Work Thurs

Hi all,

Sorry I can't be there on Thurs, but your task is really clear and independent. You need to work on the Research and Planning stages of your blog, by following these steps:

1) Have a good look at the early posts of the blogs from http://a2musicvid.blogspot.com/
2) Make a list of 5 posts that they make which you could make on your own
3) Make those posts!

I don't think you really need any more guidance than that, other than to point out the need for creativity, detail, and looking at research through the key media concepts, eg representations, narrative, media language etc.

Have fun and have a great week off! I've been impressed with the progress you've made recently - next term we are going to go ALL OUT for coursework and make sure we nail it!

Mr Boulter

Essay Powerpoint

We media sample essay

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Sample 'more sophisticated' paragraph

¡One way in which the media can be argued to have become more democratic is through the use of social media to organise and enable political protest. A recent example of this is the ‘Arab Spring’ unrest across the Middle East in early 2011. In Syria, for example, news of an individual protest in a small town was quickly carried via Facebook across the country, resulting in lots of copy-cat protests, riots, and eventually to the downfall of the King. In the past, any such individual protests would have been prevented from appearing on Syrian state television, and therefore prevented from spreading. However, the rise of social networking meant that democratic forces such as access to information and freedom of speech were given a place where they could flourish.

Good hub website for music vids - loads of examples and good stuff here

http://a2musicvid.blogspot.com/

Essay preparation

Hi all,

Well done on the lesson today - some really good debate. We looked at the representation of police in particular, looking at mediated and unmediated texts, and considered the extent to which these texts could be said to add or detract from democracy.
Next week you are doing a timed essay in class, and need to prepare. This will take place during THURSDAY's lesson.
The title is:

Assess whether we-media has made society more democratic.

Before the lesson, you need to decide the points you are going to make - what will your topic sentences be? You could consider:
To support the view that We-Media has increased democracy:- anyone can produce texts now - institutions are not needed
- the role of social networking in promoting democracy in the Middle East
- We-Media's influence on news, eg through comments, blogging, etc
- The impact on representations (eg of police), resulting in more plurality, less dominance of stereotypical representations
To argue against:
- the fact that so much media output is now unregulated, biased, untrue - discuss the lack of regulation and its impact
- the impact of anonymity on truth
- the dominance of some institutions such as facebook / google
- is there too much information to cope with?

Feel free to write about other things also of course.
You will notice that whilst I've provided some points, I haven't given any specific examples. It's essential that you are able to back up your points with clear, detailed case studies and examples, so in your planing, make sure you've done so.
So, to conclude - for homework:
- plan your essay, including points and examples
- think carefully about what you are going to say
BRING YOUR PLANNING TO THE LESSON PLEASE!
Many thanks and enjoy your long leisurely weekend!
Mr Boulter