NDM: Institutional bias - fading influence?

Institutional bias: blog tasks

Read 'The Press and the Prime Minister' - an analysis of the media coverage of the 2015 UK general election. You'll need our Media Magazine archive - go to MM53 (page 12).

1) What does the article suggest was the main media influence on the 2015 general election?
- The article suggests that daily national newspapers had some influence of the 2015 elections. Newspaper that had more of a conservative belief had more of a direct headline that told voters to not vote for labour and the fact that Miliband was portrayed negatively for years

2) What examples are provided of how social media was used during the 2015 election campaign?
- Hashtags were created (#JeSuisEd) to ridicule Miliband eating a sandwich.
- Fan accounts were made in support of The labour party.

3) Does analysis of the 2015 election suggest that new and digital media has challenged the power of traditional institutions?
- To an extent it has challenged traditional media in the sense that more people are sharing their views more publicly and there is more of a chance of their voices being heard. However, it can also be seen as not having much of an affect as people tend to follow or read things that support their own views and ideologies and hence social media wont have an affect on their attitudes towards things as what they see on social media only reinforces what they believe in.



Now read this Guardian article on social media influence in the recent 2017 UK general election. 

4) Why does it suggest Labour "won the social media election" in 2017?
- That social media is increasingly becoming an important factor in the elections and that they have to take it into consideration. The party used Facebook, Twitter and online videos to build and motivate its voter base, rather than to attack the Conservatives.

5) What examples are provided of how the parties used social media during the 2017 election campaign?
- In the final moments of the elections the Tories were using social media to target Labour marginals than defending its own seats.
- There were more Labour than the Tories
- Twitter is considered as labour's stronghold, they spent money on promoting the hashtag #ForTheMany

6) Does analysis of the 2017 election suggest that new and digital media has challenged the power of traditional institutions?

- Social media is now a key aspect in elections and has challenged the power of traditional institutions as party leaders have to also take into consideration that print is a dying media and most things are done online.

7) Finally, write a paragraph summarising your own opinion on this debate: Have the inequalities that characterise old media ownership extended into new media ownership? Is the internet run by powerful media institutions?

- I think that social media is growing and becoming increasingly more affective as the years go by. In order to reach a larger audience social media will become the key factor for future elections.

NDM: What's wrong with the internet?

1) Summarise the article in 50 words.
- This article is about how secure the internet is and whether or not the government or other companies should be able to access private information.
2) Are you worried about companies tracking your online movement?
- Not really as i don't think i have anything to hide if companies were to track my online movements. I like to think i am using the internet for the right reasons. however knowing that they are able to access my information is unsettling.

3) Are the questions over data and privacy small prices to pay for the possibilities provided by the internet?
- The possibilities that the internet provides are endless and come to a very good use if used correctly. however, the safety of an individual should be taken into consideration as there are so many problematic situations that come with it. If a company can easily track your movements then i think that it isn't much harder for an ordinary person to do the same and in turn do some damage with the information they find. Therefore, i think that it isn't a small price to pay as it could cause a lot of damage.

4) Should governments be able to spy on our activity online? Where would you draw the line - social media? Private messaging conversations? Our phone photos and contacts?
- I believe private information such as phone photos and conversations etc. is where the government should draw the line as there should be a sense of privacy and being able to access that information takes that freedom away from us. So there should be an extent to which the government is able to access certain information. Even if there are some positives that can come out of it.

5) Read this Guardian news story from last week on Harvard withdrawing offers due to offensive memes on Facebook. In your opinion, were Harvard right to rescind those offers?
- I that harvard wasnt right to rescing those offers to an extent as it was a private chat and they went and invaded the privacy of those students. Since they werent openly discussing those offensive memes. However it does send a message to future students that this kind of behaviour isnt tolerated and that there are consequences,

Year 12 - Introduction to NDM: reading and blog task

1) Read the first two articles. Write one paragraph on each summing up the key aspects.
- In the first article researchers wanted to see if digital media has a deep effect on the lives of young people in the ways they learn, relate to their families and hang out with friends. They noticed that the younger generation were accepting of an adult that are not judgemental and noticed that schools have a lack of interest in the cultural and social uses of the media and focus more on effective ways to manage and control it. Adults in school focus more on making sure everything is the same and no one is treated differently which has both positive and negative effects. In the midst of all this the youths are trying to preserve space for themselves beyond the view of adults.


- In this article Peter Turner looks at the pros and cons of live streaming - periscope.
He talks about how periscope is a way of seeing newsworthy events as they happen live just like twitter is able to keep people updated on news as it happens. He also goes into the problems with privacy, he explains how it is very easy for people who go live on periscope can be found easily even without their GPS location being turned on. Hence why the safety of users are a concern to be noted. There is also the problem with piracy as it has been previously a problem in the sense that people are able to live stream shows such as the well known Game of Thrones season 5 premiere. hundreds of thousands of people were able to access this footage without having to pay simply through a shaky yet adequate quality of a phone camera. Despite the negative aspects to this app, there is also potential. an example he gave was how he could incorporate this app within the classroom as a teacher he is interested in the ways this could improve education. It could also be used as a way to voice out different opinions and bring other people to witness the day lives and struggles of a certain individual or culture in order to bring light to different aspects of lives around the world. In conclusion the app has potentially huge consequences for the media industries, audiences and representation of social groups.

2) Now read the A2 A* essay. Why do you think it was so successful? 

- I believe that this essay was so successful because it gave critical autonomy in the sense that the student provided both sides of the argument and clearly presented it at the beginning stages of the essay. Another positive aspect to this essay was that they showed that thy had knowledge of their case study and have done extensive research and were able to incorporate this knowledge within their essay. Which is a good way of showing the examiner that they know their case study and can apply it to the question and answer in great detail. I also notice the fact that the student makes sure to make it clear that they are focused on the question by including wording from the question in her answer - 'agendas, media and audience'. This student also brings quotes from other sources that they have researched which shows the detailed research they have done and are able to reference it in their writing.

3) Finally, answer this question in a well developed paragraph on your blog: How has digital media changed your life in the last 5 years (for positive or negative)?

- Digital media has influenced my life in a positive way as it has enabled me to keep in contact with friends and family which I believe is very important. Also it has helped me keep up to date with the latest news and issues almost instantly and I can do a lot of research on topics that I find interesting and I will be able to access information very easily. instead of going to libraries where the time spent there is limited compared to the 24hours access of the internet where I can get whatever information I want. I believe it has played an important role in the last five years specifically for my school journey because of that. As it has helped in school work and communication with classmates which I believe has been very useful in getting me to where I am now.