Presentation of Samantha Adriaensen and Britt Galle

Media

Introduction

• The importance of the national press• The two types of national newspaper• The characteristics of the national press => politics • The characteristics of the national press: => sex and scandal • The BBC • Television: organization • Television style

The importance of national press

• Newspaper publication is dominated by the national press

- nearly 80% of all househoulds buy a copy

• < then eighty local & regional daily papers• National papers => morning • Non- national papers => evening do not compete with national papers

• Morning newspaper : British household institution => very important one

- until 1990: newsagents only shops allowed to open on Sundays

- Problem? No newspaper => people weren’t happy

• Sunday papers => only day that they appear

sister of a daily: same company, employing separate editors and journalists

• Sunday papers sell more copies than national dailies

• Morning ‘paper round’: newspaper delivered by a teenager that wants to earn pocket money

Sunday newspaper

The two types of national newspaper

Tabloids = ‘popular papers’Sell to a much lager readership

• The Star

• The Daily Mirror

• The Daily Mail

• The Daily Express

• The Sun

Broadsheets = ‘quality papers’

Cater for the better educated readers

• The Daily Telegraph • The Guardian • The Independent • The Times • The Financial Times

Tabloids & broadsheets

Differences

TABLOIDS

• Contain less print and far more pictures.

• Uses larger headlines • Write in a simpler style of

English • Concentrate on ‘human

interest’ stories SEX AND SCANDAL • Equal amounts of attention to

sport • Different approaches and

subjects

BROADSHEETS

• Contain more print and less pictures

• Uses normal headlines • Write in a much higher level of

English • Devote much space to politics

and other serious news • Equal amount of attention to

sport • Different approaches and

subjects • Twice as large

The characteristics of the national press: Politics

• Presented in newspapers => British political parties: parliamentary organizations

• Different papers => different political outlooks

no organ of a political party

• Business: only thing that counts for publishers

=> make money

• Primary concern: sell as many copies, attract advertising

• British press => controlled by multinational companies

Freedom from interference from government issue = virtual absolute

• Press: powerful => referred to as the ‘fourth’ estate’

• Freedom ensured => ‘freedom of speech’

constitutional right

The characteristics of the national press: Sex and scandal

• Result of the commercial interests: shallowness• Tabloids: given up pretence ‘dealing serious

matters’ • Stories: private lives of famous people

lots of pictures

sometimes naked woman

• Desire to attract more readers

=> even the broadsheets = still serious

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsFrgz6_va8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwlxcWleWzk&feature=related

• Emphasis: revealing details => led to discussion

need to restrict the freedom of the press

• Press in conflict with => ‘ the right to privacy’

British principle

• PPC = Press Complaints Commission

complaints : invasions of privacy • Organization of newspaper editors and

journalists• Press => regulate it selfs

• Code of Practice => sets limits on the extent

not publish details of people’s private lives

• Press oppose: ‘ right to privacy’ ‘right to know’ • British press more frivolous?

function of the press for its readers

• British adults: never read comic books • Very simple reading with pictures => only in

national press • People: don’t use national papers for ‘serious

news’

The BBC

• Mother of information services• Its reputation is largely justified• Complaints are evenly balanced• (The BBC is proud to get complaints)• Independence = result of habbit and common

agreement = the result of its legal status.

• Doesn’t depend on advertising nor government • From the licence fee• Government:

– decides how much this fee is going to be– Appoints the BBC’s board of governors and its

director general– Has the right to veto any BBC programme– Has the right to take away the BBC licence to

broadcast

The history of BBC

• Began to establish effective independence and reputation for impartiality

• In 1932 set up BBC World Service(with licence to broadcast first to the empire,

then to other parts of the world.)

• During WWII identified with principles of democracy and free speech

=> BBC’s fame international

• Today: World Service around the globeIn English and several other languages

• In 1986 => Prime Minister of India

assasinated

• Her son turned to the BBC World Service

• BBC 5 national radio stations inside Britain + several local ones.

Television: organization

• Long since take over from radio

• Independence largely a matter of tacit agreement

• Occasions BBC persuaded not to show something

• Many occasions BBC refused to bow to government pressure

• Recent cases involved Northern Ireland.

• Late 1980s government:– broke with the convention of non-interference– Banned the transmission of interviews

• BBC’s response a mockery of this law

• No advertising on the BBC

• => ITV (1954) gets its money from this

• Commercial television

• ITV new programmes not made my individual television companies.

• ITN owned by all of them

• For this and other reasons protected from commercial influence.

• No significant difference between ITV and BBC

• Same fears expressed with the start of ITV

• Fears are justified: Companies that run sattelite and cable

television in a similar commercial and legal position to those which own the big newspapers.

• 1/3 of households sattelite and/ or cableNot significantly reduced the viewing figures.

Television: style

• Change in style and content• The amount of money depends on

expected number of viewers• Therefore: pressure on ITV to make its

output popular• Early years: ITV captured ¾ of the BBC’s

audience• BBC’s response: own programmes to a

mass audience

• Since then: small difference between BBC and commercial television

• BBC1 and ITV: wide variety of programmes

• Constant competition

• They don’t try to show a more popular type of programme than the other

• => the same type of programme: better

• 2 most popular and long-running of soap operas: not glamorous American productions showing rich and powerful people

• ITV’s Coronation Street working-class area near Manchester

• BBC1’s East Enders working-class area near London

not an idealized picture of life not very sensational or dramatic

• Popular?– Viewers see themselves and other people they know

• The British prefer this kind of pseudo-realism• 1990s: BBC spent a lot of money filming a

new soap: Eldorado (http://youtube.com/watch?v=kecgnKHjy1U)

=> complete failure! - Why?

– Too complicated– The Spanish accents were too difficult– No situations where people could see themselves in.– Too glamourous

• 1960s: popularity of soap operas and light entertainment shows

=> less room for the original educational programmes

• 1982: 2 channels: BBC2 and Channel 4

(main promotors of learning and ‘culture’)

• Both have been succesful

• BBC2: famous for:– Highly acclaimed dramatizations– Certain documentary series

(the art history series Civilisation and the natural history series Life On Earth)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=r9lmepH9STs

• Channel 4: wide variety of programmes catering to minority interests

Thank you for your attention!