Revision Guide - Rania 12B
Past paper compilation Media studies (9607)
Key notes
Media ecology in bold (30 marks), pomo & media reg (15 marks)
Spend only 30 mins on section a, if not finished continue
Try to identify patterns from the mark scheme on how to answer the question
Separate document for marking band criteria such as; mc,c&db,eg
Questions differed in 2020, likely a change in syllabus therefore as marking and question pattern differs, not included in this document. The exam will likely only look at questions from 2021 onwards.
23/41/mj
Media regulation
Evaluate the benefits of media regulation. [15]
Intro - Aim of media regulation
Media regulation is important as it seeks to protect audiences from harm that they may incur whilst browsing through the internet or when interacting with media.
Answer the question through topic sentence “Benefits of media regulation can be debated as it is a perplexing issue that needs various solutions, it may seek the following: combating misinformation or hoaxes and preserving user privacy and data protection”
P1 - combating misinformation or hoaxes
Social media exemption US law – Section 230 provides a safe harbor for third party providers who are not construed as publishers of their users’ content
Rise of ‘fake news’/fact checking/blue ticks vs anonymity QAnon and conspiracy sites
Role of regulators in media, twitter implement
Case Study: Pink recently posted a few misinformed tweets on x where she talked about a list of banned books in certain states, however she mentioned it as banned in the state of florida which none of the books were actually banned in florida, it was banned in other democratic states including california where Pink is from yet no restrictions in Florida
As a result, X combatted the situation with their regulators releasing under the post
P2 - preserving user privacy and data protection
Theory: Surveillance Capitalism Zuboff
Debate: Freedom of Speech, how much is too much restriction “US LAW section 230”
Pomo
‘There is no difference between ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture in postmodern media.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement? [15]
Intro - What is postmodernism?
Postmodern media rejects the idea that any media product or text is of any greater value than another. The distinction between media and reality has collapsed, and we now live in a 'reality' defined by images and representations.
Answer the question “there is no difference between high and low culture”, as postmodernism makes it difficult to identify hyper reality from heightened reality. Portrayals of high culture as we are confusing it with popular culture, that it’s hard to distinguish towards audiences in certain media texts without subsequent prior knowledge.
P1- Audiences’ media literacy
People who are media literate can adopt a critical stance when decoding media messages, no matter their views. Media literacy basically enables audiences to understand postmodern media texts.
Audiences have to understand postmodern characteristics. Without them, who can distinguish what’s high and low? In the media nowadays, the rich are trying to appeal to the poor yet the poor are adopting poor features to seem relatable. Without media literacy, audiences may not understand if they’re talking ironically in regards to the context. As audiences watch more content, they begin to understand the characteristics of a media text such as:
Satire
Case study: Family Guy - promotes satire as they criticize big conglomerates and “exposes” their not so ethical practices. This hence promotes - anti-mainstream/otherwise known as counter culture. Yet, family guy in itself is owned by Disney, one of the largest corporations in the world. So it’s critique on consumerism, capitalism is lessened, audiences who know of this fact may start to think of it as hypocritical.
As family guy started as a show surrounding culture culture, it’s hypocrisy may promote oppositional reading towards fans
Theories applied may be: Stuart Hall - reception theory, Curran and Seaton - media industries
Disney acquisition of Fox (2019) conglomerates prioritizing profits over content/quality (are we even surprised atp T_T)
P2 - No distinction between high culture and pop culture
Modern texts were based on idealism and reason, postmodernism was born of skepticism and a suspicion of reason. Whilst modern texts sought to be original and innovative, relying on producing a work entirely from scratch with very minute “copying or imitation”, postmodern texts often reject what makes a modern text, modern. Post modern texts rely on an audience’s prior knowledge or their literacy as stated above to understand its deeper meaning.
Its main characteristics include anti-authoritarianism, or refusal to recognize the authority of any single style or definition of what art should be; and the collapsing of the distinction between high culture and mass or popular culture, and between art and everyday life.
Culture became a way to make money, and the production of the cultural products was moved from authentic creators to big businesses marketing mass culture. They saw that the public were getting used to cultural products which were increasingly similar and mass produced (one could argue that the same dynamic is alive today, if you look at Marvel's Superhero-franchise). Media texts that are popular and received praise soon became considered as part of high culture, this shift makes it harder to distinguish high and pop culture.
Argue: media funding, as Debord states, postmodernism can see a rise in the commodification of experiences, there are no authentic experiences anymore as most of it is to share to others and perhaps gain a profit incentive.
As companies advertise, a popular product hence can be seen as a more superior product and seen as high. This doesn’t necessarily mean the product is good yet it means that the product is popular. For example: the marvels movie (2023) a very indicative postmodern movie, with a lot of characteristics from the movie that depict postmodernism. People associate marvel movies with high culture as the brand image of Marvel portrays itself as high class although the product does not reflect its quality.
Media ecology
Explain what you think is the most significant change in the media in recent years. [30]
Start w media ecology definition
Convergence of personal communication and mass communication
(Increasingly social ubiquitous media) - migration of media to internet
A01
MEDIA CONCEPTS
P1: chatbots - political propaganda + misinformation (monetization by data mining underpins knowledge economy)
P2: (content generation) - companies relying on ai to satisfy audiences, competition for attention as media companies have to keep producing content
P3 : Data Regulation - impact on society of technological change including collection + sharing of info = issues raised by media ownership and funding in contemporary media practice ( changes how future audience will consume and produce new media as ai may develop and with it learning more about audiences it become more “human like”)
CRITICAL DEBATES
P1: (regulatory framework - section 230 -> jeopardises people’s democracy = how does this affect people’s freedom of speech) (need for new regulation, section 230 not prepared for the rapid changing tech in our world like chatbot)
P2: Media industry - effect on audience/industry (process of production - shaping media products) (patterns of ownership and control - economic factors) (these scripts could be translated to fit local/global audiences)
P3:
TERMINOLOGY
net neutrality
Globalisation
Conglomerates
AI/Augmented reality
Technological convergence
Media ownership
Section 230
Technological determinism debate (social/political/cultural factors)
A02
MEANING + THEORY
Media Industries : Curran and Seaton
Identity theory : David Gauntlett
Regulation : Livingstone + Lunt
Reception theory : Stuart Hall
Cyber Utopianism : Morozov ( 2011) = morozov warns against cyber utopianism, data control allows for manipulation = concerns around “free election” - effect of bypassing institutions designed to protect privacy.
Surveillance capitalism : Zuboff = undermines personal autonomy + democracy
Case Studies:
P1: Joe Biden’s use of digital propaganda
Joe Biden’s victory was fuelled by an extensive digital campaign, which relied on new methods to reach out to voters. Among these was conversational AI deployed as a chatbot via Facebook Messenger and designed by Amplify.ai.
Spam and Misinformation: In some cases, malicious actors have used chatbots to spread spam, fake news, or political disinformation, potentially impacting public opinion. Chatbots can be programmed to share political messages and campaign updates across various social media platforms, amplifying a candidate's or party's reach.
Automated Messaging Campaigns: Political campaigns have used chatbots to send automated messages to potential voters, disseminating campaign materials and gathering support. Chatbots can use AI to analyse user data and tailor political messaging to specific demographics, potentially influencing voter sentiment.
P2: Washington Post using Heliograf to produce automated news stories and alerts
give readers localised results updates for House, Senate and presidential races at the top of “Post Reports,” “The Big Idea,” and “Can He Do That?”
“ensure our readers have timely information that’s relevant to them and easily accessible on the platforms they turn to for news”, says a washington post executive
By ‘relevant to them’ this could be tied in together with the risks of biased information/misinformation being widespread using the ai program.
P3: Writers’ Strike getting rid of peoples’ jobs
During the WGA strike, production stalled on dozens of TV shows, including “Stranger Things,” “The Last of Us”, “Emily in Paris” and “Severance.” Once the WGA authorizes its members to start working again, it sounds like writing on some shows can resume, although acting work is still banned under the SAG-AFTRA strike. (AS A RESULT) Younger consumers are transforming the media industry and have gone mobile. They have cut the cord from cable and switched to OTT providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime by the hundreds of millions. Older generation consumers are heavy users of Facebook, while their kids create and share TikTok videos
(Focus more on regulation rather than content generation)
23/42/mj
Media regulation
Assess the idea that media regulation is always designed to prevent harm. [15]
Media Regulation aim - Tie back to Section 230 US Law
Public and policy debate about the need for tighter regulation
P1 - Media is run by conglomerates,
P2 - Technology shifting, it’s more rapid hence harder to regulate content as the rapid spread of content means the minute you take harmful content down it’s always going to reappear again just in another form such as another website. Law is not fast enough to keep up with this pace, the lack of funding makes it harder for governments to do anything about the problem.
Pomo
‘The key characteristic of postmodern media is complexity.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Media ecology
Explain why people’s personal data is so valuable to media companies. [30]
Media ecology refers to the complex environments within media texts, producers, distributors, technologies and audiences. It is a way of conceiving the structure of these environments, their content and impact on people. This essay will discuss the ideas of data breaching and the use of chatbots in this age of contemporary media.
People’s personal data is so valuable to media companies as they provide vital information to sponsors and advertisers, as the driving factor to sell data is off of a profit incentive. The saying goes “if the service is free, then the data of audiences is the product”. The concept of surveillance capitalism as described by Zuboff is driven by profit making incentive, and arose as advertising companies including social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok saw the possibilities of using personal data to target consumers more precisely. Instagram and Facebook has been the leading companies in using personal data to promote advertisements, this is shown in a study where both companies lead with 86% of user data to be used with commercial incentive. This is shown in the way that the algorithm is pushed for different people, they will purposely use personal data to influence the suggested posts that pop up in an audience’s fyp or otherwise known as for you page. Advertising has therefore been changed by the media as with the way the algorithm works, it has led to a rise in misleading ads.The economic factors that play when audiences keep consuming are staggering, this is why we could see tiktok as really successful in promoting products to younger audiences that are impressionable. A recent scandal that broke out in February of 2023 details beauty influencer mikayla nogueira where she sponsored Loreal’s telescopic mascara but hid the sponsorship by using sneaky hashtags that were in smaller text and this pushed forwards the idea to audiences that in order to gain trust from audiences, they have to disguise themselves as a relatable person just sharing beauty recommendations when in reality they only want to persuade their viewers to purchase a product.
This has also led to the rise in chatbots, it’s especially prevalent in its use of propaganda and misinformation. Joe Biden’s victory for example was called into question where he relies on new methods to reach out to voters in his new extensive digital campaign. Among these was a conversational AI deployed as a chatbot via Facebook messenger and designed by Amplify. Ai. Spam and misinformation could be discussed in some cases where malicious acts have used chatbots to spread spam, fake news or political disinformation, potentially impacting public opinion. This was seen massively in the election of Trump vs Biden. Chatbots can be programmed to share political messages and campaign updates across various social media platforms, amplifying a candidate or party’s reach to gain support and voters. Morozov discusses this view in the theory of cyber utopianism , he warns against cyber dystopianism and that data control should not allow for manipulation. Cyber dystopianism can be defined as the tendency to see the Internet as a space for defending freedom and combating authoritarianism. Evgeny Morozov radically opposed the idea that technology is only in regards to its benefits In fact, he aims to warn about the dark side of the Internet and its implications. It spreads concerns around “free elections” as is it really free if voters are swayed by chatbots displaying themselves as real people to get them to vote for a certain party. This undermines the democracy of the audiences as their right to choose gets to be in the hands of political parties, hence the data of audiences play a significant role in how political parties are able to amass such power in the media, it’s due to audiences giving up their data and through being misled by the algorithm that proposes them to be in favor of a certain candidate.
22/4/on
Media regulation
Evaluate some of the different ways in which the idea of freedom is used in debates about media regulation.
Intro: In this modern contemporary media landscape, it’s hard to find a balance between regulation and restricting freedom of speech, as to some extent one can’t be compared to the other. Freedom of expression gives special rights and duties to the media. The media informs society on matters of public interest and creates an important platform for public debate, scrutiny and reflection.
P1 - Harm prevention for minors
Social media has to regulate content to ensure that their platform is safe for a lot of people to go on.
US LAW SECTION 230: Enables media platforms to not take responsibility over the content posted on their platform, however there are exemptions to this law:
Pornography/prostitution
Pomo
‘It is difficult to fully appreciate popular culture without an understanding of postmodernism.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
Media ecology
Analyze the significance of the convergence of the smartphone with mass communication technology.
22/41/mj
Media regulation
1 Analyze the challenges of regulating the media in the digital age. [15]
Pomo
Explain the knowledge and understanding needed by audiences in order to make sense of postmodern media texts.
Media ecology
‘Given the dominance of global media, there are now few opportunities for local voices to be expressed.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
22/42/mj
Media regulation
1 Analyze the ways in which contemporary media regulation reflects its period. [15]
Intro: Contemporary media brings up more and more debates on what should be accepted in the media world and what shouldn’t. With more people active on the internet, where media is being viewed and an immense rate, it is harder to regulate these new ideals and some parties have decided to accept and embrace, while others continue to reject. Those that reject usually are the ones we can say regulate these issues.
P1: Regulation of LGBTQ content, which in this ‘woke’ era is a lot more accepted by the general public, but not by more old-fashioned government views. Talk abt Chinese government censoring friends on Chinese streaming websites (2022), due to the mentioning of gay relationships. These ideas were initially executed as the Chinese government was worried that the viewers would conform to the idea of gay relationships, which goes against the Chinese right wing ideals. However, since friends was already a well-beloved show among Chinese viewers, they quickly noticed these censorship and spread the word about it. This sparked a lot of controversy within the community, and one might argue whether the media regulation here was effective, or if it just sparked more curiosity from within the community, making people actively search for it.
P2: Chatbots used in social media - spread of misinfo (can talk about political propaganda during the 2021 US presidential election), regulation has to adapt to this issue caused by new media.
Pomo
2 Analyze the media text or texts which, for you, are essentially postmodern. [15]
Intro: Postmodernism discusses the view that we are no longer in touch with the "real" in any meaningful way; all that remains is our ongoing preoccupation with its departure. In the contemporary world, an object's symbolic value has surpassed its actual value. Baudrillard had 3 important views regarding postmodernism, those of which include; everything as a copy of a copy, hyper-reality and simulacra. The phrase "copy of a copy" has been reintroduced in postmodernist thought, especially in reference to debates concerning the link between an original work of art and its copying, thanks to the writings of Jean Baudrillard. Two examples of postmodern texts including the reality tv show Keeping up with the Kardashian and the Disney spin-off series of She Hulk. This essay aims to discuss the features of postmodern text using a variety of characteristics, those of which include simulacra, self-reflexivity, parody and hyper reality through the case studies mentioned and relevant theories.
P1: She-hulk - postmodern features, mainly satire, the forms of intertextuality and self reflexivity
P2: Keeping up with the kardashians vs David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet
Media ecology
4 To what extent have new technologies influenced the style and form of traditional media? [30]
21/41/mj
Media regulation
Evaluate the reasons for and against stricter media regulation.
Pomo
2 Analyze the challenges of interpreting the postmodern text. [15]
Media ecology
4 Analyze the significance of a particular technological development in the media. [30]
21/42/mj
Media regulation
1 ‛New media require new forms of regulation.̕ To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Pomo
Evaluate the arguments for and against considering particular media texts as postmodern. [15]
Media ecology
‛The media control how we understand and connect with the world.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement?
21/4/on
Media regulation
‘Media regulation is failing everyone.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
Pomo
2 Analyze the key characteristics of postmodern media.
Media ecology
‘We talk about print, film, TV and radio as separate media, but these are all converging and will be impossible to tell apart in the future.’ Evaluate the evidence which supports this view.
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