ASSMT 1: 3.1 Notes on News Media

The ilecture this week by Mingnon Hardlow really opened my eyes to the role news media plays in a democracy. Hardlow states that the four estates that make up a democracy are the Judiciary, the Government, the Executive Government and Free Press who plays a watchdog function and keeps the general public informed (Harlow 2011).

With such an important role in society, I started to wonder about the credibility of news sources. It has long been known that magazines pay people for interviews and report gossip and rumor - often referred to as tabloids but does this cross over into the world of news? Especially online news, where anyone with an internet connection can become a reporter, quickly and easily uploading video, photos, sounds and text at any given time.  Who controls it? Who reads it? And does anyone believe it?

The power and control of traditional news sources was discussed by Harper in his article Journalism in the digital age where he notes that “many online publications depend on major brand names as the primary sources of information” (Harper 2003) inferring that while we may be able access news in more places than ever, it is likely that what we are reading online comes from the traditional media sources. This certainly rings true for me. I tend to read the smh online rather than blog posts and if news is ever reported by friend on facebook I will usually go to traditional news sites to validate it or seek further information.

Harper also outlined the power of editors in the news world who act as gatekeepers – determining which stories are newsworthy enough for publish, and therefore controlling the issues that are thought about and discussed by the general public. Prior to the internet there were not many alternative ways to find out about news stories not presented in the press and although online news is still dominated by traditional media there are alternatives. For example twitter allows people to follow multiple new sites, celebrities and friends from all over the world – a news item published in one country can circulate via social media and become public knowledge before publishing by traditional sources as was the case of the Occupy Wall Street protests (Gruen Planet: Episode 6  2011).

Then comes the issue of money. As much as free press is good for a Democracy it is also a business so who pays for online newspapers? Harlow advised that traditionally classified advertising paid for newspapers. Upon flicking through the October 28 edition of the Daily telegraph I found nothing more that 5 pages of classifieds - 3 of which were dedicated to jobs, cars, real estate and obituaries and the other 2 solely decided to "personals" (Classifieds  2011) . Classifieds in newspapers it seems are no longer popular, and with the benefits of online sites such as my career and eBay its not hard to see why,  although there were also sections that mixed journalism with commercial products such as the card guide. 


Harlow also stated that some online news sites are part of larger conglomerates that also own online classified sections with the online newspaper works as branding for their other products (Harlow 2011). This is certainly the case with the new site for The West Australian who belongs to a group of companies owned by 7 west media. 7 west media also own channel 7 and Yahoo 7 (The West Australian  2011)and their products, services and media entertainment area advertised heavily on the site. A look at three other news sites found:

·      Crikey.com uses a pay wall model to make money from their news content. While some stories are published on the site viewers need to subscribe to unlock access to even better ones (so they say) at a cost of $185 per year. Subscribers then get the extra privilege of providing content if they wish. (Subscriber Help  2011).

·      Perth Indi Media wholly operates on citizen journalism but stories added to these site still go through a gatekeeper who monitors them against the sites criteria. This site runs off donations and covers local community issues (About Indymedia Australia  2011).

·      Finally the Huffington Post website is owned by a big corporation AOL and gets its content from anywhere its free – liking to the blog sites of others and combining the days blogs into one new site. This site also involves readers by having them comment and rate stories. This site is huge and has multiple strands not just in news but also entertainment and sport etc. AOL sells adverting on the Huffington post site. (The Huffington Post  2011)

SO the main points to remember this week are that:

·      Online news media raises challenges the profitability of news and new ways to raise revenue are being trialed

·      Online news sites are often another branch traditional news media companies which are trusted by many users

·      Online news sites can target niche markets and source news for free from citizen journalists and bloggers

·      Online news allows Journalists to link their reports to other news reports and source documents

·      Online news allows people to research news reports therefore ethical journalism is important

·      Gatekeepers still exist in the online environment (see gatekeepers blog entry for further info) controlling and monitoring the stories and comments uploaded

 About Indymedia Australia. 2011. http://www.indymedia.org.au/about (accessed 7/11/11).

Classifieds. 2011. The Daily Telegraph, 119 - 124  (accessed 7/11/11)
Gruen Planet: Episode 6. 2011. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruenplanet/pages/s3354190.htm (accessed 8/11/11).

Harlow, M. 2011. Inform me! News Media. Week 8. http://dbs.ilectures.curtin.edu.au/lectopia/lectopia.lasso?-MaxRecords=50&-SkipRecords=0&-Op=bw&ut=2908&CallbackID=928d2167f0cc56656c84409b4f366e45&usr=15055147 (accessed 8/11/11).

Harper, C. 2003. Journalism in a Digital Age. Democracy and new media: 271-280. lms.curtin.edu.au/@@59FE5910C5E0F0C6A9542F9A2E4F0BF9/courses/1/312160-Vice-Chancello-935083018/db/_2975043_1/embedded/Christopher%20Harper.pdf (accessed 7/11/11).

  The Huffington Post. 2011. http://advertising.aol.com/brands/huffington-post (accessed 8/11/11).

  Subscriber Help. 2011. http://www.crikey.com.au/about/subscriber-help/#nuts1 (accessed 8/11/11).

  The West Australian. 2011. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/ (accessed 7/11/11).

2.2 Notes: A fair(y) use tale

“A fair(y) use tale”:  where the rules of copyright are discussed through a mash up of Disney movies and an explanation of copyright issues spoken through their characters. This clever little film made some very clear points such as:

• Copyrighted materials can only be used by copyright owners
• It is illegal to use copyrighted material without permission from the owner
• You can pay for copyright permission (but it can be expensive)
• Books, plays, music, dance, movies, and pictures can be copyrighted
• You cannot copyright and idea, but the FORM the idea takes can be copyrighted (very important in terms of my remediation project)
• Copyright did only lasts for a fixed time of 14 years which was considered enough time for the owner to make money out of it.
• Now copyright lasts for the authors lifetime plus 70 years, preventing works from entering the public domain for free use by people in the same lifetime it was produced
• Fair use allows people to use small parts of copyrighted matierial for parody, critical comment, or education but validity depends on the nature of the work, the amount used, and commercial impact
• Fair use is not a right and is only a legal defense position (in the USA). The fact that it isn't a right allows large media companies to use intimidation to control their commodity.

(dangerousnerd 2007)

So it seems I caught the wrong end of the stick in my last post 2.2 Notes: Recovering fair use (Collins 2008). In it I ask why it is it is OK to quote parts the words or another author in your own writing, but it is illegal  to do this with other forms of media? (e.g. using a line of music from one song to create a new song). The film “A fair(y) use tale” proves that YOU CAN use snippets of other forms of media. ITS NOT ILLEGAL …. Well at least this particular work is not illegal – not today anyway – its murky water to say the least.

So how does it work?

 As dangerousnerd states -  copyright lasts well over 100 years - so the snippets of Disney films used to create A Fair(y) use tale would be well within the confines of copyright law.  This kind of film slips through the net by only using small parts of many different many films, the use of which does impact financially on the originating owner, and the film is for educational purposes - not only educating people through its commentary but also working as an example of what can legally be created out of someone else's content.

This film could also be said to fall under the title of "critical comment" - critiquing perhaps the impact  of  the Walt Disney Corporation on copyright legislation. Ellam's documentary RIP: A remix manifesto states that in 1998 the USA Government granted the Walt Disney Corporation copyright terms of "the life of the author plus 70 years" or plus 95 years if it was a corporation  (Ellam 2009). This precedent means that any media created now, will not enter the public domain and be free for use within our lifetimes. We cannot legally draw upon, extend, remix and remake using the influences of the modern day (unless of course we pay to do it).

A critical  point to make I think.

 dangerousnerd. 2007. A Fair(y) Use Tale. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UycH2HvBRd4 (accessed 28//9/11).

RIP: A Remix Manifesto (part 5). 2009. YouTube,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfSiQjFmcZw (accessed 6/10/11).

2.1: Gavin and Stacey - list of individuals, organisations and technolgies involved in the production, delivery and consumption of the show

This is a list comprised of the individuals, organisations and technology that goes into the production, delivery and consumption of the official TV series Gavin and Stacey. It does not include any of the fan based media texts that make up a large part of the way consumers interact with the characters and storyline of the original text.

Individuals:

According to the website IMDb (International Movie Database)  the Gavin & Stacey cast and crew was made up of over 100 people who worked on the series over its lifetime. The cast and crew were made up of:

• directors, writers, cast, producers, cinematographers, film editors, casting, production design, art directors, costume design, makeup, production management, assistant directors, art department, sound department, stunts, camera and electrical department, costume and wardrobe department, editorial department and "other" (Full cast and crew for "Gavin & Stacey").

As full list of names can be found here: Gavin & Stacey full cast and crew

Organisations: 

Produced by:

Baby Cow Productions (Company credits for "Gavin & Stacey") who are part of a group that also consists of Baby Cow Animations, Baby Cow Films and Baby Cow Radio. The group was created by comedians Steve Coogan and Henry Normal and is part owned (25%) by BBC Worldwide Baby Cow Productions). BBC Worlwide owns the following channels: BBC America, BBC Entertainment, BBC HD, BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle, BBC World News, CBeebies, UKTV (Australia), has a joint venture with BBC Canada, BBC Kids and 10 Virgin Media Channels ( Channels)

  Distributed by:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (UK)  (Company credits for "Gavin & Stacey") who own BBC Worldwide  (What is the BBC?  2011) and Comedy Central (Netherlands) (Company credits for "Gavin & Stacey")

Accommodation: Access Bookings GB (Company credits for "Gavin & Stacey")

                                                                                           

Aired on:

BBC1, BBC 2 BBC 3 (in the UK), BBC entertainment and BBC America (USA), BBC Canada, Channel 7, 7two, ABC2 and UKTV (Australia),  Acht (Belgium), HOT V.O.D and Yes Stars Comedy (Israel), RTE Two (Ireland), RTL 8 (The Netherlands), Stoo2 (Iceland), TV One (NZ) and RTP2 (Portugal) (Gavin &Stacey)

DVDs and Box sets can be purchased from:

Amazon, BBC Online, ABC bookshops and online, JB HI FI, Sanity. Digital copies can also be purchased form iTunes (Gavin and Stacey, Series 1), and Amazon (Gavin and Stacey Season 2)  

Websites:

There is no one official site for the show, but it does have a sub-site that appears on the parent website of the particular network it is currently being aired on. Some sites include:

BBC ONE

BBC America

Apps:

Gavin and Stacey Apps can be  purchased through the itunes store (Gavin & Stacey Soundboard)  

Technologies:

Consumers can watch the series on TV, computer or mobile devices such as iPads or phones. The websites can also be accessed through this medium. The official apps can only be accessed through iPhones.

   

Baby Cow Productions. http://www.babycow.co.uk/babycowproductions.html (accessed 5/10/11).  

Channels. http://www.bbcworldwide.com/channels.aspx (accessed 5/10/11). 

Company credits for "Gavin & Stacey". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0908454/companycredits (accessed 5/10/11).

Full cast and crew for "Gavin & Stacey". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0908454/fullcredits#cast (accessed 5/10/11).

Gavin & Stacey. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_%26_Stacey#International_broadcasts (accessed 5/10/11).

  

Gavin and Stacey Season 2. http://www.amazon.com/Episode-1/dp/B003ZHOWT0/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1317786523&sr=1-1 (accessed 5/10/11).

Gavin and Stacey, Series 1. TV Shows > Comedy (5/10/11)

Gavin & Stacey Soundboard. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/gavin-stacey-soundboard/id385944743?mt=8 

What is the BBC? 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/purpose/what.shtml (accessed 5/10/11).

 

 

2.1 Activity 3: Blockbusters

What is a Blockbuster A blockbuster is a moneymaking machine for the film industry that requires a large economic investment for its production and reaps a large economic return. Blockbusters support the economy of production companies, covering the costs of movies that do not do so well in the box office. The focus for these films more on the economic side than cultural or artistic side of film making. What are its major characteristics? A blockbuster needs to appeal the international market to make the highest profit and is therefore usually low on storyline and big on action sequences which are easily interpreted without use of language or knowledge of cultural custom. They also utilise the newest technologies to create special effects in order to diversify from other forms of media (such as television ) and to draw in the crowd based on the promise of the spectacular. Blockbusters rely heavily on branding and need to have a “simple, immediate and easily recognizable identity” (Cucco 2009). The plot needs to be able to be summarized in 30 seconds (to fit in TV advertising slots) and brand is created through imagery, posters, merchandise and the use or big name actors who can draw in a crowd based on their own branding and identity. How are they sold? Blockbusters are sold using “saturation booking strategy” (Cucco 2009). First the blockbuster is advertised heavily on television and other forms of media, and is released over multiple cinemas over one weekend in order to get the maximum amount of people to see the movie at once. This minimizes the risk of world of mouth critique that may prevent people going to see the movie and the advertising creates a sense of urgency to see the movie first and is especially targeted at young people. The opening weekend is then used as unit of measure that determines the economic value of resale to other media distributors such as television stations. Why do we go see Blockbusters? These movies are well advertised so we know when they are on and where we can go and see them. They also use special effects which are better viewed on larger screens so going to the watch them at the cinema is generally better than watching them at home. Plus going to the movies is a nice way socialize and as so many people watch them give us something in common to discuss whether online or over the water cooler. Cucco, M. 2009. The Promise is great: the blockbuster and the Hollywood economy. Media Culture Society (31): 215.

Subject: RE: Blockbusters