NDM Baseline assessment: Learner response

Development in new/digital media mean that audiences can now have access to a greater variety of views and values. To extent are audiences empowered by these developments?
29/48 C

WWW: Good sense of critical autonomy + good balance  answer.
EBI: Provide and more detailed examples to task up your points with evidence.

This essay will be investigating whether or not development in new/digital media mean audiences can now have access to greater variety of views and values and whether or not audiences are empowered by these developments.

There are several ways in which proves that audiences are indeed empowered by new digital media developments and mean to have access to a greater variety of views and values. One innovation in which supports this statement is the introduction and development of web.2.0. Web.2.0 allows users to create their own webpages and media text. Any users with a web connection can produce a public text. This allows audiences to have a form of user generated content.  This development is essential as it empowers audiences to share opinions online such as online blogs like blooger.com. The internet gives audiences a digital licence and a sense of freedom. An example of users’ freedom is citizen journalism posted online on social media sites. This form of user generated content allows audiences to become active audiences such as the #blacklivesmatter campaign. This has allowed other audiences access to greater variety of views and values due to the digital development in the web. The internet also allows users to challenge political views and ideologies by expressing their views and opinions on either social media sites or online forums. This then reinforces the statement of the internet being enforcing users’ freedom. Al Gore once quoted that the internet is ‘’Exciting and Revolutionary’’ and that the internet ‘’ has a more profound impact than print media.’’ This could be the case due to the fact print media is becoming a dying media due to the dominance of new and digital media.

Week 3: Story 6- 'TV presenter warned after paid-for tweet about Alpro snack'

 

 TV presenter warned after paid-for tweet about Alpro snack

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/sep/21/tv-presenter-tweet-alpro-aj-odudu-twitter-marketing

“While we noted that the tweet contained the advertiser Twitter handle and campaign hashtags, we did not consider that this would make clear to consumers the commercial intent of the content or the editorial control exercised by the advertiser.”

• Odudu, who currently has more than 25,000 followers on Twitter, has been warned to mark future similar posts with #ad to clear up any doubt.
• he ASA said: “The ad was presented in a similar ‘voice’ to Ms Odudu’s other tweets and did not include any clear identifier, such as ‘#ad’, to demarcate it from her own content.
•  The company, which specialises in soya food products, has pledged to ensure any future marketing communications are marked up as ads.

  This indicates how companies are now using social media to target specific audiences. Through the use of celebs high profile accounts with loads of followers such as Odudu, companies now pay them to promote their brand, this replaces traditional means of advertising such as TV advertisements and so on.

Google

1) Why has Google led to the decline of the newspaper industry?

The decline in print media especially the newspaper has been widely debated as the industry faces competition from online websites such as google. This is the case due to the value of this company. Google have invested so much money into advertising revenue. 

2) Find a statistic from the article that illustrates the decline of traditional news media.

In the United States, where the industry has shed a fifth of its journalists since 2001

3) Looking at the graph featured in the article, what period has seen the steepest decline in newspaper advertising revenue? 

It says that it was 2012 where we have seen the steepest decline in newspaper advertising revenue.
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4) Do you personally think Google is to blame for newspapers closing and journalists losing their jobs? Why?

I don't personally believe that it is google is exactly to blame due to the fact the print media is becoming a dying media. Its due to the fact that we are in a world where digital media is dominating the media. This is the case as it is instant people could receive instant news from social media sites such as twitter and Facebook.
5) Read the comments below the article. Pick one comment you agree with and one you disagree with and justify your opinions in detail.

Google has forced journalistic outlets to innovate and search for new ways of doing things. It has made information dissemination more efficient. While at times that has been bad for the average journalist trying to make a buck, from a big picture perspective, it has been good for helping people get access to information, and that includes journalism."

Ofcom report into news consumption 2015

NDM case study: How has news changed?

1) What are the most popular platforms for audiences to access news and how has this changed in recent years? 

Television is by far the most-used platform for news, with 67% of UK adults saying they use TV as a source of news. The number of people who use the internet or apps for news has remained the same since 2014. Newspapers are used by three in ten, which represents a decrease of nine percentage points since 2014 and 2013 (when 40% of UK adults said they used newspapers for news). There has also been a decrease in those that say they use radio as a source of news (from 36% in 2014 to 32% in 2015). One in ten of adults say they don’t follow news, compared to 5% in 2014 and 7% in 2013.

2) How do different age demographics access news in the UK?

Those aged 55+ are more likely than those aged 16-24 to use TV, newspapers and radio for news consumption, while the opposite is true for the internet/ apps. Around half (51%) of people aged 16-24 use TV for news, compared to 86% of those aged 55+. A similar pattern can be seen for consumption of news through newspapers (21% of 16-24s vs. 44% aged 55+) and through radio (23% vs. 37%). Conversely, consumption of news online through any device is considerably higher for those aged 16-24 (59%) than for over-55s (23%).

3) Does socio-economic status change attitudes to news?

People in the AB socio-economic group are more likely than those in the DE socio-economic group to consume news on any of the four main platforms: TV (71% vs 67%), the internet (50% vs. 29%), newspapers (38% vs. 26%) and radio (46% vs. 23%).

4) How many different sources of news are used on average? How does differ between different groups?

Of the four main platforms, three in ten (31%) respondents use only one platform for news, with just under two in ten (19%) using only the TV alone, 11% using only the internet, 3% using radio alone, and 2% using only newspapers. The use of TV alone is more pronounced among over-55s (26%) and those in the DE socio-economic group (28%) than among 16-24s (13%) and those in the AB socio-economic group (14%). One in five (20%) people aged 16-24 report that they only use the internet for news, compared to just 2% of those aged 55+.

5) How has news consumption through television changed in recent years?

The average number of sources that people use for news has remained consistent year on year Looking within each platform at the different sources of news people might use, the number of people who use just one source remained at a similar level to 2014; 44% of TV users said they used just one source (42% in 2014) compared with 43% of internet users (45% in 2014), 34% for newspapers (35% in 2014) and 60% for radio (62% in 2014).

6) How much has news consumption through newspapers declined since 2005?

According to NRS figures, the reach of national newspapers has declined considerably in the past ten years, with reach among adults falling by 27 percentage points since 2005 (from 72.4% of all adults in 2005 to 45.4% in 2015).

7) How does newspaper reach differ by age group?

Reach of national newspapers varies by age group: 29.3% of 15-24s are print newspaper readers, compared to 67.9% of over-65s.

8) Which are the most popular newspapers and websites in the UK?

The Daily Mail is the most widely-read news title in the UK, with around 5.5 million users. The Sun follows with 5.2 million users, compared to 5.8 million in 2014. Looking at readership levels of print-only newspapers, The Sun was the most popular (with just under 5.2 million users vs. 3.5 million for the Daily Mail). Conversely, looking at readership for websites only, the Daily Mail had 1.8 million users, while The Sun had 0.06 million.

 9) How does online news consumption differ for age, gender and socio-economic status?

Four in ten (41%) UK adults say they use the internet for news. Six in ten (59%) UK adults aged 16-24 say they use the internet or apps for news, compared to just under a quarter (23%) of those aged 55+. Over half (53%) of those in the ABC1 socio-economic group use online sources for news, compared to a third (32%) of those in the C2DE socio-economic group. Men are more likely than women to say they use internet for news (45% vs. 37%).

10) What percentage of people use social media to access news? How does this differ by age and socio-economic status?

Looking at the specific devices that UK adults use to access news via the internet, a quarter (25%) of UK adults say they access news on a mobile phone, up by four percentage points since 2014. This compares to 20% who say they use a computer, laptop or netbook to access news (down by four percentage points since 2014) and 13% use a tablet for news (the same as in 2014). Two in five (42%) 16-24s say they use a mobile phone to access news, compared to 8% of over-55s.

11) What percentage of users only use social media sites for their news?

Ten per cent of online news users use only social media sites for news.

12) What are the most popular online sites for news?

Over half (56%) of online news users said they used the BBC website or app, compared to 59% in 2014. Facebook was the second most popular response, up by 12 percentage points since 2014 (from 17% to 29%). This was followed by the Google search engine (15%) and the Sky News website or app (14%).

13) What percentage of 16-24 year olds access news mostly from social media?

16% of those aged 16-24 

14) How do audiences find stories online?

30% of those who used social media for news said they ‘mostly’ accessed their news stories through social media posts, compared to 38% who said they ‘mostly’ accessed them directly from the websites/apps of news organisations. A further three in ten (31%) said they accessed them equally on social media posts and on news organisations’ websites or apps.

New/digital media: audience and institution

15) What are the benefits for audiences from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry?

They have information available at all times via their mobile phones and the internet through the use of social media/apps. News comes from newspaper online sites, feeds, blogs, and news organisations websites such as BBC News who also supply podcasts.

16) What are the benefits for institutions from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry?

They have more platforms to distribute their products which can be linked to provide a multimedia product line

17) What are the downsides for audiences as a result of new and digital media in news?

Downsides for audiences are that some of this content that may appear to be free won’t be for much longer

18) What are the downsides for institutions as a result of new and digital media in news?

The main problem for institutions is how to generate serious money out of digital content.

Week 3: Story 5 - 'Google to invest $1m in YouTube Creators for Change'

Google to invest $1m in YouTube Creators for Change

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/sep/22/google-youtube-creators-for-change-youtubers

This article covers the news that google will be funding grants and production resources to help YouTubers tackle social issues and encourage tolerance.They use the example of the successful YouTuber HumazaProductions as he covers social issues in a effective and humble way due to the fact he uses comedy to portray the issue and has a message of truth and reality at the end of the video.

• YouTube said it would unveil more ambassadors for the programme “soon” and those chosen will also be tasked with identifying other YouTubers who could contribute.
• The YouTube Creators for Change programme will kick off with six YouTubers from different countries.

“We want to make sure that YouTube continues to be a platform where anyone can come to find connection and community, speak out on the issues they care about and have the freedom to belong.”

 

I believe that this is a positive innovation for the social media community as this will encourage young teenagers who are watching these videos to learn from the characters mistakes as there is a sense of truth and reality in the character Humza portrays in his YouTube channel.

How has news changed in the last 20 years?

How has news changed in the last 20 years?

I believe that news has changed in the last 20 years due to the fact that technology and new digital media is improving vastly. This is evident due to the internet and social media. Technology has been improving and expanding rapidly in last 20 years. It has had a massive effect on the way news developed since Gutenberg’s printing press. New digital media has had a massive impact in the decline of print media due to the raise of e-media. This is the case as audiences interact and socialise through social media sites through news.  

I would say that institutions have it enhanced such as Twitter and Facebook due to the change in how audiences absorb news in the last 20 years. Massive institutions haven’t benefited due to the raise of citizen journalism. Citizen journalism helps promote these social media sites as it will attract users to share the content. However, it has disadvantaged institutions due to the fact the journalists are losing jobs as people do not read the news from traditional mass media institutions such as the metro.

From this I can conclude that traditional mass media institutions have suffered more by the change of news consumption in the last 20 years. New and digital media has given news to become far more accessible for audiences .

Improved

Who has benefited most from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry - audiences or institutions?

I believe that news has changed in the last 20 years due to the fact that technology and new digital media is improving vastly. This is evident due to the internet and social media. Technology has been improving and expanding rapidly in last 20 years. It has had a massive effect on the way news developed since Gutenberg’s printing press. New digital media has had a massive impact in the decline of print media due to the raise of e-media. This is the case as audiences interact and socialise through social media sites through news.  I would say that institutions have it enhanced such as Twitter and Facebook due to the change in how audiences absorb news in the last 20 years. Massive institutions haven’t benefited due to the raise of citizen journalism. Citizen journalism helps promote these social media sites as it will attract users to share the content. However, it has disadvantaged institutions due to the fact the journalists are losing jobs as people do not read the news from traditional mass media institutions such as the metro.

It is clear that almost everyone is trying to use new and digital media to the fullest, whether or not if its on apps on their phones or live podcasts on their phones. Institutions have benefited from the changes in new and digital media in many ways. They have brought a lot to the news industry. Now that there is internet, it is being used for many things. For example, you can watch the news on the website its comes from, or on youtube. Furthermore, you can read newspapers on websites and listen to the news on the radio which you could have always done. Also, you can access news headlines or stories on your phone by downloading the apps from newspapers or new or by simply going online. For example, Daily mail app or BBC news app. additionally, institutions such as Google have gained so much monopoly power over the past few years and they have gained even larger coverage and a better reputation within the industry without realising the drawbacks of their institutions growth. On the other hand, I think that the audiences have benefited more than the institutions. This is because they can access news articles on their phone, laptop, computer, tablets and ipads. Its portable everywhere. Also, the can access the magazines articles, watch the news on their websites or on youtube, they can read and search anything anywhere. If they just read a newspaper they would have to pay a small amount, they would have to make sure that they get the right issue, they will have to make sure that they get the issue everyday and that means going to the shops or making sure that they get delivered home. Instead, they can do this at home via the internet which is easier for them. This helps them as its more efficient and quick. The media industry has obviously evolved a lot since everything has moved onto being electronically done, but focusing on a more narrow industry it is easy to understand that the e-media industry rather than the print has definitely witnessed the benefits more. Due to more free and easily accessed apps and news pages online, there has definitely been a decline in the newspaper industry which would have lead to more job loses and closures for newspaper.

Week 2: Story 3- 'Are mobiles changing how we shop?'

Are mobiles changing how we shop?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/shopping-and-consumer-news/12172230/Are-mobiles-changing-how-we-shop.html

This article talks about whether or not technology is catching up to the impulse shoppers buying urge.

• According to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, which tracks trends in internet shopping, 66 per cent of visits to retail websites between November and January came through mobile devices. That compares with 53 per cent in the same period a year earlier.
• 49 per cent of online sales came through traditional computers, whether desktops or laptops, with 51 per cent on hand-held devices. That breaks down as 33 per cent through tablet computers and 18 per cent on smartphones.
•  73 per cent used a laptop while 19 per cent used a tablet and 14 per cent used a smartphone.

“Over the past year they have really started to become a major component of the checkout process and that is what is driving this leap in mobile penetration.” Tina Spooner

I believe that mobiles are changing our shops as its more convenient  for users to shop obine rather than go into the store due to the fact its quicker.