Media Studies Blog

Go to the  Nieman Lab webpage (part of Harvard university) and watch the video of Clay Shirky presenting to Harvard students . The video is also available on YouTube below but the Nieman Lab website has a written transcript of everything Shirky says.  Play the clip AND read along with the transcript below to ensure you are following the argument. You need to watch from the beginning to 29.35 (the end of Shirky's presentation). Once you've watched and read the presentation and made notes (you may want to copy and paste key quotes from the transcript), answer the questions below: 1) Why does Clay Shirky argue that 'accountability journalism' is so important and what example does he give of this? Accountability journalism  is important because he believes this is shrinking and claims that ads were supportive of newspapers and lasted for decades.  Advertisers  were forced to overpay and as a result made them commercially successful. 2) What does Shirky ...

The Internet The internet: a brief history The internet has been the most significant social, cultural and technological development of the last 30 years. ·          In 1998, just 9% of UK households had internet access. ·          In 2018, it had risen to 90%. ·          Daily internet use in the UK has doubled since 2006. ·          Smartphones are now the most popular device to access the internet. The iPhone was launched in 2007. Source: ONS (Office for National Statistics) The 'Information Revolution' 550 years ago, the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg meant that the number of books in existence rose from a few thousand to 20 million in just 25 years. This led to the Reformation, the Renaissance and the scientific revolution in which centuries-old modes of thinking were radical...

As part of our study of women in videogames, we need to develop our understanding of feminist theory. We have looked at a range of feminist ideas earlier in the course including Laura Mulvey, Judith Butler, Angela McRobbie, the concept of post-feminism and more. We now need to explore this further by bringing in the work of bell hooks and Liesbet van Zoonen. Notes from the lesson Watch this short extract from Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox interviewing bell hooks at The New School in New York: bell hooks  is a highly influential radical black feminist. She sees feminism as a struggle to end patriarchal oppression - it should be a serious political commitment rather than a fashionable lifestyle choice. “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression” bell hooks also points to the importance of race and class when studying oppression. Intersectionality Intersectionality is defined as the common point of two forms of oppression and how they...

Our first videogames CSP is Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007). This is an  in-depth CSP  so will require significant work and research for an extensive blog case study. The basics Released in 2007 on multiple consoles, PC and Mac.  The Wii version had active features; on Xbox it was the first game to be offered on Xbox Live Marketplace. 11th version of the Tomb Raider franchise. Marked 10th anniversary of original 1996 Tomb Raider game. Sold 1.3m copies – good but nowhere near original (7m+ copies). Game was based on original (offering nostalgia) but with updated graphics and gameplay – faster and more agile; more realistic visuals. Genre: Action adventure Protagonist/avatar (character player controls): Lara Croft Quest narrative driven by enigma and action codes and culminating in a final confrontation with antagonist. Lara Croft is dispatched to New Mexico to recover part of the Scion of Atlantis Gameplay involves: Exploration; Overcoming physical obstacles; ...

NEIL POSTMAN - ' Amusing Ourselves to Death' -- People know their being exploited to advertisers by different companies but they continue to use them and will do for the rest of lives. CLAY SHIRKY - 'Here Comes Everybody' -- In modern day society the internet gives everyone a voice, so when lots of people are speaking at once they cant be heard.

Research and make notes on the controls that exist to manage the behaviour of newspapers such as The Daily Mail and The i. Have a look at this: The Guardian Article and this The Guardian Article 2 There wasn't much control over what the newspapers were publishing due to them being able to hack peoples phones, including murder victims and celebrities (Ashely Cole). They then publish what they found, like voice mails and texts. They also published Madeleine McCann's mothers diary on her feelings after her daughters disappearance. The amount of control over the behaviour needs to be controlled more but then wouldn't allow all newspapers to voice their opinions and be unique. Consider how private individuals can correct untrue stories or protect their privacy: Melania Trump Due to her power and wealth Melania was able to get her lawyers to get the newspaper to pay her a settlement fee and publish an apology, saying that the accusations they made about her were...