Media notes (A LEVEL)

Marking criteria components media exam 

This document will be broken into four sections: Theory and terminology, media concepts, context and critical debates and lastly case studies

• Section A marking (30 Minutes) 

  Assessment will take place across five criteria:  

  • Media concepts (AO1) [3 marks]  

  • Contexts and debates (AO1) [3 marks]  

  • Use of terminology (AO1) [3 marks]  

  • Analysis of how meaning is created (AO2) [3 marks]  

  • Use of examples (AO2) [3 marks] 

  
  

  Section B marking (1 hour) 

  Assessment will take place across five criteria:  

  • Media concepts (AO1) [6 marks]  

  • Contexts and debates (AO1) [6 marks]  

  • Use of terminology (AO1) [6 marks]  

  • Analysis of how meaning is created (AO2) [6 marks]  

  • Use of examples (AO2) [6 marks]

  Theory + Terminology

  Media Regulation / Industries 

  • Media industries theory 

  Theorist: Curran and Seaton 

  Curran and Seaton claimed that the media is controlled by only a small number of institutions and are therefore driven by certain political and economic factors. They claimed that the concentration of media ownership is hindering creativity and quality and hence ownership of media can be more diverse this will help to create more varied and adventurous productions.

  
  

  • Media Regulation 

  Theories: Livingstone and Lunt 

  Livingstone and Lunt think the needs of the citizen are in conflict with the needs of the consumer and thus limits freedom as media is regulated. They noticed that regulating the media to protect citizens from harmful content may limit freedom of expression. 

  Important to site the debate

  • Consider the demands of the consumer (choice, freedom) versus the demands of the citizen (protection, right to privacy) 

  (In context to US - if used, apply US case study) 

  
  

  • US LAW section 230 

  • Section 230 was enacted in 1996. At the time, some lower courts in the United States were threatening the ability of Internet service providers and other online providers to carry the speech of individuals without risking significant legal liability for the content of the speakers. For example, if illegal user-generated content was posted to a forum, the forum organization could be held responsible despite not being involved in the creation of the content.

  • This law basically protects media companies whereby they would not have to be pressed with any charges when an individual posts something to their platform. It instead falls onto the person who posted such content. 

  • There are certain limitations to this protection however:

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  • (UPDATE) In 2018, two bills — the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) — were signed into law, which changed parts of Section 230. The updates mean that platforms can now be deemed responsible for prostitution ads posted by third parties. 

  • Mention how this update makes it important to update laws as even though the world and media is constantly changing, the law should be updated, although the speed could be faster it is important to understand the changing media landscape as to the dangers of unregulated internet and to protect audiences from being harmed on the internet.

  • Freedom of speech 

  • Infringement of people’s democracy

  
  
  

  Postmodernism

  • Stages of Spectacle (Critiques of POMO)

  Theorist: Guy Debord 

  Guy Debord coined the "Theory of the Spectacle" in which he criticized post modernism and the mass media, saying how media corporations are trying to commodify everything and how their only focus is consumerism and spreading this idea to audiences. 

  5 points: 

  • Commodification of Culture

  • Idea of the Spectacle

  • Simulacra

  • Alienation of individuals

  • Loss of Authenticity

  • Desire for Authenticity

  • Postmodernism critiques 

  Theorist: Jean Baudrillard 

  According to Baudrillard, our real lives are all played out in reality. However in the media we see heightened and hyper realities.

  
  
  

  Characteristics of postmodern texts

  • Pastiche

  • Homage

  • Satire

  • Irony 

  • Intertextuality 

  • Bricolage 

  
  

  Media Ecology 

  Media ecology refers to the complex environments within which media texts, producers, distributors, technologies and audiences exist. It is a way of conceiving the structure of these environments, their content, and impact on people.

  
  

  • Surveillance capitalism 

  Theorist: Zuboff

  The price we pay for technological ease, appeal and access is the unprecedented access that big tech has to our lives. In an economic system centered around the commodification of our personal data, big tech pushes the boundaries of the capture and commodification of data.

  • Cyber utopianism

  Theorist: Morozov

  This theory entails the belief that internet and online communication helps bring about a more decentralized, democratic and libertarian society.

  
  

  • Questions often seek to find:

  • The biggest technological change