NDM News: Globalisation and fake news

The Guardian & the global problem of fake news

1) Read this Guardian feature - Fake news: an insidious trend that's fast becoming a global problem 

2) What similarities do you notice between the different countries outlined in the article and their problems with fake news?



3) Is fake news an inevitable consequence of the "culture of freedom and innovation" that the internet has brought with it? Is there a way to stop it?







New York Times and the creation of fake news

1) Read this New York Times feature - Inside a Fake News Sausage Factory: ‘This Is All About Income’

2) Which fake news stories were particularly successful for Beqa Latsabidze, the 22-year-old student in Tbilisi, Georgia, who tried to make money from web articles on Trump? 

3) How much can Facebook and Google be blamed for this global rise in fake news?

NDM case study: News on the Tweet

1. Why are respected news brands good news for Twitter?

Twitter is not a news site, it does not come up with it's own news and report on it, it relies on other companies like CNN to publish content. These respected news brands give Twitter a good name because to an extent they're reliable and trust-worthy news sites which is what people are looking for. 61% of users stated that they use twitter to view the news, this increases twitters user statistics and will somehow enable them to profit from it.

1. Why in turn is Twitter good for respected news brands?

Twitter seems like a much more formal place and it is the place to go to upload breaking news stories. A news organisation may not update the Instagram profiles before they've posted something on twitter. Twitter also makes them more accessible as Twitter has close to around 3-400 million active users.

1. The report suggests that old and new media “are not, in fact, in direct competition, but often work extremely well together to enhance both the media eco-system and the consumer experience”. What evidence do they provide to support this idea? Do you agree with it?

The article looks at how Twitter and news corporations work together to benefit each other. They work in synergy as the news companies give twitter more users and Twitter makes news more accessible.

1. On page 24/25 of the report, the focus turns to 'gossip' or 'banter'. What example tweets from journalists are used to illustrate this? 

We see a tweet from the Daily Mail's celebrity section and it is a tweet about a Kardashian. This section just looks at 'news' stories that have somehow made it onto the news because the journalist can play with the words to make it more attracting.

1. Do you think the increasing amount of 'gossip' or 'banter' is harming the reputation of news and journalists?

There is a visible line between the more formal news and the gossip and banter; if you're watching news on the television you can tell when they're talking about a breaking news story in comparison to looking at a celebrity affair. It is making some news organisations appear 'needy', for example the Daily Mail with it's sidebar of shame and click bait stories.

1. What does the report say about trust in Twitter and journalists (look at pages 34-39)?

The figure used - 62% tells us that the majority of people on Twitter to follow trusted/verified news brands. This figure isn't that large and surprisingly shows that a large percentage of people would rather go else where to non-verified sources to find there news.

1. Do you think new and digital media developments such as Twitter have had a positive or negative impact on traditional newspapers?

I think it has had a negative impact on Newspapers and has of course affected the decline of them but it has done it's part in helping the brands. it gives them another platform to present their news on. This social media app is something different than Facebook and Instagram. Twitter carries authority and could be said to be the newspaper of the digital market.

1. Finally, how can we link this report to the vital current debate regarding fake news and Facebook? Do traditional news brands need protecting to ensure there are sources we can trust?

If something is verified, we can automatically trust it, this is also similar as people with a large following on social media can also be trustworthy. This is not always the case as numerous times have hoaxes been reported by large news organisations and opinion leaders. Traditional news brands just need to ensure that they are fact checking correctly and they should advertise this to make sure people know that their news is not fake. However, this can be copied by people who produce fake news so something else would have to be done create awareness about fake news. News organisations could come together and create advertising campaigns which spreads awareness about fake news. 

NDM stories index

1. Liberty media plant to buy majority shares in Formula 1
2. Robots will eliminate 6% of US jobs in the future
3. Why facebook is public enemy number 1 for journalism
4. Revenues from TV advertising exceed $5billion for the first time
5. Daily Mail owner to cut more than 400 jobs across the company
6. BBC responds to claims about how it will issues out the new iplayer with the TV licence
7. corruption in investigative journalism 
8. Twitter could be running out of time
9. BBC sutdios to cut 300 staff in a cost saving attempt 
10. New ways ordinary people can get involved in news reporting
11. Donald Trump would be a threat to press freedom
12. Facebook and Twitter join to tackle fake news
13. Newspaper industry in Ireland starts to decline 
14. Twitter to cut staff after a slow quarter 
15. Sam Allerdyce and investigative reporting 
16. Googles digital news initiative 
17. Google gives money to companies to tackle fake news (fact checking)
18. Three to block mobile advertising on network
19. BBC to broadcast news programmes in North Korea 
20. Politics has gone wrong, is digital technology to blame
21. Putin brings China's great firewall to Russia 
22. Daily Mail and News values
23. New Zealand Media merger 
24. Metro climbs to second place  in the circulation league 
25. AT&T & Time Warner have talks over $85 billion acquisition 
26. News corp Australia announce redundancies and cost cutting plans
27. -
28. -

NDM work index

#1  Institution: the impact of Google on the newspaper industry 
#2 Ofcom report: how news consumption has changed
#3 The future of newspapers: Build The Wall analysis/future of newspapers 
#4 The decline of newspapers: the effect of online technology
#5 The future of journalism: John Oliver and Clay Shirky
#6 The decline of newspapers: Media Magazine case studies
#7 Citizen journalism and hyper-reality: Media Magazine article and questions/ Hyper-reality and the digital renaissance
#8 News Values: theory and updating them for digital media landcape
#9 Marxism & Pluralism: Media Magazine article and questions
#10 Alain de Botton on the News: lecture and questions
11) Full NDM essay including paragraphs on Marxism and Pluralism
12) Globalisation and news: cultural imperialism
13) Globalisation: taking it further (Google Glass case study and capitalism)
14) Fake news and globalisation - Guardian and New York Times articles
15) News on the Tweet

NDM LR

Feedback

Question: The development of new/digital media means the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the arguments for and against this view.

• WWW: Overall, this is a highly impressive response that clearly shows critical autonomy, research and a variety of relevant examples. I particularly like the fact that your conclusion contains a genuine summary of the debate and where your opinion is – it’s a very valid opinion too! Your use of quotes is also a real strength.

• EBI: One initial point - I think you’ve misunderstood Gramsci’s hegemony and will need to revise this again. It’s certainly not part of the pluralist perspective – it’s a Marxist view for how the elite control the masses. The idea is that they control people through consent rather than force or violence and the media is a major factor in this.

• The other crucial feedback is to always answer the question. Your essay discusses the idea of audience empowerment throughout which is excellent but I’d like to see a little more on the key wording in the question (“consumption and production”). Be careful you don’t lapse into a much more general NDM essay. You need to make sure every paragraph begins with a topic sentence that uses the wording from the question – show the examiner that ‘sharp focus’ on the question demanded by the mark scheme.

• One other more general piece of feedback is regarding your written English. This is an absolutely vital area to work on as I’m worried the lack of clarity in your written communication will restrict you to the lower levels of the mark scheme. Take your opening paragraph as an example:

This essay will explore the ways of how new and digital media empowers an audience in terms of what they consume and how they now create media products. More recently then ever has the media ever seen changes quite so dramatic.

• These are your opening two sentences and neither makes sense! Proofreading is vital, as is accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar (you mix up there/their later in the essay).
• Although you covered a fair amount of this term’s topics, there’s also more you could have included: paywalls and the future of journalism (particularly for “consumption”), hyperreality and UGC, news values etc.
• Finally, one minor point: you need to clearly introduce your case study in your introduction (impact of NDM on news).

• LR: Create a list of key revision topics from our new/digital case study work this term based on your essay and feedback above. Revise these topics over Christmas for your January MEST3 Section B assessment.
• Write at least one more well-developed paragraph on the question above as part of your revision.

Revision topics

• Gramsci's theory of Hegemony - look at what perspective it takes and examples of it
• Include more theory we have learnt in this topic- Hyper reality
• UGC 
• Look at ways to bring in Globalisation 

Introduction- 

Question: The development of new/digital media means the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the arguments for and against this view.

Old- This essay will explore the ways of how new and digital media empowers an audience in terms of what they consume and how they now create media products. More recently then ever has the media ever seen changes quite so dramatic. The Internet has now caught on and as a result pushed out older traditional media platforms like the print platform into decline. This 'new' platform has given audiences more power in terms of what they choose to consume and produce.

New-  This essay will look at whether developments in New and digital media has made audiences more powerful in terms of what they consume and produce. This is essay will focus on the impact New and digital media has had on the news industry and whether or not it has caused the balance of power to shift in favour of the audience or against it.

week 13: story 26

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/07/news-corp-australia-announces-redundancies-and-fresh-cost-cutting

News Corp Australia announces redundancies and $40m cost-cutting 

This article looks at how News Corp Australia has dropped it's staff across all sectors and aims at cutting $40 million in extra costs. News Corp has already cut around 2000 jobs between 2012 and now which is a huge step in cutting costs and it did show how extensive these media corporations were before the Internet took over.  

• News Corp Australia suffered an 11% fall in advertising revenue in the first quarter, according to the company’s financial results in November.

• Last week News Corp formalised its purchase of the Australian News Channel, which produces Sky News in Australia and New Zealand. Australian News Channel was formerly a joint venture of Seven West Media (33%), Nine Entertainment Co. (33%) and Sky PLC (33%).

Job losses are expected and something needs to be done as a result of the decline of people paying for news across all platforms. If institutions refuse to go behind a paywall then of course they loose out on a lot of money but it also comes a disadvantage because people now a days expect news to come for free.

week 13: story 25

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/07/att-time-warner-senate-hearing-merger

AT&T and Time Warner chiefs grilled on $85.4bn merger at Senate hearing

This article from the Guardian looks at another controversial merger of media conglomerates. This time it's between two American media giants; AT&T (International telecommunications conglomerate) and Time Warner (mass media conglomerate).  The proposed acquisition could end up being around $billion plus.

Most mergers within the media now are probable for survival so it is a good thing for the companies who want to stay around. It is not always a good thing for the audience because it significantly restricts their choice of media content including news stories.

Globalisation: taking it further

1) Why was Google Glass controversial?

Google glass was controversial because people saw it as an invasion of privacy because of it's recording features and the ability for Google to store what you looked at. It also has raised issues about affecting peoples social skills because it withdraws people from everyday social interactions.


2) What are the positive elements to Globalisation that the article highlights?

"The world becomes more accessible and people are being enriched by getting to know and understand it better. There is also new opportunities which aim at empowering people.3) What are potential negatives to Globalisation?

Pareto's law applies here because even though it seems that we are being empowered, it is the same number of companies who dominate the market and provide for the largest audience.


4) What is a techno-panic? How does it link to moral panics?

A techno-panic is similar to a moral panic as it is still a public outcry against a group, community or practice considered threatening and/or dangerous, however it centers around fears regarding a specific contemporary technology.

1. What is your opinion on the privacy debate and major corporations being able to access large quantities of personal data?

I see both sides of the argument that on the one it is there so that thy can monitor our history and keep us 'safe' however it does go to far when the only reason why they store out data is to profit from it.

Media Factsheet

1) Who coined the phrase 'a global village' and what multinational companies illustrate this?

‘a global village’ (McLuhan),  A company like Coca Cola can be named as an example

2) What role does Slavoj Zizek suggest the media plays in global capitalism? How can you link this to our previous work on Marxism and Hegemony? 

Zizek argue that the media masks the way in which western institutions ‘do business’. It links more to the theory on hegemony as it looks at how making money is the right way of conducting business which makes people feel less guilty of knowing how these goods are produced.
3) What does 'capitalism with a conscience' mean? 

Even though some people can still see through these large western brands like Starbucks being for the people and only having a motive of making a profit they still buy from there. This is because Starbucks have built there brand around things like Fair trade which makes people feel better about drinking at Starbucks.

4) What is the (PRODUCT) RED campaign? 

Where by buying gerneral goods or Product RED branded goods then you'd be donating to a cause to help fight diseases in Africa. An example of this is from American Express who offered a red card and as you spend on this card a 1% fee would be donated to product RED.

5) Based on what you've read in the Factsheet, what is YOUR opinion of the (PRODUCT) RED brand? Is it a positive force helping to fight AIDS in Africa or a cynical attempt to make multinational companies look more ethical than they actually are? 

Any money that goes towards fighting a good cause is of course positive. However the way in which it is done is worrying. It seems very commercial and less about helping the people but more as to make these global brands look more morally correct and helps both parties make money.

NDM News: Globalisation

1) Is our news influenced by American cultural imperialism? Give some examples arguing for or against this perspective.
To a marginal extent i do think that British news is influenced by American cultural imperialism, however it does depend on the type of medium that the news is being shown on. For example, when viewing news online it is noticeable that we share some of the same values as America as for many weeks it was very much focused on the American presidential election. In terms of newspapers, not much has been copied in the way in which they are presented and also the type of news shown is different. In America they are more focused on local news rather then National and international. In the UK this is different, there are a few large newspapers which look at National news and this is why local newspapers are going into decline as our newspaper industry isn't influenced by American cultural imperialism and we don't value local news as much as them.


2) Has the increased globalisation of news improved the audience experience? How? Why?
Yes, there is a noticeable, positive effect that globalisation has had on audiences. For example, there is now much more news stories and from different cultures. However, different cultures follow different beliefs and something acceptable in one country may not be in another; so if someone with different views to that in India then it can be interpreted in the wrong way and thus creates moral panics. However, audiences now see an influx of news like never before which could be a good thing because people are becoming more educated but this also comes with problems because when people learn about other cultures they could be intolerant and hold prejudices if they only see news which doesn't give the full outlook of the situation.



3) Has globalisation benefited or damaged major news institutions? How? Why?
Significant news establishments are getting to be distinctly greater through globalization and the conventional foundations are enduring, along these lines the decay of daily papers is a decent case of this. Because of new/advanced media the availability of data has turned out to be more fast and effective, thusly the requirement for daily papers has declined and along these lines the development of national news coverage has come about because of this. This could be viewed as both a positive and negative thing because of the establishment profiting from this substance, adding authenticity to the article yet it can likewise be viewed as negative because of the possibility of the substance being controlled or invalid, making it harder for organizations to balance this, particularly if a group of people need to trust the story.