KA7 Revision: Industries

Question 1 - Newspaper: Representation

The Times

• first published in 1785 and is a part of The Times newspaper group which is a subsidiary of News UK
• british-based, American-owned newspaper publisher
• subsidiary of news corp
• also produces The Sun
• predominantly right-wing political allegiance is also seen in The Sun
• The Times now has a website which is an online newspaper
• has a paywall requiring readers to pay a subscription to use the site
• has a higher reach in print sales than online
• a part of IPSO - an independent body which is not backed by the government and is fully funded by the industry itself

Power and media industries - Curran and Seaton

• the newspaper industry is dominated by a small number of powerful companies
• The Times is a part of a horizontally and vertically integrated company

Regulation - Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt

• increasing pressure to control regulation closer
• arisen after the phone hacking scandal
• must protect viewers from harmful or 'fake' material while maintaining choice and the freedom of the press

The Daily Mirror

• first published in 1903 as a newspaper for women 'to act as a mirror on feminine life'
• quickly redesigned to appeal to a broader audience
• owned by Reach plc
• was once the most popular tabloid in the UK
• sales have fallen since
• launched 'Mirror Online' to adapt to online newspaper sales
• established a presence on social media sites
• benefit is that they can provide up to date current news
• Reach plc is the largest commercial, national and regional publisher in the UK
• the group publishes more than 130 national and local media brands from the Daily Mirror, the Daily Record, the Daily Express, Manchester Evening News, Nottingham Post, etc
• a part of IPSO - an independent body which is not backed by the government and is fully funded by the industry itself

Power and Media Industries - Curran and Seaton

• the newspaper industry is dominated by a small number of powerful companies
• initially there were concerns about the deal with Reach plc which was investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority
• concentrated ownership model of the newspaper industry means that audiences receive a narrow range of viewpoints

Regulation - Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt

• Reach plc is facing increasing pressure alongside the rest of the UK press industry to adhere to strict rules and regulations on industry practices
• this pressure arose after the phone hacking scandal

Cultural industries - David Hesmondhalgh

• Reach Plc is one of the UK's largest newspaper publisher and has become a horizontally integrated company with a wide range of titles in order to maximise audiences and minimise risks
• the company has embraced the opportunity expanding digitally
• they have introduced a subscription for £6.99 for a tablet edition, with an introductory offer of two free months

Black Panther

• 17th film in the MCU, the highest-grossing film franchise in history
• directed by Ryan Coogler and released in 2018
• the film shows us the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda, which has avoided European colonisation and achieved a technological superiority through the use of a mineral called Vibranium
• Black Panther first appeared in July 1966 in Fantastic Four
• the film was produced by Marvel Studios, a famous comic book brand that is also a subsidiary of Walt Disney Company
• Black Panther was extremely successful, broke records for the highest opening weekend in the USA, and also performed well globally
• the film has grossed well over $1 billion worldwide, with 48% in non-US countries
• it was also one of the only superhero films to be nominated for a 'Best Picture' Academy Awards
• it won three Oscars for costume, product design and original soundtrack
• from 15th - 20th century, European powers colonised African countries and exploited the continent for both resources and slave labour
• during the early 20th century, African-Americans attempted to establish a new black cultural identity with movements such as the Harlem Renaissance
• The Black Panther Party was a political activist group established initially to provide armed monitoring of the police behaviour and police brutality in the US
• it was controversial, with many Panthers being arrested or killed in confrontations with the police
• the science fiction blockbuster and superhero genres have traditionally been dominated by white male characters
• in the 1990s, actors like Will Smith and Wesley Snipes did break ground playing black characters, but recent action films and especially superhero films have rarely featured African-American actors in lead roles
• for the last 15 years, Marvel films have topped the box office
• these regularly featured non-white films, but often had them as side characters (e.g the Falcon in the Captain America films)
• there have also been very few films with a female lead
• black cinema has mainly been social realism films
• in 2016, #oscarssowhite meme drew attention to the lack of diversity in the films nominated
• US/European news media tends to portray Africa as an under-privileged, developing country, focusing on civil wars, famine and terrorism

• Black Panther was produced by Marvel Studios, who became a subsidiary of Disney in 2008
• Disney adopted a '360-degree consumer experience' for their marketing (i.e. wherever you look, there's Black Panther)
• the idea was to make the film into a 'cultural event' across a variety of media and platforms and raising its profile from being 'another superhero' film into something more politically resonant
• Disney partnered with many companies to attract a diverse audience
• Hasbro
• Lexus
• Universal Music
• the Black Panther teaser trailer was shown in the half time at the Superbowl
• the film used crowd-funding to buy under-privileged children a ticket
• the film was released during Black History Month
• the BBFC classifies film and video games in the UK
• Black Panther secured a 12A certificate
• Black Panther features very little romantic drama and no sex or nudity

I, Daniel Blake

• addresses contemporary British social issues such as poverty, the welfare system and the Work Capability Assessment
• the film conveys a clear left-wing political message and criticises specific government policies
• Ken Loach is a social campaigner known for his socialist political views
• economic factors including funding are extremely significant to this independent British co-production
• the funding bodies are the BFI (through National Lottery Funding) and the BBC
• I, Daniel Blake is a low budget social realist film, funded by the BFI and the BBC
• largely filmed on location to reduce costs
• I, Daniel Blake website includes links to social media and the trailer offers a hashtag (#idanielblake) suggesting links with Twitter, using a conventional way to market the film
• the film featured at several film festivals

Power and Media Industries - Curran and Seaton

• the trailer seems to offer an experience that sits outside the logic of profit and power and may arguably also demonstrate a level of variety and creativity that does not reflect Curran and Seaton's ideas about the impact of media concentration
• can the trailer offer more adventurous production due to socially diverse patterns of ownership or Loach's pre-sold audience?

Have you Heard George's Podcast?

• the BBC is often accused by its critics of being too white and middle-class
• in 2017, an Ofcom report stated that there was too little diversity at the corporation, both on and off-screen
• in 2021, the BBC launched a Diversity and Inclusion Plan, overhauling recruitment and commissioning content that "authentically and accurately represents diversity in the UK"
• part of this strategy is to have a 50:20:12 target; 50% to be women, 20% to be people of colour and 12% to be disabled
• the BBC claims all of their work informs, educates and/or entertains, so Have You Heard George's Podcast must follow this remit
• BBC is funded by a license fee which means that the show must not be too niche as it still has to attract an audience
• the show has an unconventional structure and uses specialised vocabulary that mixes with 'highbrow' terms with the street dialect of London
• podcast can be accessed through on-demand downloading and streaming
• BBC Sounds was launched in November 2018 which featured live broadcasting, audio on-demand and podcasts
• this is a good example of technological convergence
• this podcast allows minority groups who have been excluded from mainstream radio to find a voice
• podcasts do not have an interactive audience like mainstream radio does, so instead there is a social media forum called Common Ground
• CLAY SHIRKY - active audiences
• HENRY JENKINS - fandom

Power and media industries - Curran and Seaton

• does this podcast challenge the idea media is controlled by a small number of companies driven by the logic of profit and power?

Regulation - Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt

• the BBC has strict guidelines about what content can be broadcast or published
• e.g BBC One rarely features sex, nudity or swearing and all the broadcast channels follow the watershed
• an an unscheduled podcast, Have You Heard George's Podcast? does not follow a watershed and also has written and verbal warnings that there may be adult language and other mature content

Assassins Creed

• video games are a relatively new media form
• video games are culturally and financially significant across three major territories (Japan, Europe and the USA)
• the release of new gaming technology or games from popular franchises can be a major economic event
• in 2021, the value of the global video games market was estimated to be $138.4 billion increasing from $52.8 billion in 2012
• mobile gaming is the fastest growing area
• video games' production techniques have evolved and become increasingly innovative as the industry has become more competitive and the demand for games has increased
• advances in technology have shaped video games by the inclusion of more complex gameplay, highly developed graphics and advanced CGI
• increasing popularity of mobile gaming (smart phones, tablets, etc)
• this game has high production values
• other games in the franchise have also adapted to technological developments (e.g Assassin's Creed Valhalla was released in 2020 to coincide with the launch of new consoles including PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X)
• newer games in the franchise have introduced corss-generational gaming enabling data to be transferred from earlier generation consoles and cross-play and progression carrying progress between different platforms
• opportunities to distribute and circulate games and to distribute additional content have expanded, leading to increased revenue for the franchise
• video game regulation differs around the world but is becoming standardised across many European countries
• video games are now regulated by PEGI
• the convergence between social media platforms promotes gamer engagement and identification with the game across the fan community

Regulation - Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt

• how can you regulate the video game industry?

Cultural Industries - David Hesmondhalgh

• companies try to minimise risk and maximise audiences
• this is in order to make profit
• the marketing for this Assassin's Creed is the same as all the others in the franchise
• Hesmondhalgh argues that the video game industry is dominated by large multi-national conglomerates
• Ubisoft is the fifth largest video game company but is now also in competition with tech companies including Facebook, Google and Amazon who have recently become major players in the games industry backed by huge financial reserves