Sunday, 28 March 2010

AUDIENCE

SUPPORTING ACCOUNT REMINDER

ALL SUPPORTING ACCOUNTS ARE DUE IN TUESDAY. NO EXCUSES PLEASE!

Sunday, 21 March 2010

Mediation

HOMEWORK TASK

Answer the following questions using full sentences, examples (where appropriate) and in as much detail as possible.

1. What is MEDIATION?

2. What causes MEDIATION within the Popular Press?

3. Why do the popular press tend to MEDIATE more than other papers?

4. Is MEDIATION a good or a bad thing?

Sunday, 28 February 2010

News Values

'News is not the newsworthy event itself, but rather the "report" or "account" of an event... it is a discourse made into a meaningful "story".
(Hartley, 1993)

Saturday, 27 February 2010

Friday, 26 February 2010

Useful Media Terms (Websites)

Homepage – the main / first page

Branding – the logos, images, graphics and colour-scheme which create the recognisable image of the website / institution.

Above the fold – what you can see on the webpage without scrolling down

Banner – a horizontal section of the webpage, often with additional information or advertisements

Sidebars – a horizontal section of the site, usually at the side of the page, often containing separate or additional content.

Banner ads / scrolling ads – adverts in banner form. Scrolling banners contain moving information.

Frame – an area for specific content. A website will have several frames, each for different content.

Grid – the layout of the frames on the page, similar to the columns in a newspaper, but are more adaptable.

Links (Hyperlinks) – allow you to navigate between different pages on this website, and to link to other sites.

Flash content – moving image content such as film footage and animations.

Common Headline Writing Techniques


Alliteration – repetition of the same beginning letter sound, e.g. JUSTICE IS A JOKE.

Assonance – repetition of the same vowel sound e.g. SO ALONE.

Cliché – phrase that has been so over-used it is meaningless: balanced on a knife-edge or walking a tightrope.

Colloquialism – the use of conversational language e.g. THE BOY DUN GOOD. This is both conversational language and a pun on the name of the jockey Richard Dunwoody.

Exclamation – when emphasising something or using humour e.g. NO WAY JOSE!

Hyperbole – exaggeration. For example when a slight problem or difficulty is described as something far worse e.g. NIGHTMARE SEARCH FOR GOOD PUB FOOD.

Metaphors – direct comparison between two unconnected people or things. For example, the use of these boxing metaphors, ‘throwing in the towel’ or ‘saved by the bell’.

Parody – a slight change to a well-known phrase or song to make it fit the story e.g. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE KIDDING MR MILOSEVIC? This was a Mirror headline used during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. It is a direct reference to the WWII song ‘Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler?’ comparing Milosevic directly with Hitler.

Personalisation – the use of first names or nicknames e.g. VOTE FOR MAGGIE or CLOBBA SLOBBA. These abbreviations save both space and narrow the link between the celebrity and the reader.

Pun – a humorous play on words e.g. WHAT’S THE BIG IKEA?

Repetition – reinforces an idea e.g. SPEND, SPEND, SPEND.

Rhyme – makes headlines eye-catching, readable and memorable e.g. WE SPANK THEIR TANKS.