NDM News case study: index

1) Institution: the impact of Google on the newspaper industry
2) Ofcom report: how news consumption has changed
3) The future of newspapers: Build The Wall analysis
4) The decline of newspapers: the effect of online technology
5) The future of journalism: John Oliver and Clay Shirky
6) The decline of newspapers: Media Magazine case studies
7) Citizen journalism and hyper-reality: Media Magazine article and questions
8) News Values: theory and updating them for digital media landcape
9) Marxism & Pluralism: Media Magazine article and questions
10) Alain de Botton on the News: lecture and questions
11) Full NDM essay including paragraphs on Marxism and Pluralism
12) Globalisation and news: cultural imperialism
13) Globalisation: taking it further (Google Glass case study and capitalism)
14) Fake news and globalisation - Guardian and New York Times articles
15) News on the Tweet

Marxism & Pluralism: Alain de Botton on the news

1) To what extent do you agree with Alain de Botton's views on the News?
I do agree with Alain de Bottons views regarding news, and mainly agree with the point he made regarding audiences coming across the same type of news more frequently. 
I also agree with the point he made about audiences getting an overload of news which therefore makes it harder for people to make out what is more important and what isn't. 
Alain de Botton believes you can either give people no news at all or give them an overload of what is going on around the world, and right now at the moment we are still trying to figure out what we should do, as he states we're still trying to figure out what to do with news.

2) How can you link Marxism and Hegemony to de Botton's criticisms of the News?
During the interview, Alain de Botton shows us the value of economic news and links it to hegemony. He also states that there's a sort of bias feel in the news and believes that audiences should be able to view and hear both sides of a story, but however, states that the ruling bodies are the ones who decide what gets published and what doesn't. 

3)How could you use Pluralism and new technology to challenge de Botton's views on the News?
As an audience we could argue that with technology becoming more advanced, this has given audiences an opportunity to have more of an opinion and say on what they want published and get to comment on the content that is published. Furthermore, de Botton argues that due to the media overloading audiences with news, they've become reluctant to reading news.

Choose two news stories from the last six months - one that supports de Botton's views and one that challenges his belief that the News is used for social control.

• https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/20/barack-obama-facebook-fake-news-problem - challenges 
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/20/indian-train-derailment-kills-dozens-and-injures-over-100 - supports 

NDM: Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

1) Research the Ian Tomlinson case. What would the traditional, hegemonic view of the police be in a case like this? How did new and digital media create a different story? What does the police officer's subsequent acquittal suggest about the power of new and digital media?
Ian Tomlinson was killed after being hit by a police officer during the 2009 G20 summit protests in London. The police would be viewed as the criminals in the case as they abused their power and in a result killed someone. The footage of the tragic event conveys to the audience that the police were lying to the public and therefore reinforces the view of the police being seen as the ones at fault. 
New and digital media managed to create a different as the footage that was captured was taken by an ordinary bystander and therefore a different approach was taken. 

2) What does the author argue regarding whether hegemony is being challenged by Web 2.0? 
The author talks about the internet giving opportunities to audiences to publish what they want. The author also talks about audiences now having the opportunity to challenge the idea of hegemony. 

In your opinion, does new and digital media reinforce dominant hegemonic views or give the audience a platform to challenge them?

In my opinion, I think that the media has allowed audiences to challenge the hegemonic views as audiences have more of a say in what they want published and having more opportunities to debate on the certain things that get published and voice their opinions.

Do recent world events such as Brexit or Donald Trump's election in the US suggest dominant hegemonic ideologies are being challenged or reinforced? There are arguments for both sides here - explain your opinion and why

Both events in my opinion, reinforce the hegemonic ideologies. In both events, audiences had a right of say, and therefore reinforces the dominant hegemint ideologies. 

week 9 - Media for development: does good journalism promote transparency?

Does press freedom promote democracy or the other way round? Martin Scott considers the influence of the media

One of the aims of World Press Freedom day in May was to encourage us to reflect on the value of an independent media. This is something I've been thinking about a lot recently while writing a new book on media and development and co-producing the video below. How exactly does good journalism promote transparency and accountability? What role can technology play in enabling ordinary citizens to promote good governance

The media have multiple, overlapping roles which are fundamentally shaped by local contexts. Pretending that they don't leads to bad project design and policy making. It also fuels the mistaken belief that access to technology alone is enough to solve problems.

The point here is not that the media doesn't matter for development. It does. Increasingly. The point is that efforts to highlight the importance of the media should exist alongside, rather than seek to obscure, recognition of the complexities of the media's role. Ultimately, it's not helpful to pretend that the media always have a direct and positive influence on development.

In my opinion, I agree with Martin Scott and his final statement of media not always having a positive influence and it not solving our problems. I believe that sometimes media can effect us negatively.

week 9 - Hidden digital ads pushing children to eat fatty food, health experts warn.

This article is about digital ads, influencing kids to consume fatty foods through digital ads.

LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Children in Europe are bombarded with hidden digital advertising and marketing promoting fatty, sugary and salty foods that is damaging their health and adding to the region's obesity problem, World Health Organization experts said on Friday.

The researchers called for policymakers to do more to protect children from junk food advertising messages on networking sites, games - known as "advergames" - and other social media.

"Our governments have given the prevention of childhood obesity the highest political priority, (yet) we consistently find that children - our most vulnerable group - are exposed to countless numbers of hidden digital marketing techniques promoting foods high in fat, sugar and salt," said Zsuzsanna Jakab, the WHO's regional director for Europe.

She said in the absence of effective regulation of digital media in many countries, children are increasingly exposed to persuasive, individually tailored marketing techniques that parents may underestimate, or be unaware of.

"Often, parents do not see the same advertisements, nor do they observe the online activities of their children; many therefore underestimate the scale of the problem," said the WHO.

About two-thirds of children who are overweight before puberty will be overweight in early adulthood, and an estimated 25 percent of school-aged children in Europe are already overweight or obese, said the report.

Digital marketing can engage children in emotional, entertaining experiences and encourage them to share these experiences with their friends, it said, describing this as "a dubious cocktail when used to promote unhealthy foods". (Editing by Andrew Heavens)

In my opinion, I don't think kids would be influenced into eating fatty foods through 'digital ads'. However, at the same time it doesn't push them into eating healthy either.

week 8 - Should children ban their parents from social media?

Parents from Shanghai to Chicago are proudly putting pictures of their children on social media.

It might be taken for granted - but no previous generation of children will have had the experience of having their entire childhoods intensively and publicly documented in this way.

In the UK, the average parent with a social media account has posted 1,498 photos of their child online by their fifth birthday, according to a survey by domain name company, Nominet.

This might be a global phenomenon for proud parents - but what about the children, who will have been too young to have any choice in the matter.

But the very first people to have had some of their childhood pictures posted online are now reaching adulthood. And they are not always happy about their formative years being preserved in digital aspic.

• "When I was 12 or 13 I started realising there were things [on Facebook] that I thought were a bit embarrassing," said 16-year-old Lucy, from Newcastle, whose dad has been posting pictures of her on the social networking site since she was seven.
• "I asked him to take them down and he was happy to, but he didn't quite understand why. If I had been asked [at the time], do you want these photos out there for all to see, I would've probably said no."

'De-tagging' her past

Even those who were pleased to be on social media as children are less sure about it now. Dana Hurley, 20, from east London, said that as an 11-year-old she was happy for her parents to post photos of her on Facebook.

"At the time it was exciting… I liked attention. Now it's kind of weird because you look back and think, this was for everyone to see," she said.

In my opinion, I don't think parents should post pictures of their children on social media, due to children not really being aware of what their parents are uploading, I do think it is unfair. Furthermore, most of the time once children are at a certain age they do regret taking certain pictures and allowing their parents uploading the pictures. 

week 8 - Computers 'do not improve' pupil results, says OECD

Investing heavily in school computers and classroom technology does not improve pupils' performance, says a global study from the OECD. 

The think tank says frequent use of computers in schools is more likely to be associated with lower results.The OECD's education director Andreas Schleicher says school technology had raised "too many false hopes"

The report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development examines the impact of school technology on international test results, such as the Pisa tests taken in more than 70 countries and tests measuring digital skills.

It says education systems which have invested heavily in information and communications technology have seen "no noticeable improvement" in Pisa test results for reading, mathematics or science.

• "If you look at the best-performing education systems, such as those in East Asia, they've been very cautious about using technology in their classrooms," said Mr Schleicher.
• "Those students who use tablets and computers very often tend to do worse than those who use them moderately."

In my opinion, I disagree with the statement of computers not improving pupils results. Yes, it may distract pupils. However, computers also benefit pupils, as it allows them to reach and search certain information that may not be able to be accessed through books etc. Therefore, computers to benefit pupils, to an extent.