson.” After his capture, Moore is reported to have told police, "Life is like a video game. Everybody’s got to die sometime.[4]

According to the view of David Walsh, a child psychologist who’s co-authored a study connecting violent video games to physical aggression. The question asked is Does the effects of violent video games have more of an impact on teenagers rather than adults? David Walsh’s theory believes it does, he argues that the teenage brain is not fully developed and therefore doesn’t allow certain teenagers to think ahead or understand the consequences. Mr Walsh also reported that to add to the cause a person who has increased behaviour problems such as petty crime and criminal behaviour, a troubled upbringing, bouncing back and forth between broken homes and foster families can be a major contributing factor to the physiological problems of any teenager. And so when a young man with a developing brain, already angry, spends hours and hours and hours rehearsing violent acts, and then he's put in this situation of emotional stress, there's a likelihood that he will literally go to that familiar pattern that's been wired repeatedly, perhaps thousands and thousands of times, Therefore psychologist David Walsh argues that it is a number of different factors that led up to actually committing a violent act not just a video game media.

Another theory we will look at is that of Gerard Jones the author of the book “Killing Monsters” Why children need Fantasy, superheroes and make believe violence. He has an opposing view that violence in the media has a negative effect on children and has nothing but harmful effects on society. Jones argues that children need to have  fantasy, superheroes and make believe violence but the way children view this in their mind is a lot different from an adults point of view. Jones reports that children appear to use every day events violent or not differently to adults. While an adult may be distraught and upset after encountering violence children can sometimes see it in a different light and apply it to play time and fun. Although adults may despair about seeing their children play by rein acting violent events they may have witnessed, Jones firmly believes that children feel it safe to play and fantasy with the ideas. Jones brought his theories about positive effects that children have by engaging with violent media before psychologists and mental health professional and received many positive reviews.

 How many of us wanted to be our child hood heroes? From Superman, The Hulk, Spiderman to Bugs Bunny each and every cartoon, film and programme on T.V will have some related aspect of violence to it at one stage or another. Bugs Bunny and all his cartoon friends have an enemy or foe that they must evade or kill to live happily ever after. The same applies in fairy tales, Movies and everyday programmes. Violence surrounds us everywhere not only through the media but yet we still all manage to co-exist happily together with only a small minority of people  opting to carry out violent acts.

 

 In my opinion some people may be born with a deficiency or psychological problem that can be escalated by some of the issues we covered earlier such the view of Gerrard Jones and his book ”Killing Monsters” who I particularly agree with. Also the theories of David Walsh arguing that violent acts are down to a child’s brains not being fully developed. Where ever the truth may lie as regards the percentage rates of violent people to normal every day people, violent people are by a huge margin the minority.

Section 3 Analysing Headlines post 1

'Ireland RIP' image marks a new lowpoint for the Irish gutter-press


This headline was printed by The Irish Daily Star and is extremely strong with a very opinionated message behind it from the press. The quote “RIP Ireland” suggests that in the eyes of the so called ‘Irish gutter press’ Ireland as country is dead due to the financial down turn and recession. In the opinion of Daniel O'Carroll the writer of the related article, he describes the publishers as “low” for even considering to print and release the headline followed with an image of a gravestone. Engraved on the stone is part of the heading ‘RIP Ireland’. He also questions the extreme lengths newspapers will go to in order to sell papers.

If the headline alone doesn’t catch the eye of many readers, the image certainly will. The headline contains everything a controversial headline should include. There is some alliteration used “Ireland, Image, Irish / lowpoint, press” this encourages the reader to remember the headline and emphasize certain words. There is also a pun used within the headline were the write suggest that Ireland is officially dead. The headline is also extremely dramatic and controversial from two sides. The Daily Irish Star publishers of the “RIP Ireland” quote are questioned about their motives and facts. Daniel O'Carroll refers to them as “Irish gutter-press” which on its own is an extremely strong statement and adds a slight slogan twist to the headline.

Link:

http://www.irishcentral.com/story/news/danny_boy/ireland-rip-image-marks-a-new-lowpoint-for-the-irish-gutter-press-104117404.html

Section 2 Language post 1

Coffee may prevent depression in women

Within this article the word “may” that is used in the opening paragraph suggests that the article is based more so on opinion. “Drinking several cups of coffee a day may prevent of clinical depression in women, a study has shown.”  The article then almost contradicts the overall idea in the third paragraph where it clearly states that “ US researchers cannot be sure of the casual links between coffee consumption and avoiding depression.” How ever the writer backs up the story by referring to other factors that may lead to depression such as medical conditions, marital status, smoking and activity levels. Throughout the whole of the article no accurate facts are stated only reviews and studies carried out by “Scientists led by Dr Michel Lucas, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.” Further down the article similar studies have found the opposite results which leave the reader confused to the accuracy of any of the studies carried out.

The language in this article is aimed at women or people who drink a lot of coffee. The writers engages the audience and entices the reader to start to read the article by pointing out the fact that drinking coffee may reduce the chance of depression. This leads the reader to believe the writer is not opinionated on this article and further backs this up with the main content in this article coming from reviews conducted by other studies. The writer also uses the  word “They” to suggest that the writer is simply reporting on others opinions. “They were unable to assess the effect of very high coffee consumption levels because too few of their study participants fell into this category.”

The impact of this article on the reader can lead to confusion, in the opening paragraph the writer confidently states that drinking four plus cups of coffee per day may be good for women’s health and prevention of depression but further down the article the consumption of excessive amounts of coffee can increase the risk of feeling suicidal. By the end of the article no clear results can be taken and the effects of coffee on women’s state of mind is still unclear. “This association continued until coffee consumption reached eight to ten or more cups a day, at which point suicide risk increased.”

link:  http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0927/coffee.html

Section 1 The Audience and purpose post 2

 Aldi link up with Irish business

The heading is directly aimed at Irish consumers. It describes how Aldi has joined forces with three Irish companies. All three companies plan to supply Aldi with Irish made products such as toothpaste , mouthwash and gluten free bread. The heading doesn’t mention the gluten free products that may interest gluten intolerant people. Unemployed people may also be interested in reading the article due to the possibility of the new jobs that will be created. The image isn’t very descriptive to the reader because it just contains the Aldi logo and nothing more.


Link: http://insideireland.ie/2011/09/26/aldi-ireland-announces-new-partnerships-36342/

Section 1 The Audience and purpose post 1

 Section 1  Target Audience

 1,200 bodies found in mass grave

The audience that is targeted in the article is early 20’s to middle aged readers. Politicians and people interested in the ongoing conflicts in the world today may also be interested in the headline. The headline is designed to shock the reader into further examining the content of the article to find out the whole story.  The term “Mass Grave” in the heading along with the image of what looks to be waste land and a bones believe to be part of a human body leads the reader to wonder what exactly the article contains. At first glance the reader may think the heading and image is linked to the recent war in Tripoli  but within the article we learn that is linked to a massacre in the Abu Salim prison in 1996 and has only been discovered since the rebellion in Tripoli.

Link: http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20110926-mass-grave-1200-found-tripoli 

About my blog !!

Hi, I am a Creative Multimedia student in O'Fiaich Institute of Further Education and as part of my course i am studying a module called Multimedia Communications. I will be creating a blog to keep up to date with the work i have studied and how my perspective on Multimedia changes throughout the year.