Weekly Homework

Muslim Gang violence

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/sep/20/mail-on-sunday-apologises-for-muslim-gangs-attack-immigration-van-story

This article is about a misunderstood statement against a group of Muslim boys in hoodies, that vandalised an immigration enforcement car. It was said that 'Muslim gang slashes tyres of immigration-raid can before officers were showered with eggs from high rise'. This caused great controversy as the audience believed that the articles was negatively targeting the Muslim community, instead of the individuals. 

• An article on July 26th said a gang of Muslim youths was responsible for damaging Home Office immigration enforcement vehicles in Shadwell, east London, in the week the prime minister appealed Muslims to help combat extremism.
• The mail on Sunday agrees to rewrite the story to remove the references to Muslims
• The coverage of Muslims in mainstream media continues to be very negative and there are too many sensationalist headlines that generalise about Muslims. 

In my opinion, I would argue that this is just practically racism as they have targeted all the Muslims rather than just the individuals who had vandalised the immigration officers car. They emphasising the fact that all Muslims are bad, which makes me feel upset as being an Asian individual.

Ad blockers are wreaking havoc with the online revenue of newspapers

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/04/eclipse-threatens-newspaper-giants-buying-digital-rivals

This article is about the effects ad blocker is having on newspaper revenues, research has found that moblile advertising overtaken print ads in the UK, which is 20% of the entire advertising revenue. Facebook and the social mob are becoming a news hub of their own for hundreds of millions of (often young) users –potentially eclipsing the value of discrete news websites.The ad blockers of this world are destructive forces, undermining the revenue base of so much news coverage. This article stays optimistic that this is a small obstetrical the newspaper industry can overcome.

• 20% of advertising revenue made by mobile advertising
• Ad blocker causing a decrease of the revenue for more industries
• the newspaper continues to go into a revenue decline 

In my opinion the newspaper industry should really consider ways to work with new and digital media as it is going to continue to grow which may have an even bigger effect on them, the most attractive thing about news on the internet is citizen journalism and people being able to communicate their ideas, so the newspaper industry should really consider that, as well as figuring out schemes to increase the quality of the news they produce.

Weekly Homework

Universal internet access to combat poverty 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mark-zuckerberg/11893994/Mark-Zuckerberg-calls-for-universal-internet-access-to-combat-poverty.html

This article is about Mark Zukerbergs the co founder of Facebook opinion on the importance of the internet. He said that there should be global access to the internet by 2020, in order to create a united world where we can all understand each other.  He described this objective as a 'to do list for the people of the planet' and pitched to the United Nations, "a like or a post wont stop tanks or bullets, but when people are connected we have a chance to build a common global community" this highlights the importance of the internet, which allows people to communicate worldwide as-well as give people the will to stand up for what they believe in. This newspapers expresses the importance of the internet for social change.

• global access to the internet by 2020
• objective as a 'to do list for the people of the planet'
• wont stop bullets or tanks, but has a chance of building a common global community 
• an affective way to combat the UNs newly adopted agenda of global illness.

In my opinion this is an effect way to get people communicating globally, and may help people stand up for what they believe in as the internet is desensitised. Also because they can see issues of other people from different countries it may help them empathies with them as a result connecting the world. However I don't think the having access to the internet is the most effective way to deal with poverty, because people will need homes and food before they can start paying broadband bills.

Amazon launches gaming and 4K streaming fire TV update

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/17/amazon-launches-gaming-4k-streaming-fire-tv-update

Amazon has moved into the 4K content with a new fire TV box and ultra-high definition content through its video streaming service. They claim that this has been the best selling box on the market in the UK and Germany, beating Apple. Also, the new Fire TV is 75% faster and handles 4K content; it has a more efficient compression system for full HD content which allows many users to stream 1080p video even with poor connection. Furthermore, the company had released a new games controller with headphones and voice search support, claiming to have the largest games library of any media streaming service with over 3,000 apps, games and channels available through the Amazon apps store.

• Connection speeds of at least 15Mbps will be requires for 4K content. 
• Ultra-HD content
• The new Fire TV costs £79.99

The box has instruction videos and Amazon's built in live person techs support called May Day, which guides users through features and settings via the phone and with a remote control.
In my opinion, I argue that Amazons new Fire TV is very useful as it allows consumers even with poor connection to watch movies or games in ultra-HD content. Its so annoying having to watch them in poor quality with poor connection and so this new TV solves all our problems. However, it only allows the audiences to watch content from the Amazon app and so movies or games which you really want to watch may not be in their store. But overall, it is a good invention to sell. 

Audiences and Institutions

1) Read this extract from the Ofcom 2014 report on the consumption of news in the UK. What are the key statistics relating to the influence of new and digital media?

• The majority of adults in the UK (95%) say they follow the news.
• Television is by far the most-used platform for news, with 75% of UK adults saying they use TV as a source of news; this figure has seen a small decrease since 2013 (78%).
• evident in the 16-34 age group, where use of internet or apps for news has increased 
• figures show that each adult watched an average of 115 hours of national and international news on television
• The majority of this (64%) was on BBC One or BBC Two and a further 12% on the BBC News channel. However, 16-24 year olds consumed only 27 hours of news on television in the same period, compared to 196 hours for those aged 55 and over.
• UK adults nominated crime (53%), worldwide current affairs (53%), UK-wide current affairs (51%) and UK-wide politics (49%).
• the 16-24s, specific news categories such as crime, sports, technology and science/environment fall into the top ten topics, while the over-55s are more likely to nominate, general world news and UK and regional current affairs.

2) Come up with an example of an institution that has benefited from the changes new and digital media has brought to the news industry. Explain how new technology has helped the institution and try to find statistics or financial figures that support your point.

An example of an institution that has benefited from the advances in new and digital media is the Sky. This is as they are an institution that has adapted very well to the changes, developing a website as well as an app. Through these developments, it has allowed the institution to remain relevant in and amongst the changes in digital media. This therefore results in Sky generating more revenue as they will remain competitive within the developments in digital media. Furthering this, as 60% of users accessing news via app and website are 16-24's it shows how the demographic of this institution's audience has widened because of the developments thus meaning that through the changes in digital media, the institution has crafted a wider audience.   

3) Find an example of an institution that has suffered as a result of the changes new and digital media has brought to the news industry. In what way has it had a negative impact? Again, try and find actual statistics or financial figures to explain your point.

An example of an institution that has suffered because of the changes in new and digital media is the daily telegraph. This institution is suffering because of the lack of sales they are making with their newspapers. This is because audiences are given a range of platforms to access the news such as, the internet, television and mobile apps. These alternative ways audiences can access news are more convenient for audiences therefore leading to the daily telegraph, who generate majority of their revenue through sales of newspapers, to suffer. 

4) Answer the following question in a mini-essay on your blog:

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

Both audiences and institutions have benefited from new and digital media audiences have benefited in terms of they now have much more ways to access news, also ways to access news for free instead of 15-20 years ago when they would have had to buy a newspaper to get their news. Audiences can also now become journalists  and report on news our selves with blogs and online comments on newspapers websites. institutions have also benefited from new and digital media as they now have much more ways to reach their audience with online, social media etc, they also can now reach a much wider audience than before as young people are more interested in the news as they see it on their Twitter feed whereas they wouldn't have seen it before because they weren't looking for it. 

However both audiences and institutions have also had negative affects on them from new and digital media. An example is that we as an audience have been desensitised to more graphic things we wouldn't have seen on the news 20 years ago. An example of this would be Aylan, the boy who drowned during the refugees travelling from Syria. The images showed the boy on the beach face down and due to new and digital media.

Forget 'Dislike' – here are 12 new buttons Facebook really needs

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/16/facebook-dislike-new-buttons

the founder of Facebook said that not every moment is a good moment so in order for people to express empathy he is introducing something similar to the dislike button. This article is based on Facebooks introducing a dislike button and then 12 other buttons that the public think facebook should introduce. some of them include some sarcastic buttons eg "your baby looks like all the other babies" and talking about in which content the public would use it for this example is used so that, the newly parents are not mislead, therefore used to suggest not being miss led.

• "i give it a year" the most voted by the public for newly weds or people in a new relationship.
• working on the dislike button 
• has been requested since Facebook first launch
• its to express empathy 

In my opinion this is a good idea in some content for example when someones posting something about a tragedy it may be awkward for a person to like a post about a death or a tragedy, therefore from an empathy aspect it is a good idea. meanwhile the social media is full of hate and this may just increase the hate going around which may lead to further problems such as cyber bulling. 

Apple products article

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/09/apple-iphone-6s-event-launch-key-points-live

This is an article based on the Apple launch event in San Francisco, where they talked about the new apple products being launched this September. Apple announced the ipad pro being larger then the average ipad with the a screen of 12.9 inches, it is said to be 1.8 times faster then the latest ipad,it is said to have a stating price of $799 for 32GB to $1079 for 129GB. the ipad pro is compatible with the apple pencil which is $99 which is a powered device that needs researching. They also talked about the iphone 6s and the features that apple consumers would expect such as 3D touch (which is sensitive to touch to command the phone to do different things) and the upgrades on the apple tv such as voice searches an applestore and touch surface remote.

Statical info

• 12.9 inch screen
• 1.8 times faster
• $799-1079
• 32GB-129GB
• 3D touch for iphone 6s
• release date 25th september
• pre order date 12th september 

This article just comes to show the development of technology which can have its positives and negatives. I think having a voice commanded TV would make people lazy and the value/ struggle of remote would be forgotten. However the advance in technology and the new and unique ideas that apple are presenting can motivate competitive markets to get innovating which would lead to a further advance in technology as a result making the consumers lives easier. Furthermore the release date is very well planned out as it is close to Christmas which would mean that the demand for those apple products would increase, in addition the autumn is when most new apple products are released therefore staying true to their brand.

Impact of Google

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

Google had led to the decline of the Newspaper industry because people are now accessing Newspaper's online along with other News websites. It is a much easier and convenient option to read the News online as you can get it straight away by accessing it straight away on PC's of just by your phone and usually for free of charge unless you subscribe to a package. 

2) Do you personally think Google is to blame for newspapers closing and journalists losing their jobs? Why?

In my opinion, I do not believe Google or any other search engine is the total blame for Newspapers declining and journalists losing their jobs. In fact, it has led to more competition between big businesses and small business as advertising has become more affordable but it also means prices are more competitive and therefore a benefit for customers. After all, the Internet will carry on growing along with technology and as long as that happens we will continue to see a decline in traditional media as other easier and more accessible options are available.  

3) Read the comments below the article. Pick one comment you agree with and one you disagree with and justify your opinions in detail.

"The irony is that Google is probably more of a savior than a killer of journalism and editorial content. How many thousands of blogs, fan sites, writers, startup outlets, etc., have been discovered by Google’s search algorithms? How many talented artists and great stories have found a launching pad on YouTube and other Google outlets? How much content has been spread into new languages due to Google translate? 

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."

I completely agree with this comment, Google has excelled in terms of providing us all with wider content and more global stories. Furthermore, as he states, Google has been a stepping stone for many bloggers and talented writers, ultimately allowing the public to receive better content.

"Obviously, Google is not to blame. I don’t think it’s about blame. I think the Internet is incredibly poorly designed. Rather than being free, everything on it should cost something in order to compensate creators."

I disagree with this comment as I don't believe the internet should be "payed for" just to "compensate creators", the public has to pay for broadband at home, and data on their phones etc, so in a way they are paying for the internet as they have to pay for it themselves to access it. So I disagree as to why the public should have to pay more just to find out what is happening around the world globally.

News institutions

BBC news - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news

• founded October 18 1922
• Founded by John Reith
• generates about 120 hours of radio and TV output each day
• Annual budget of £350 million a year
• it has 3500 staff members
• 2000 being journalists
• website launched in November 1977
• website has 14 million readers per month
• the headquarters is in central London

Daily Mail - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html

• owned by Daily Mail and general Trust plc
• Founded in 1922
• recently added news to Snapchat
• owned by Jonathan Harmsworth
• The daily mail on Sunday was launched in 1982
• Second half on 2013 had 54.77% female readership
• average circulation of 1,708,006 copies a day
• average daily readership of 3.951 million
•  website has more than 100 million viewers per month

The Sun - http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/

• Owned by Ruper Murdoch
• CEO is Mike Darcey 
• Founded February 1981
• Parent organization is News corp
• 47% of sign-ups are on mobile
• Subscribers enjoy print and digital
• They have 13.6 million readers a week
• 2.8 million social media footprint
• had big debate about page 3 which was recently removed

Sky News - http://news.sky.com/

• launched February 5 1989
• owned by Sky plc
• distributed by Fox international channels
• originally had a £40 million budget
• Works internationally including Australia, Ireland and Arabia
• it runs 24 hours a day

Sky news app - 

• Available for iPhone and android
• it is free to download 
• had over 3 million downloads for apple
• only has a 1 star rating in iTunes
• has a 4 star review on Google play
• Is also on Snapchat

Weekly Homework

Social media is harming the mental health of teenagers, the state has to act

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/16/social-media-mental-health-teenagers-government-pshe-lessons

This article was written by June Eric Udorie, she states how the Internet and social media sites have become more and more harmful in a teenagers life. The amount of time they spend on these social networking sites such as Instagram, facebook,twitter and snapchat is overly increasing and she begins to explain how teenagers feel pressured to constantly be up to date with everything that is going on in the social media world, which this then results to teenagers loosing hours of sleep at night as they are constantly on the internet all night, as June stated "this could be damaging their sleep and increasing their risk of anxiety and depression" 
In particular she states how social media is actively becoming more threatening in a teenage girls life as they want to have high number of likes and followers on their Instagram posts, have the perfect body in their pictures online, she goes on to explain how this pressure to be perfect can cause much stress for younger teenage girls and how this can ultimately lead to self harm, them getting bullied by other people and other unfortunate circumstances. The main message June tries to force is that the government have to do something before it's too late and she suggests this through PSHE classes in high school education.



Why a police record for sexting teen

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/06/why-police-record-for-sexting




This article was written by Helen Lewis, this article is about a young teenage boy who sent a naked photo of himself to a female crush which she then forwarded it to other classmates and then was passed around the whole school. This lead too the police being informed and was noted as a sexual offence, the officer had no choice but too record it to the police database, where it could be revealed to employers for the next 10 years. Hellen stated "The majority of revenge porn victims are women and there is no obvious male equivalent of the widespread “slut shaming” of teenage girls. The famous case in Steubenville was not a one-off. In 2012, 15-year-old Californian Audrie Pott killed herself after pictures of her being sexually assaulted at a party were shared around school; a year later, 17-year-old Canadian Rehtaeh Parsons did the same. Also in 2013, an Irish 17-year-old took an overdose and ended up in a coma after she was photographed performing oral sex on a boy at an Eminem concert." 
the main message Helen tries to force is that the young need a better understanding of consent, making sex and relationships education compulsory in all schools would be an obvious step. And for all victims of bullying to get proper support  –  we cant stop stop teenagers sexting, by we can help them practise safe sext.