Newspaper and politics

Newspapers + Politics

allowed to say what party they support , openly support + criticise

Press freedom - Moodle 

left wing ~+ right wing = what people think a country should do for citizens

left wing =

look to future , support those who cannot support themselves , NHS and job seekers allowance = fundamentally left wing ideas

they believe in equality + freedom for all

should pay tax

have left wing agenda , traditionally

parties = labour , green party

right wing =

should not pay a huge amount of tax = less money to pay for good schooling , healthcare , benefits

believe = survival of the fittest , economic freedom

businesses shouldn't be regulated = people should look after themselves

they shouldn't have to pay for someone else's education + health service

parties = conservative/Tory party UKIP (focus on UK not being part of European union)

The centre = liberal democrats

have some left + right wing members

diagram on moodle

Daily mail = right wing

guardian = left wing

Daily mail :

This headline supports right wing ideas. David Cameron was the UK's prime minister until 2016 , and the newspaper uses his political position to present their ideas. As a right wing newspaper , the daily mail are against tax rise and this can be seen in their headline. Cameron is a prominent figure of the conservative party therefore the use of his name will attract attention.

The Guardian:

As a left wing newspaper , the Guardian are against paying tax. They use Cameron's name to present their political views. They give the message that the reason that Cameron is against tax is because he benefits from avoiding paying it. Cameron's face suggests guilt and shame , and this a tool used by the Guardian to make individuals support left wing ideas. As Cameron was the conservative leader the guardian will be critical of him and this can be seen in this headline.

• UK press largely right wing
• run by small group of right wing media moguls
• 5/8 national newspapers = right wing e.g. Daily Mail , Daily Express The sun

• Daily mail = Britain's most right wing newspaper
• Guardian = Britain's most left wing newspaper
• power without responsibility = having power without doing things the right way

Newspaper and politics

Newspapers + Politics

allowed to say what party they support , openly support + criticise

Press freedom - Moodle 

left wing ~+ right wing = what people think a country should do for citizens

left wing =

look to future , support those who cannot support themselves , NHS and job seekers allowance = fundamentally left wing ideas

they believe in equality + freedom for all

should pay tax

have left wing agenda , traditionally

parties = labour , green party

right wing =

should not pay a huge amount of tax = less money to pay for good schooling , healthcare , benefits

believe = survival of the fittest , economic freedom

businesses shouldn't be regulated = people should look after themselves

they shouldn't have to pay for someone else's education + health service

parties = conservative/Tory party UKIP (focus on UK not being part of European union)

The centre = liberal democrats

have some left + right wing members

diagram on moodle

Daily mail = right wing

guardian = left wing

Daily mail :

This headline supports right wing ideas. David Cameron was the UK's prime minister until 2016 , and the newspaper uses his political position to present their ideas. As a right wing newspaper , the daily mail are against tax rise and this can be seen in their headline. Cameron is a prominent figure of the conservative party therefore the use of his name will attract attention.

The Guardian:

As a left wing newspaper , the Guardian are against paying tax. They use Cameron's name to present their political views. They give the message that the reason that Cameron is against tax is because he benefits from avoiding paying it. Cameron's face suggests guilt and shame , and this a tool used by the Guardian to make individuals support left wing ideas. As Cameron was the conservative leader the guardian will be critical of him and this can be seen in this headline.

• UK press largely right wing
• run by small group of right wing media moguls
• 5/8 national newspapers = right wing e.g. Daily Mail , Daily Express The sun

• Daily mail = Britain's most right wing newspaper
• Guardian = Britain's most left wing newspaper
• power without responsibility = having power without doing things the right way

Task (45 marks)

In depth case study questions: 
News coverage of social class : Madeline McCann and Shannon Matthews




1: Tender and considerate language has largely been used to describe the parent of Madeline McCann. The fact that 'a child psychologist' flew from England to Algarve to help Kate and Gerry in 'telling  their twins' about the incident shows how considerate and changed the couple are after Madeline's abduction. They are doing everything possible in order to make sure that Sean and Amelie are protected both physically (by sleeping with their parents at night) and mentally. The use of such soft hearted language presents Kate and Gerry McCann as positive parents who have been completely changed after the abduction of their daughter , and will not allow any harm to come to their remaining two children. Calling a child psychologist to speak to the twins also suggests that the family are from a wealthy class (upper/middle class) . This is because they can afford to hire a psychologist for the benefit of their children as well as hire 'private' detectives to handle the case.






On the other hand, inconsiderate and dysfunctional language has been used to describe the Matthews family. This seen when the officers examined the 'similarities' between Shannon's abduction and a TV series on channel 4 called 'Shameless'. In the series a teenage daughter of a dysfunctional man sets up a fake kidnap of her son in order to obtain a £500,000 ransom, while Liam , her son is hidden a few doors away. The two incidents are shockingly similar to one another. The assumption that Karen hid her daughter for money presents her as a greedy and heartless mother .Unlike the McCann's she is presented as an avaricious mother , willing to put he daughters life in danger for wealth. The fact that Karren chose to do such a shameless act also hints at her social class. She may have decided to take this step because it could be seen by her as the only way to survive. Karren is not from a wealthy class like the McCann's , she is of a working class and just earns enough to survive. She received benefits which may have not been enough anymore to provide for 7 children. Therefore , her social class may have been the reason behind her inconsiderate actions.






2: A wide shot has been used to capture Kate McCann and Amelie.They take up the full frame in the picture. In the frame Kate is seen holding Amelie's  hand to ensure that she safely gets down the stairs. It looks as if she cannot bear to be parted from her daughter suggesting her changed , caring and protective manner. This picture in particular may have been used by the daily mail because it supports the text , which talks about the couple as caring and cautious parents. It also looks as if Kate and Amelie are getting of a plane , almost a private plane hired especially for the twins safety.This does not only present them as protective parents but also shows their wealthy class.


On the other hand, a close up has been used to focus the facial expressions of Karen and Shannon Matthews. The expressions on Karen's face show guilt. It is as if she is repenting for committing such a heartless act. Shannon's  close up shows her as a happy and beautiful child. This makes us look down upon Karen even more for harassing such a lovely daughter. There is nothing else except the close up in the frame suggesting how Karen , from a working class does not posses anything now except her guilt.




3: Stuart Hall known as the founding father of media studies argues that representation is about the various meanings generated from media. He also believed that class/religion and race are represented in media in terms of how different they are from mainstream white ideas. This leads to news coverage becoming hierarchical.


The class division is clearly seen between the Matthews  and the McCann's in these articles in the daily telegraph. The McCann's are represented as being from an upper/middle class. This is because they have spent 'around £11 million' on the search for Madeline. This is a huge amount which probably most middle class and none of the working class can afford. The McCann's hierarchical statues is further reinforced by mentioning how they have had a child psychologist to speak to the twins  and hired 'private detectives' to handle the case. Readers may decode various meanings from these tiny details. Readers from an upper/middle may feel that a considerable amount has been spent on the case and that it  has been spent wisely. However, the lower/working class will be shocked to see the amount the McCann's have spent on the case and may even see them as a rich spoilt family. Therefore, the news coverage of these factors represents the hierarchical statues of the McCann's.


In contrast to the McCann's, the Matthews are represented as being from a poor /working class. The comparison between Shannon's abduction and the TV series 'Shameless' suggests this. The working class are known to have been highly influenced from TV as they spend a huge amount of time watching It. The fact that Karen is from the working class suggests how she could have possibly been influenced by the show 'Shameless' to fake the kidnap of Shannon. This also represents Karen as the 'other' especially in comparison to the McCann's. Her representation as a greedy and heartless mother , shows that her actions are very different from mainstream or middle/upper class parents. This decoding of her character shows her as powerless in society because due to the news coverage she is seen as mother who staged a fake kidnap of her daughter because she thought it was the only way to survive.


4; Stuart Hall also recognized that audiences read media texts and decode them in different ways. This leads to a piece of text becoming polysemic, having potential meanings. Hall focused on three main strands of views; dominant , negotiated and oppositional.


The dominant meaning of the Daily Telegraph is to show the different sides of parenting of the McCann's and the Matthews in relation to their class. The class division between the two families is clearly emphasised to the readers. Right from the first paragraph we are made aware that the McCann's are from an upper/middle class because they have already spent 'around £11 million' on the case. We are also made aware of the fact that the Matthews are from a poor working class background because they have had to stage a 'fake kidnap' to get some money. From this introduction we are made to think that the McCann's are 'good' parents , who have spent millions on the case of their daughter because they are genuinely worried about her. This is further reinforced in the article as we get to know how the couple cannot bear to be parted from Amelie and Sean. Whereas by mentioning , almost as a fact that Karen had set up a fake kidnap we decode that the Karen is a 'bad' parent. This is emphasised through the similarities' of the case with the TV series also showing the extent of influence of TV in the life of a working class woman. These dominant interpretations are encoded in pretty the whole article.




After reading the Daily Telegraph, I personally decode a negotiated reading in response to the text. I do agree to an extent with the dominant reading of the McCann's as 'good' parents and the Matthews as 'bad'. However, I do not completely see the McCann's as 'good' parents because I believe that they have also acted as inconsiderate and careless parents in a way. They left Madeline , Sean and Amelie sleeping all by themselves in an apartment without the doors even locked. The fact that the daily telegraph fails to mention this piece of information shows their bias towards the McCann's. Karen Matthews may be decoded as a 'bad' parent but in my opinion the McCann's are not exactly examples of 'good' parents.

Task (45 marks)

In depth case study questions: 
News coverage of social class : Madeline McCann and Shannon Matthews




1: Tender and considerate language has largely been used to describe the parent of Madeline McCann. The fact that 'a child psychologist' flew from England to Algarve to help Kate and Gerry in 'telling  their twins' about the incident shows how considerate and changed the couple are after Madeline's abduction. They are doing everything possible in order to make sure that Sean and Amelie are protected both physically (by sleeping with their parents at night) and mentally. The use of such soft hearted language presents Kate and Gerry McCann as positive parents who have been completely changed after the abduction of their daughter , and will not allow any harm to come to their remaining two children. Calling a child psychologist to speak to the twins also suggests that the family are from a wealthy class (upper/middle class) . This is because they can afford to hire a psychologist for the benefit of their children as well as hire 'private' detectives to handle the case.






On the other hand, inconsiderate and dysfunctional language has been used to describe the Matthews family. This seen when the officers examined the 'similarities' between Shannon's abduction and a TV series on channel 4 called 'Shameless'. In the series a teenage daughter of a dysfunctional man sets up a fake kidnap of her son in order to obtain a £500,000 ransom, while Liam , her son is hidden a few doors away. The two incidents are shockingly similar to one another. The assumption that Karen hid her daughter for money presents her as a greedy and heartless mother .Unlike the McCann's she is presented as an avaricious mother , willing to put he daughters life in danger for wealth. The fact that Karren chose to do such a shameless act also hints at her social class. She may have decided to take this step because it could be seen by her as the only way to survive. Karren is not from a wealthy class like the McCann's , she is of a working class and just earns enough to survive. She received benefits which may have not been enough anymore to provide for 7 children. Therefore , her social class may have been the reason behind her inconsiderate actions.






2: A wide shot has been used to capture Kate McCann and Amelie.They take up the full frame in the picture. In the frame Kate is seen holding Amelie's  hand to ensure that she safely gets down the stairs. It looks as if she cannot bear to be parted from her daughter suggesting her changed , caring and protective manner. This picture in particular may have been used by the daily mail because it supports the text , which talks about the couple as caring and cautious parents. It also looks as if Kate and Amelie are getting of a plane , almost a private plane hired especially for the twins safety.This does not only present them as protective parents but also shows their wealthy class.


On the other hand, a close up has been used to focus the facial expressions of Karen and Shannon Matthews. The expressions on Karen's face show guilt. It is as if she is repenting for committing such a heartless act. Shannon's  close up shows her as a happy and beautiful child. This makes us look down upon Karen even more for harassing such a lovely daughter. There is nothing else except the close up in the frame suggesting how Karen , from a working class does not posses anything now except her guilt.




3: Stuart Hall known as the founding father of media studies argues that representation is about the various meanings generated from media. He also believed that class/religion and race are represented in media in terms of how different they are from mainstream white ideas. This leads to news coverage becoming hierarchical.


The class division is clearly seen between the Matthews  and the McCann's in these articles in the daily telegraph. The McCann's are represented as being from an upper/middle class. This is because they have spent 'around £11 million' on the search for Madeline. This is a huge amount which probably most middle class and none of the working class can afford. The McCann's hierarchical statues is further reinforced by mentioning how they have had a child psychologist to speak to the twins  and hired 'private detectives' to handle the case. Readers may decode various meanings from these tiny details. Readers from an upper/middle may feel that a considerable amount has been spent on the case and that it  has been spent wisely. However, the lower/working class will be shocked to see the amount the McCann's have spent on the case and may even see them as a rich spoilt family. Therefore, the news coverage of these factors represents the hierarchical statues of the McCann's.


In contrast to the McCann's, the Matthews are represented as being from a poor /working class. The comparison between Shannon's abduction and the TV series 'Shameless' suggests this. The working class are known to have been highly influenced from TV as they spend a huge amount of time watching It. The fact that Karen is from the working class suggests how she could have possibly been influenced by the show 'Shameless' to fake the kidnap of Shannon. This also represents Karen as the 'other' especially in comparison to the McCann's. Her representation as a greedy and heartless mother , shows that her actions are very different from mainstream or middle/upper class parents. This decoding of her character shows her as powerless in society because due to the news coverage she is seen as mother who staged a fake kidnap of her daughter because she thought it was the only way to survive.


4; Stuart Hall also recognized that audiences read media texts and decode them in different ways. This leads to a piece of text becoming polysemic, having potential meanings. Hall focused on three main strands of views; dominant , negotiated and oppositional.


The dominant meaning of the Daily Telegraph is to show the different sides of parenting of the McCann's and the Matthews in relation to their class. The class division between the two families is clearly emphasised to the readers. Right from the first paragraph we are made aware that the McCann's are from an upper/middle class because they have already spent 'around £11 million' on the case. We are also made aware of the fact that the Matthews are from a poor working class background because they have had to stage a 'fake kidnap' to get some money. From this introduction we are made to think that the McCann's are 'good' parents , who have spent millions on the case of their daughter because they are genuinely worried about her. This is further reinforced in the article as we get to know how the couple cannot bear to be parted from Amelie and Sean. Whereas by mentioning , almost as a fact that Karen had set up a fake kidnap we decode that the Karen is a 'bad' parent. This is emphasised through the similarities' of the case with the TV series also showing the extent of influence of TV in the life of a working class woman. These dominant interpretations are encoded in pretty the whole article.




After reading the Daily Telegraph, I personally decode a negotiated reading in response to the text. I do agree to an extent with the dominant reading of the McCann's as 'good' parents and the Matthews as 'bad'. However, I do not completely see the McCann's as 'good' parents because I believe that they have also acted as inconsiderate and careless parents in a way. They left Madeline , Sean and Amelie sleeping all by themselves in an apartment without the doors even locked. The fact that the daily telegraph fails to mention this piece of information shows their bias towards the McCann's. Karen Matthews may be decoded as a 'bad' parent but in my opinion the McCann's are not exactly examples of 'good' parents.

Pay Wall - For and Against

Questions:


Q. What does David Simon mean by ‘slow suicide’?
Simon means how journalists who work for newspapers that have no pay wall , will suffer . This is because they will have very little wages to survive . No money is being made as profit by these newspapers because their content is free to access.


Q Why does he mean by saying anti-paywall people “don’t understand the first thing about actual journalism”?
He may mean how journalism is not just something people do for a hobby. It is a career that people decide to go into and have to do a lot of work in order to collect their information  , and these journalists also need a certain amount of money in order to survive . This is why pay wall is important , we need to consider the fact that the people who write these articles also need to earn a living. This is why paywall is important.


Q What does he mean by “journalism is a profession”?
I think he means that journalists write and publish articles hoping to make a living from it. While other people may not see this as a true profession , it actually is because journalists write and research in order to make money. They study journalism and research in depth like any other profession would require you to do.

Q What does he mean by “Band-Aid to cover a bullet hole”?

It means that when people choose not to pay for a certain newspaper , this is because they believe that in some time another news agency will deliver the news which is free and the readers will access this.
Q How much would you pay for Facebook (or any other social network)? Why this much?
I think I will not pay anything for Facebook because I do not use it that much , therefore it will be a waste of my money . However , for people who are addicted to Facebook £3-5 will be a reasonable amount every month


Q. What would make you pay to read a newspaper? (Value-added content)
I think if a newspaper covers a real life story of an incident that has happened to someone e.g. an acid attack , then I will pay to read this news , because it is a very personal thing to share online and I believe that it will teach me about how people who experience such things feel , and how they deal with it later in life.



Finally: In your own words put together a 200 – 300 word argument IN FAVOUR of Paywalls – to try to convince a young person who has never paid for a newspaper

200-300 words in favor of paywall - Rob

Argument in favour of paywall

Paywall, a feature of a website that requires payment from users, so that they can receive further content and services. Paywall restricts access to content for those who do not pay. There are many advantages of putting up paywall on a website, and everyone should be in favour of paywall after focusing on these benefits. Firstly, paywall legitimizes the quality of the content. This means that higher quality content will only be available to readers who value it, and will therefore pay for it. Paying for quality is also a great reason to pay for paywall as readers may not find certain content available anywhere else.

Secondly, putting up a paywall online e.g. on a news website is much cheaper than buying a newspaper on the way to work every day. Therefore readers can access the same news stories online at a much lower price than on a printed newspaper. Paying for paywall will allow users to save, send, and copy news which is not possible on a printed newspaper.

Thirdly, putting up a paywall is advantageous because it is highly reliable. The newspapers will not ask you for payments of the content if it has been written by uneducated or beginner journalists. The newspapers will ask you for payment because their content is written by experienced professionals, who are highly educated. Therefore, paying for a paywall will benefit you as it will make your reading, research and understanding of a higher and more reliable quality than someone who has accessed news for free.

The last reason as to why you should sign up for paywall is the fact that ‘Journalism is a profession’. This means that the journalists who write and publish articles do not just do it for fun . They have to do extensive research on their topic, make sure it is valid and reliable and constantly check their work for any errors. This requires time and hard work. Therefore, by agreeing to paywall we are not only benefiting ourselves but also journalists, who see paywall as a way in which they earn a living. Paywall is a source of income for their career. We need to consider the fact that just as we would want our hard work to be rewarded, so would these journalists. Paywall is not only a way of ‘accessing content’, it is also a way in which journalists survive and protect their career.

200-300 words in favor of paywall - Rob

Argument in favour of paywall

Paywall, a feature of a website that requires payment from users, so that they can receive further content and services. Paywall restricts access to content for those who do not pay. There are many advantages of putting up paywall on a website, and everyone should be in favour of paywall after focusing on these benefits. Firstly, paywall legitimizes the quality of the content. This means that higher quality content will only be available to readers who value it, and will therefore pay for it. Paying for quality is also a great reason to pay for paywall as readers may not find certain content available anywhere else.

Secondly, putting up a paywall online e.g. on a news website is much cheaper than buying a newspaper on the way to work every day. Therefore readers can access the same news stories online at a much lower price than on a printed newspaper. Paying for paywall will allow users to save, send, and copy news which is not possible on a printed newspaper.

Thirdly, putting up a paywall is advantageous because it is highly reliable. The newspapers will not ask you for payments of the content if it has been written by uneducated or beginner journalists. The newspapers will ask you for payment because their content is written by experienced professionals, who are highly educated. Therefore, paying for a paywall will benefit you as it will make your reading, research and understanding of a higher and more reliable quality than someone who has accessed news for free.

The last reason as to why you should sign up for paywall is the fact that ‘Journalism is a profession’. This means that the journalists who write and publish articles do not just do it for fun . They have to do extensive research on their topic, make sure it is valid and reliable and constantly check their work for any errors. This requires time and hard work. Therefore, by agreeing to paywall we are not only benefiting ourselves but also journalists, who see paywall as a way in which they earn a living. Paywall is a source of income for their career. We need to consider the fact that just as we would want our hard work to be rewarded, so would these journalists. Paywall is not only a way of ‘accessing content’, it is also a way in which journalists survive and protect their career.

Pay Wall - For and Against

Questions:


Q. What does David Simon mean by ‘slow suicide’?
Simon means how journalists who work for newspapers that have no pay wall , will suffer . This is because they will have very little wages to survive . No money is being made as profit by these newspapers because their content is free to access.


Q Why does he mean by saying anti-paywall people “don’t understand the first thing about actual journalism”?
He may mean how journalism is not just something people do for a hobby. It is a career that people decide to go into and have to do a lot of work in order to collect their information  , and these journalists also need a certain amount of money in order to survive . This is why pay wall is important , we need to consider the fact that the people who write these articles also need to earn a living. This is why paywall is important.


Q What does he mean by “journalism is a profession”?
I think he means that journalists write and publish articles hoping to make a living from it. While other people may not see this as a true profession , it actually is because journalists write and research in order to make money. They study journalism and research in depth like any other profession would require you to do.

Q What does he mean by “Band-Aid to cover a bullet hole”?

It means that when people choose not to pay for a certain newspaper , this is because they believe that in some time another news agency will deliver the news which is free and the readers will access this.
Q How much would you pay for Facebook (or any other social network)? Why this much?
I think I will not pay anything for Facebook because I do not use it that much , therefore it will be a waste of my money . However , for people who are addicted to Facebook £3-5 will be a reasonable amount every month


Q. What would make you pay to read a newspaper? (Value-added content)
I think if a newspaper covers a real life story of an incident that has happened to someone e.g. an acid attack , then I will pay to read this news , because it is a very personal thing to share online and I believe that it will teach me about how people who experience such things feel , and how they deal with it later in life.



Finally: In your own words put together a 200 – 300 word argument IN FAVOUR of Paywalls – to try to convince a young person who has never paid for a newspaper

Media Essay (News Value) - vanessa

Media Essay

Which news values apply in the article?

Article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41887982

News value, known as a kind of scoring system in the media world. The higher a story scores on a specific value the more likely it is to appear as a front page news or at the beginning of a news bulletin . Media researchers Galtung and Ruge (1980) identified these factors as a way in which news professionals decide on what is considered ‘News worthy’. The article I will discuss, is the story of a delivery boy who became an acid victim on 2 November 2017 publishes by the BBC. My essay will have 4 main bodies looking at the specific news values, followed by a conclusion which summarises all the news values discussed in the essay.

“The 32-year-old food delivery driver was assaulted in east London on 2 November by two men who tried to steal his moped.” This is a sentence showing the BBC’s summary on the incident that occurred in East London. Here, we have our first news value applied, which is proximity. Proximity means that an event that is close to our home , where we come from or where we live gets much more coverage on certain  news platforms than ‘any other’ event. Paul Gilroy argues how when an incident occurs with a person from a non-white middle class background, his ethnicity is always mentioned e.g. Asian terrorist he named this ‘the other’. However, in this article no such thing is mentioned, although the victim is from a Pakistani middle class background.  The fact that this article focuses on an incident that happened in east London Walthamstow suggests how the story will be hugely written and talked about in areas of East London such as Leyton than any other place in the UK. This may be the reason why newspapers such as The Sun, The Guardian decided not to write about this news. This is proximity. Readers who live in East London or closer will feel much more connected to this article about an acid attack compared to reader in areas in West or South London.

The second news value that applies to this article is Frequency. This is seen in the date this article was published (9 November 2017), which is only a couple of days ago, therefore highly recent.  The first article written about this acid attack was also launched by the BBC on the Thursday 2 November, when the event actually occurred. So, the story is much more likely to get coverage in the news because it discusses an event that happened only a week ago. Audiences will also be focused because acid attacks have been common in the UK over the last few months for example the acid attack in Westfield, Stratford happening only two months ago. Therefore, this news story will receive a lot of coverage as it talks about an event that has happened very recently.

Frequency here could also be linked with another news value which is continuity. This means how journalists covering this news on the acid attack, have not only decided to write about the event once or twice but quite a few times, to keep the readers updated on the incident. This is clearly seen in the heading of the article which is “Walthamstow acid attack: Over £10,000 raised for victim”. This shows how after the incident occurred journalists have written about other events that have happened as a result of the acid attack.  A local woman from Walthamstow , Najma , 43 , set up an online fundraising page for the victim with a target to raise £5,000 initially for the victim, Muhammed Nawshad Kamal, 32.

The last news value I will discuss is predictability. This means how audiences will be able to forecast events that might happen in the news. We have been hearing a lot about acid attacks in the news , they have made headlines in newspapers and news channels e.g. The independent , BBC News .There has been an alarming rise in acid attacks in the UK. It has become a sort of horrible trend. Therefore , it is not hard for audiences to predict that there will be more acid attacks will follow. After the acid attack occurred in Westfields , we could predict how soon a similar situation will arise in Walthamstow , because the two places are quite close. Personally , I was highly predicting that an acid will definitely happen in either Walthamstow or Leyton , and it did! This is predictability , our power to be able to foreshadow news events and when  these events occur , they become headlines on the front page just like in this article , “Walthamstow acid attack:”.

In conclusion ,I believe that almost all of the news values of Galtung and Ruge apply to this article about the Walthamstow acid attack . However, I have picked proximity, frequency , continuity and predictability as I think they are the most important for this article . To an extent these news values are what have made this article a headline.

But, predictability does seem to be the most key news value for this article. This is because readers in Walthamstow and other areas around were just expecting this devastating incident to happen ,they were waiting for an acid attack to take place. And it did happen, in a very short time space. Therefore, predictability may be the key reason why the incident with Mr Kamal created such a roar in the news world.

Media Essay (News Value) - vanessa

Media Essay

Which news values apply in the article?

Article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41887982

News value, known as a kind of scoring system in the media world. The higher a story scores on a specific value the more likely it is to appear as a front page news or at the beginning of a news bulletin . Media researchers Galtung and Ruge (1980) identified these factors as a way in which news professionals decide on what is considered ‘News worthy’. The article I will discuss, is the story of a delivery boy who became an acid victim on 2 November 2017 publishes by the BBC. My essay will have 4 main bodies looking at the specific news values, followed by a conclusion which summarises all the news values discussed in the essay.

“The 32-year-old food delivery driver was assaulted in east London on 2 November by two men who tried to steal his moped.” This is a sentence showing the BBC’s summary on the incident that occurred in East London. Here, we have our first news value applied, which is proximity. Proximity means that an event that is close to our home , where we come from or where we live gets much more coverage on certain  news platforms than ‘any other’ event. Paul Gilroy argues how when an incident occurs with a person from a non-white middle class background, his ethnicity is always mentioned e.g. Asian terrorist he named this ‘the other’. However, in this article no such thing is mentioned, although the victim is from a Pakistani middle class background.  The fact that this article focuses on an incident that happened in east London Walthamstow suggests how the story will be hugely written and talked about in areas of East London such as Leyton than any other place in the UK. This may be the reason why newspapers such as The Sun, The Guardian decided not to write about this news. This is proximity. Readers who live in East London or closer will feel much more connected to this article about an acid attack compared to reader in areas in West or South London.

The second news value that applies to this article is Frequency. This is seen in the date this article was published (9 November 2017), which is only a couple of days ago, therefore highly recent.  The first article written about this acid attack was also launched by the BBC on the Thursday 2 November, when the event actually occurred. So, the story is much more likely to get coverage in the news because it discusses an event that happened only a week ago. Audiences will also be focused because acid attacks have been common in the UK over the last few months for example the acid attack in Westfield, Stratford happening only two months ago. Therefore, this news story will receive a lot of coverage as it talks about an event that has happened very recently.

Frequency here could also be linked with another news value which is continuity. This means how journalists covering this news on the acid attack, have not only decided to write about the event once or twice but quite a few times, to keep the readers updated on the incident. This is clearly seen in the heading of the article which is “Walthamstow acid attack: Over £10,000 raised for victim”. This shows how after the incident occurred journalists have written about other events that have happened as a result of the acid attack.  A local woman from Walthamstow , Najma , 43 , set up an online fundraising page for the victim with a target to raise £5,000 initially for the victim, Muhammed Nawshad Kamal, 32.

The last news value I will discuss is predictability. This means how audiences will be able to forecast events that might happen in the news. We have been hearing a lot about acid attacks in the news , they have made headlines in newspapers and news channels e.g. The independent , BBC News .There has been an alarming rise in acid attacks in the UK. It has become a sort of horrible trend. Therefore , it is not hard for audiences to predict that there will be more acid attacks will follow. After the acid attack occurred in Westfields , we could predict how soon a similar situation will arise in Walthamstow , because the two places are quite close. Personally , I was highly predicting that an acid will definitely happen in either Walthamstow or Leyton , and it did! This is predictability , our power to be able to foreshadow news events and when  these events occur , they become headlines on the front page just like in this article , “Walthamstow acid attack:”.

In conclusion ,I believe that almost all of the news values of Galtung and Ruge apply to this article about the Walthamstow acid attack . However, I have picked proximity, frequency , continuity and predictability as I think they are the most important for this article . To an extent these news values are what have made this article a headline.

But, predictability does seem to be the most key news value for this article. This is because readers in Walthamstow and other areas around were just expecting this devastating incident to happen ,they were waiting for an acid attack to take place. And it did happen, in a very short time space. Therefore, predictability may be the key reason why the incident with Mr Kamal created such a roar in the news world.