Over and Out – Love ya’ – mean it!

We will hopefully see you at Prom tonight but if not, then well done for getting through the last 2 years. We hope it has been fun – we certainly know it was a lot of hard work for you all but we are extremely proud of you all.

If we don’t see you on Results day in August, fingers crossed you get enough to open the next door. We hope the remaining exams go well and that you will get some time off this summer to rest and recuperate.

Best wishes and keep in touch.

Mr G and Mrs C

Media Concepts & Contexts…game

4 Concepts

The Spec says…”The AS & A Level Media Studies course is developed around the four key concepts of Language, Representation, Industry and Audience. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of these across all components.”

Task / Game

PRINT CONTEXT CARDS

Print in A3

Rules

  1. Teams of three, teacher is a team of one.
  2. Deal out seven cards to each team.
  3. Starting with the teacher, place a CONTEXT card within one of the FOUR KEY CONCEPTS on the board.
    • Explain / analyse the significance for or impact of that CONTEXT TO THAT KEY CONCEPT.
      • If you can make a clear argument that all the class agree with, then you can play your card.
      • If you can’t or there is a agreed COUNTER ARGUEMENT, then you have to pick up another CONTEXT card from the pile.
    • If you can give a clear example or case study of this CONTEXT in process or action, then you can give one of your remaining CONTEXT cards to another group.
  4. The first team to run out of CONTEXT cards is the winner.
  5. YAY!

Best of Luck

So much luck to be thrown your way for tomorrow. We are absolutely convinced that you are going to smash it.

  • Remember:  Component 2: Paper 2: Thursday 4 May – TOMORROW either 1.30pm or 2.00pm at the Lecture Theatre – bring 2 pens!

We will then focus over the remaining few lessons (about 6 for each class) starting on Friday with 2 lessons on PMM, 2 lessons on MR and 2 lessons on Ecology.

Once again, over the long weekend, practise some essays and I am sure your teachers will find time to give you some feedback.

Final, official (but optional) revision sessions are:

  • Monday 22 May: 1 – 3pm PMM and MR with Mrs C
  • Tuesday 23 May: 1 – 3pm Ecology with Mr G

Component 4: Paper 2:  Wednesday 24th May PM


You can all do this. We have absolute faith that you will all try your best and after all, that is all that matters.

Best of luck and we hope you can look back on your Media Studies with a smile and a fondness for the fun and laughter we have had. You might hopefully have learnt a thing or two along the way.

Love ya’ – mean it!

Mrs C and Mr G

Junior Reporter

There is an opportunity for 10 students from across the island to become a junior reporter for the Island Games.

This will be an event taking place after all the exams are done and so is a perfect time.

They want, “Local students aged 16-18 to join the official Island Games Media, Reporter and Communications team as Junior Reporter during the Island Games (8-14th July 2023). Gaining real-life journalistic experience, you will work together to seek out and share stories from the biggest sporting event the island has ever hosted. Your articles, interviews, content and various production work will be hosted on the Island Games’ official website and various media channels.

Up to 3,000 athletes and team members will arrive in Guernsey as 24 islands compete across 14 sports. The Junior Reporters will be telling some of the stories behind the Games. Meeting and interviewing athletes who have overcome adversity to compete, Team Gozo’s first experience at the Games, or the coach who has been to every Games since it began in 1985! And with another 1000+ volunteers, added to the mix, there will be countless stories waiting to be found and shared.”

This is AN AMAZING opportunity for students to get some amazing experiences, build their portfolios, boost their presence online and do some networking.

A must for any student serious about going into the creative and media industries.

See Mr Gregson for an application form, which you should email to: info@orchardpr.com

Visual Learners – Media Regulation

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Online regulation – UK ONLINE SAFETY BILL

The UK Online Safety Bill

This bill has been in the making for several years and its publication and passing in Parliament keeps being pushed back, as every week, another new area needs to be addressed. It is now going before the House of Lords for final approval.

Generally, the bill places a duty of care on all firms to protect adult users from illegal content such as child sexual abuse images, revenge pornography, threats to kill, selling firearms and terrorist material. Tech platforms have to proactively prevent that material from reaching users. Firms must also ensure that any content that could be accessed by children but is not illegal, such as content related to self-harm, is age-appropriate.

It aims to PROTECT CHILDREN – new procedures for registering for accounts re age etc. will be enforced.

Under the terms of the act, Ofcom has the power to fine companies up to £18m or 10% of worldwide turnover (that would be more than $10bn in the case of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta), or even to block sites in extreme cases.

However, LEGAL, BUT HARMFUL content could still be allowed. However, if the platforms say they don’t allow it and it appears (i.e. eating disorders, some forms of racist or sexist abuse) then they could face criminal prosecution.

So banned: downblousing, upskirting, deepfakes, cyberflashing.

Reactive regulation is illustrated by this Bill. Trying to play catch up all the time.

These are some of the stories that have been important behind its implementation

In theory Online Tech giants could go to jail – but one wonders if that could actually happen.

Online Tech giants could go to jail

As you can see, amendments come thick and fast as the instances of online harm and safety come to light.

Latest amendments

As users of social media and probably occasional audiences for Reality TV, you have probably been aware of this latest case of Revenge Porn.

Georgia Harrison documentary – revenge porn is in the bill

This is Georgia talking about the UK Online Safety Bill and why it is necessary.

 


 

 

 

 

Online Regulation

NEIL POSTMAN: WE SHAPE OUR TOOLS AND THEREAFTER OUR TOOLS SHAPE US. 

A great quote by Media theorist, Neil Postman which explains how most media regulation is REACTIVE to technology and the society that it belongs to.


News is expensive! And people expect it for free!

News broadcasters and papers have, like the music industry before them, lost control of their distribution!

The responsibility of social media to the media environment and science.

Here is our last case study.

Social Media regulation…but in this case there is no regulatory body!

Except the social media platforms themselves!

The problem stems from one significant difference between social media and our previous case studies. Social media companies are global organisations. So, whilst it’s relatively easy to regulate adverts and news within the borders of a country, global regulation is highly problematic.

The other essential issue which prevents social media companies from being regulated is, are they a publisher or are they a platform?

Section 230 and the freedom to be a platform.

It is impossible to regulate these American companies who have the protection offered by Section 230 of the American Communications and Decency Act 1996, which states platforms cannot be prosecuted for content posted by their users.

What has been the impact of this?

Fake news? Hate speech? Racism? A divided society and weakened democracies?

BIG THINKING

Here is an opinion piece from Jennifer Cobbe in The Guardian, in which she explains how Facebook and other players in the, “surveillance economy”  have challenged the democracy we take for granted. It suggests:

“We need to confront their surveillance business models, their increasingly central position in digital society, and the power they now hold as a result.”

“As a result, some platforms’ algorithms systematically recommend disinformation, conspiracy theories white supremacism, and neo-Nazism.”

“At a minimum, behavioural advertising should be banned; other, less damaging forms of advertising are available. The algorithms platforms use to recommend content should be heavily regulated.”

A COUNTER ARGUMENT

As with news regulation, this is not a cut and dried argument. After all should we be allowing our governments to decide what ‘Truth’ should be available to us online?

The video below offers a counter argument to those demanding online regulation and quotes 17th century poet John Milton:

“Truth and understand are not such wares as to be monopolized and traded by tickets or statute, better to let truth and falsehood grapple”

He is suggesting we should not muzzle what we believe to be false or fake news, but allow argument and debate to flourish and in that process truth and greater understanding will come out.

ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) REGULATION:

Yesterday (29th March 2023) This…read the article.

HERE’S A MAD LOOKING MR GREGSON DURING LOCKDOWN TRYING TO EXPLAIN.

 

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