Final CA: Private v Public news broadcast. Video Links.

Here are the video links to my last CA.
The CA focusses on a comparative between RTÉ's '6.1 News' and TV3's 'The 5.30'
Both news reports focus on the, at the time, impending Bus Éireann strike by members of the Bus and Rail Union.


TV3 News Report: Private News Broadcast.

RTÉ News Report: Public News Broadcast.

Media Bias: BBC Gives Green Light To Lisbon Treaty.

In 2009, Ireland voted for a second time on the Lisbon Treaty. Various broadcasters appeared to favour a 'Yes' vote.

This BBC broadcast implements both hegemonic and pluralist structures. This can be seen throughout the news report. From the immediate start of the news story, the in-studio backdrop displaying the headline 'EU TREATY VOTE,' outlines the importance of the ongoing referendum. BBC choses to display the message in block capitals with the initials EU in a larger font than the proceeding words, suggesting the importance of the European Union. The word Treaty is highlighted in red, a colour which often connotate's danger, possibly suggesting there is a danger attached to the vote.

The language in the news story is crucial in setting and maintaining the tone throughout the report. The news anchor refers to the previous election of 2007,
"Last time the Irish gave it a resounding no."
The statement indicates that the broadcast is being aimed at a UK demographic, as opposed to an Irish audience. This phrase also isolates the Irish electorate from the rest of the European Union placing the burden of the decision on the shoulders of 'The Irish'.

The Dublin based reporter, Mark Simpson states,
"According to every newspaper, opinion poll. . .talk to every bookmaker in Dublin and he/she will tell you there's going to be a 'Yes' vote this time."
Although Simpson has a Northern Irish accent, his voice is still more localised than that of the news anchor suggesting that the news reporter will be more in touch as to whats going on in the area. The reporter is representing the voice of the Irish people, speaking on behalf of 'every bookmaker in Dublin.' We never hear from the bookmakers. However, according the Hetherington's pluralist viewpoint, the viewer is inclined to trust the news reporter as being objective.

By saying, "The people of this small country," the reporter is insinuating that Ireland is 'small' in the grand scheme of the European Union, which contrasts with the importance of the Act itself. This comment was proceeded by the reporter highlighting that, "Most people in Ireland haven't even voted yet."
It is probable the reasoning behind this statement is attributed to the time of day, it looks like polling stations have just opened. However, there is no clock in picture to support this. This gives the impression to anyone watching the report later in the day that 'The Irish' are not taking the vote seriously.

The broadcast, choses to represent both sides of the debate by giving two members of the electorate a say on the matter.
The man, interviewed, says "No, it was meant to be No from the beginning." A voice over from the reporter then cuts in commenting on the matter before cutting back to the woman's viewpoint,
" I just hope everybody will do what I'm doing and say yes."
Instead of hearing from an official voice campaigning on either side, the elderly woman on the 'Yes' side is given the final say.

The use of shot selection, is the greatest indication that the report is biased towards a 'Yes' vote. An opening cutaway shot of the, then, President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, indicates the importance of the vote. This is contrasted by shots of empty polling stations supporting the perceived image that Ireland is a 'Small Country' and it's people are not treating the decision with the importance it deserves.  Further more, the broadcast features shots of both 'Yes' and 'No' banners. However, it is the 'Yes' banner that dominates the compiled sequence of signs. The 'No' banners appear to get less time on screen and even then there is still a presence of a 'Yes' Poster in the background. Perhaps, the most striking image is the last of the cut away shots. A canted shot of 'Yes' banners dominate both the foreground and background of a shot, that centers a traffic light in the middle. The light coincidentally turns green as if to suggest that the BBC gives the green light to the yes vote.

The cutaway of the man laughing highlights how the no voters are not taking it seriously, unlike the sincere woman who hopes everyone 'will say yes.' The woman is framed in a mid close up shot to dominate the shot with the 'No' voter having less of a presence in the background, she appears to be the voice of reason as she is given final say. We do not hear or see enough of the alternative 'No' viewpoint. Instead of interviewing Declan Ganley, the no vote is represented through the laughter of the elderly man.

The message from this report is that all European eyes are focused on a 'Small country' in the context of the European Union. Through use of language and camera shots, pluralist techniques are used to achieve this viewpoint. It is imperative that 'The Irish' take the Act seriously this time and vote 'Yes'. We are seeing the viewpoint of the European Union, the dominant institution.  It is therefore a biased news broadcast towards a story with a degree of political controversy.

Wag The Dog.

The 1997 film, 'Wag the Dog', shows the role media plays regarding the production of reality that is mediated to the public.
" Of course there's a war I saw it on TV." - Conrad Brean.

 TV, print media and radio are our traditional source of newsworthy information. It is an assumption on our part that the information being mediated to us is through these platforms are provided by credible sources. Despite the credible intentions of a reporter, 'Wag The Dog,' suggests  powerful governmental officials may take advantage of the reputation they have by deliberately leaking fictitious stories to the media.

The film itself was based on the Novel 'American Hero' by Larry Beinhart. The president's character was based on George H.W. Bush and his dealing of, Desert Storm (Gulf War) . It is ironic that prior to the movies release, the clinton sex scandal occurred which gave the film even more relevance. Looking at a film like this and applying it to Ireland, whats not to say the horse meat scandal was created to divert attention from something else, something bigger.

The reality of this 'deception' is its a necessary in today's world. Everything we see and hear in media is intensely analyzed by experts from body language, to how somebody drinks a bottle of water, to the clothes they wear. One small step out of line can lead to an intense media scrutinisation. In the case of the President of the U.S.A, or politicians in general, it is perhaps justifiable as these people hold the most powerful positions in the world and their actions affect millions of lives. It is therefore unsurprising that PR teams and spin doctors are required to 'cover up' or seize an opportunity to divert controversy. TV can make you look bad but it is also a platform that can make you look great. If the President is seen as weak, the United States of America is seen by the world as weak. A projected image of power must be sustained at all times and the best way to do this is by controlling the 'reality'.

Watching a film like this can make a person question a lot of events. I wrote in a previous blog about the bull-horn speech in the aftermath of 9/11.  The speech Bush gave, standing on a mound of rubble high above a crowd of cheering volunteers, beneath an American flag blowing in the distance, contains all the elements of a staged event.

In popular culture South park has also provided a commentary on this on more than one occasion, the episodes ' A Ladder to Heaven' and 'Mystery of the Urinal Deuce,' providing an excellent social commentary on the aftermath of 9/11. Behind the satire the message is the same. 'A Ladder to Heaven,' parodied a famous American country western singer, Alan Jackson, who wrote song about 9/11. The song was released in the wake of the destruction and was debuted on the Country Music Television channel. It received airplay across America the next day.

What does this say about the credibility of the viewing public?
It says that they are being decieved by people who are the best of the best at what they do. Its nothing to be ashamed of. The reality is, people don't have time to question everything. TV traditionally is something that you view after a long day of work. When you switch on, you switch off, it can even be a form of escapism. Even those who are aware of the deception merely comment on it. No action is ever taken against it. If you are not a creditable source you will be laughed at, if you are a credible source willing to speak out, you will be silenced. Until somebody actually proves 9/11 was a conspiracy, I don't think the public can be seen as gullable. So long as its only the people on the TV who are being affected, the viewer probably won't care enough to question it in a meaningful way.

CA2: Semiotic Print Advertisement Analysis.

Advertising Agency: PROVID. Published: Ukraine, 2008.

Upon waking up with a hangover the morning after the night before, the feeling is normally one of a pounding puzzlement as to exactly how and why you ended up in this latest predicament. Washing the dishes is, usually, the last thing a person in this state, thinks about doing. Perhaps an Alka Seltzer tablet or two can solve the problem. This is the image the advertisers for Alka Seltzer are trying to reproduce.

There are various denotations in this ad. The man, the robe and marigold gloves he is wearing. The running tap, the plate, the suds on the counter, and the kitchen environment. The cat, the line of print 'Hangover is dangerous.' and of course the box of Alka Seltzer tablets complete the list.

When we examine the signs that are presented to us, we begin to connect the sequence of events together. The light blue colour of the kitchen suggests a tranquil/calming tone, feelings often associated with the clear blue sky of morning after a stormy night. The fact the man is wearing a robe suggests he is either ready for bed or he has just awoke from a slumber. The indexical sign of the swithced-off lights in the, perceived, kitchen, suggest that it is in fact morning time - early mid day, the realistic timeframe for waking up with a hangover. Further indexical signs such as the running tap and the suds on the counter suggest that the man is neglecting the task in hand of washing the dishes.

The iconic sign of the marigold glove washing the plate is one that historically resembles a myth within our culture that this is a female task. The presence of the cat sandwiched in between glove and plate is a sign of disorientation. Looking at the ca,t it is worried about getting wet and the fact the man doesn't know what he's doing causes further conern. The key paradigm in this advert is the word 'hangover'. It sets the syntadigmatic context of the word dangerous. Usually, this is a word that connotates something may be at risk of harm, but hangover is a word that symbolizes a night of heavy drinking. In this instance, the man is, seemingly, in the safety of his home which suggests that the paradigmatic relationship of the jaded looking man coupled with the word 'hangover' indicates that the word dangerous connotates a wild and crazy night which consequently has resulted in the man assuming the role of homemaker. the grammatically incorrect sentence, 'hangover is dangerous.' is further indication of the disorientation caused by the hangover, the man can't even string a sentence together.

Taking everything we have looked at into consideration so far the signified meanings now become the second signifiers for various different retrospects. Upon further inspection of the man, his hair-style is iconic. Add the scruffy overgrown hair and sideburns to the man's facial features, and we get an image that resembles that of Jack Torrance from the movie 'The Shining'. This in turn signifies the male subject, is perhaps, going slightly crazy. This is backed up by the fact he is using a cat to wash the plate. Not only does it show that he is, perhaps, unfamiliar with this domesticated role, another myth within our culture, but because 'The Shining' is a movie about a man going crazy and seeing ghosts,  it adds a new paradigmatic relationship when considering the image of the startled cat.

In roman mythology a cat was a symbol for the guardian of the home, and a goddess. A cat is also seen in celtic tradition as a guardian of the otherworld. The cat 'gazes with guile upon a world that does not see or understand the depth of their knowledge.' In our own culture, the cat is certainly a creature shrouded in mystery.

In this incident, considering the cat as a guardian of the otherworld, its stare could perhaps indicate a worried look that the man perhaps may be reaching a state worthy of seeing dead people. The vacant stare of the male certainly suggests that he is in a world of his own. The cat is willing the man with his eyes to have an Alka Seltzer tablet. Maybe the cat is controlling the man to look in the direction of the Alka Seltzer box. The light blue colour of the box can also symbolise healing, this maybe a cure to the bewilderment and confusion.

The Cat, through its 'depth of knowledge,' is aware that the man has neglected his work because he has played too much. The cat realises that 'all work and no play make Jack a dull boy', so Jack has to 'play' from time to time.  An Alka Seltzer will not only return the man to his senses ensuring a return to normality, but also ensure that the man can both 'work' and 'play' with the aid of an Alka Seltzer. Because the image of Jack Torrance is so striking to us, we can invoke a particular narrative of a crazy, disillusioned man.

Formulation

Below is an interview between Sky News' Eamonn Holmes and Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary. I have chosen this interview as an example of formulation, bias and how to cleverly answer difficult questions.

Click here to watch (embedding not available).

In this interview there is formulation, more so from the interviewee, Michael O'Leary. 

The interviewer, Eamonn Holmes projects a bias during the interview insinuating that the reason for Ryanair's increased profit is down to the fact they provide an extremely poor service. Holmes sets the tone from the very onset of the interview by, almost sarcastically, suggesting "I'm going to speak to a very polite man now in the London Stock Exchange." Before we even see the interviewee, the interviewer has subtly hinted to what lies in store through his irony.

Michael O'Leary throughout the interview takes aspects of what Holmes has said and uses them to suggest that passengers fundamentally want cheap flights and to arrive on time, which is what, O'Leary claims, Ryanair offers. When Holmes, suggests that he could spend Ryanair's profits on "a special lounge for the passengers", O'Leary swiftly dismisses it by suggesting "Our passengers don't want to be delayed in lounges, they just want to get on the plane and go." By competently dealing with the negative aspect of the question first, O'Leary sets up his answer to finish with the slogan, "People don't want to spend all their money on other airlines being delayed they want to come to the low fare airline thats always on time." 

Holmes uses conversationalisation on numerous occasions, most notably when using the term 'My bits' to describe what he brings with him on a plane. "Let me tell you about my bits,  I  have my newspapers, my magazines, my I-pad." and when referring to the nets on the back of the seats for placing such objects he raises his voice to say 'You haven't got them on your plane anymore.' Holmes is nearly breaking from the public tone of voice associated with a news reporter, this could, perhaps, show he is a man of the people, he cares, and this is possibly how they would react if faced with with the Ryanair Boss.

O'Leary addresses the question by  suggesting that Holmes, has this problem because he has become accustom to private jets and a 'rockstar' lifestyle. O'Leary continues by suggesting "The good news is people tend to take their papers with them so we have to spend less time cleaning on turnarounds. . . so we can welcome more rockstars on Ryanair." O'Leary sidesteps the issue by dis-associating Eamonn Holmes from the people and referring to him as a 'Rockstar'.

Interestingly Holmes, later starts using animated body language and words such as 'We' to suggest he is still a man of the people. Through his actions he re-enacts how "of course, we've got to put all these things into coats and waist coats."

O'Leary, interestingly, responds in turn by using an animated tone and clenched fist himself as if he's representing the viewer's voice "Oh this is a very clever way, we're breaking the Ryanair rules". The interviewee's sarcastic response undermines the interviewers animated body language which, as a viewer, could be seen as a patronising dumbing down in the first place. O'Leary again has disassembled Holmes question to set his reply up with the punch line "if you show up in a yashmak covered in books, you'll still be welcome, you'll always be welcome on Ryanair Eamonn." 

By his clever replies and his un-ashameable plugs, the Ryanair boss has ensured that the interview has become an exchange of banter as opposed to a serious interview. Whether this was the intention of the interviewer is hard to say but when Holmes says " I admire you because the more you treat people like rubbish the more people love you, the more money they spend, it is incredible." He categorically confirms his bias against the Ryanair boss.

The effort of both, interviewer, and interviewee to come across as men of the people, through the use of words such as "we" and animated tone of voice and body language suggests that both are conscious of the perceived social context of the 'targeted audience'. In this example, the target audience being the combined demographic of people getting ready for work  and stay at home parents, potential customers of the "low fare airline thats always on time."

Semiotics

Semiotics, the study of signs, can be applied to many things. In relation to media discourse and analysis, we are concerned with mediated text.

Roland Barthes used an example of a menu in a restaurant. Although it has been drawn up with reference to structure, this structure will change depending on the time and place.
its a cultural value that we agree to i.e Steak and chips for breakfeast is not the norm.

Langue - conventions/rules.
Parole - the action. (Understanding Langue).
For example: if you are watching a western and the villain is wearing a black hat, the langue is that the colour black signifies evil and the parole is our understanding of this and our enjoyment of the fact that we understand such a connotation.

Signifier- a trigger that establishes a signified object in our head.
Signified- the meaning we draw from the signifier in our head.

For example: if a traffic light turns red, the signifier is the light turning red and the signified meaning in our head is to prepare to stop.

"signifiers may simultaneously convey meaning on different levels." -Barthes.

Denotation- most immediate level of meaning.
example a photo of a street is a dennotation that this is a photograph of a street which was taken at a certain time.

Connotations - second order or associative meaning. According to Desaussure. i.e. a connotation for the picture of the street could be that it has a orange filter applied suggesting a warm tone which can be seen as welcoming.

Paradigm - vertical set of units (what defines the meaning).
Syntagm - horizontal units - (constructed meaning).
Meaning is arrived through the process of combination and selection.

A paradigm can change the syntagmatic meaning. The paradigm is a substitution. For example the sentence. 'Freedom fighter escapes from prison.' has a different syntagmatic meaning to ' Terrorist escapes from prison.' The substitution of the word terrorist for freedom fighter is the paradigm.

We will be focusing of semiotics within the context of print advertisements.

"A sign is anything that can be used to tell a lie." -Umberto Eco.
'Cultural Paradigm', a chain or collection of signs which invoke each other because they are culturally related.
Margritte's says that an image or sign of a 'thing' is not the 'thing' itself. An image of an apple is not the apple itself.

An object will result in an interpretant which results in a representanum.
For example, the word rose, the object, may signify a type of flower in our head, which results in the representanum, a rose flower.

Below is an example of a retrospect.
Connotations involve signifying, signs that become the signifier for a second singnified. So the signified rose may become a second signifier which triggers a second signified, such as passion, which is often associated with a rose.

Media and Language.

The use of language contributes significantly in the construction of a preferred meaning.
How is the world re-presented?
What identities are set up for those involved in the program? i.e who will they have on 'Tonight with Vincent Browne' representing the politicians, who will they have representing the media.
what relationships are set up between those involved? i.e what will the relationship between the journalist and the politician be like on 'Tonight with Vincent Browne.'

Conversationalisation.
Accent and Delivery- The first thing we hear when we read an article is our voice. The Journalists accent is not evident. (University of Chicago 2010). If accent is too difficult to understand it is considered less credible.

Research has shown that Native speakers are sensitive to foreign language.
The University of Chicago showed that accented speech was rated as less truthful than native speech, based on a test assigned to native speakers.

Sometimes natural accents can also be treated less creditable. An example of which being that of, 'Winning Streak' presenter Geri Maye 'mocking' a contestant for addressing Maye in her native tongue. The 'Winning Streak' presenter treated the subjected contestant differently from the rest of the contestants on the show.


Conversationalisation of Language.

Based on research from the Central Office of Information located in the UK, it found that audiences of entertainment programs tend to relate better to local accents whereas those watching genres such as News and Current affairs will relate better to a Recieved Pronononciation.
Examples.
Six one news- public (official) accent.
Hector/Joe Duffy radio shows - private, distinctive accents.

Norman Fairclough touches on the idea that the Presenter will re-present dialogue of 'Joe the Plummer' using conversationalisation to reach out to their target audience. Politicians often do this during campaigns to reach out to voters for their support.

Last week we looked at 'renting eyeballs' -selling information to sets of eyeballs. Conversationalisation plays a big part in a demographic wanting to watch a program. When we apply this to the recent news surrounding the Magdalene Laundries, most reports or articles contained interviews with survivors of the Magdelene Laundries. Their voice made the story more appealing to listen to.

This marketisation undermines the media as a public sphere, as suggested, there is a diversion of attention and energy from political and social issues when helping to insulate existing relations of power and domination from serious challenge. There is often an element of dumbing down - turning stories into entertainment because it is entertainment that sells advertisement.

CA1 Preferred Meaning and The Circuit of Culture

In this post I will  discuss an example of the presence of a ‘preferred meaning’ within a mediated text and other possible ‘realities’ that may not be pushed by the content. Here is a link to the example I have chosen to talk about.

Identity: This is an article which deals with Arsene Wenger's recent Champions League pre-match press conference. The event took place on Monday afternoon, 18th of February and the content was published a short time after.
The article is by 'The Mirror' a National British tabloid, it is available on the official website, Mirror.co.uk.

Representation:
The first thing we see when we look at the online article is a picture of a seemingly contrary looking Wenger preceded by the headline, 

"Wenger meltdown! Furious Arsenal boss rounds on reporters over new contract 'lies' in stormy press conference."

From this a vivid picture of a 'furious' manager is painted by Cross.

Words such as 'snapped', used 7 times in total, insinuate that Wenger "appeared to lose the plot."

Journalist, John Cross, who wrote the article, suggests "It was the most angry many regular Arsenal Observers had seen Wenger and raises doubts about his state of mind before such a big game."

In the provided video, we do not see, and barely hear, what the journalists are saying. From what we do hear, they have a very public sounding voice, making it impersonable to listen to. Based on the four minute video, there is a gender balance in the room as questions are asked by female as much as male.

Production:

The encoding process is influenced by Arsenal's recent down turn in form, causing some Arsenal fans to become dissatisfied with their manager. As a result, any news in relation to Wenger at the minute is topical and will sell advertisement space. Video footage of the press conference is used to set the tone of the quotes in the article, despite the fact the footage does not include the majority of quotes mentioned in the text. Most of the quotes used in the text do not reflect the tone of the provided footage.

Consumption:
The decoding occurs from the comments section provided under neath the article. Comments from the public provide a good balance between dominant, oppositional and negotiated views towards the articles preferred meaning.

Dominant view: "He's lost it big time. How can a story about him getting a new contract turn the fans against him ?" 

oppositional view: "Sadly some of the press trough brigade predictably take advantage & publish total fantasy stories plucked out of thin air. Today though Arsene Wenger, justifiably angry about trouble making press rubbish regarding new contract reports, returned fire."

Negotiated view: "if only he´d found his gangster mid season! your half past your sell by date,the honorable thing to do would be to fall on his sword not see the remainder of his contract out!"

Regulation:
All Print media is self regulated by the PCC(Press Complaints Commission).
The PCC consists of 17 members, 9 independent of newspapers and magazines 7 Senior editors from national and regional press. This self- regulation allows for print journalism to control what its allowed to write.

‘Realities’ that may not be pushed:
Although Wenger may have lost his cool, it wasn't the alleged 'meltdown' the content suggests. Before the Press Conference journalists are reminded by the Press Officer, of clubs involved, they are only permitted to asks questions in relation to the upcoming match. In this case most journalists chose to ignore this. Wenger didn't do himself any favours by dignifying such questions with answers. What the video footage does not show is an articulated Wenger addressing a German speaking journalist in her native language, smiling at what she had to say. This perhaps would contrast the preferred meaning that Wenger "Appeared to lose the plot."

Whenever Wenger appears  'angry' or 'furious', it is to answer questions non-related to the press-conference. When it is suggested he 'snapped' at one journalist, the full length footage shows Wenger using a sarcastic tone in addressing the journalist in question, who in turn laughed. This is not shown in the video provided with the article.

The content's insinuation is  that the Arsenal players may not be in the right frame of mind 
"Mikel Arteta looked very uncomfortable sat to his left at the press conference." 
This perhaps is taken out of context given most players are traditionally uncomfortable when on media duty.

I finish by briefly comparing this press conference to Alex Ferguson's pre match Champions League press conference a week earlier. The very first question goes off topic and United's press officer, Karen Shotbolt, does not allow the question to be answered, cutting the journalist off. The start of this press conference also highlights the amount of people present at the event. Ferguson repeatedly looks at the wrong journalists when answering questions, just as Wenger did.

It is not important for the press to try and provoke Ferguson because his job is safe. Wenger's job may not and they know any controversy surrounding the Arsenal Manager will sell. 

Decoding and Encoded 'Reality'

This week we are looking at Decoding and encoded 'Reality' in relation to Media discourse and Analysis. There are a five key points to take into consideration when it comes to decoding media content in order to figure out why a message was encoded in the first place.

1. Who created the message? i.e what paper, TV channel, journalist, reporter wrote the article. McQuail argues is not objective or impartial rather it is a socially manufactured product  because it is the end result of a selection Process, in which gatekeepers such as editors, journalists and even sometimes proprietors, make choices about what events are important enough to cover and equally important how to cover them.
2. What Creative techniques are used to attract my attention? i.e is there sound or intro music that sets the tone. A video montage at the start of a football match for example might set the stage for a 'heroic' comeback. Colour, Camera and Sound are very important when it comes to attracting the viewers attention. 
3. How might different people understand this message 'differently' than me? i.e If a Liverpool Fan agreed with what John Aldridge had to say in an article about a Liverpool v ManU match, the United fan would be likely to have a difference of opinion. John Aldridge, being an ex-Liverpool player, is known to be biased towards the team he also supported as a boy. However if somebody who disliked football gave out about how boring the article was, then both football fans would have similar ground to agree upon, in-turn disagreeing with the non-football fan.
4. What values, Lifestyles and POV are represented in, or omitted from, this message? i.e Has the publisher of the Televised Interview chose to re-edit/cut out certain sections of an interview to ensure the interviewee fits his/her perceived image. Mainstream beliefs sell. Alternative theories are seen as risky and publishers/broadcasters may chose not to air them because of this. That said Don't assume alternatives are true either. I.E Michael Moore's documentary 'Bowling for Columbine' contained manipulation of interviews and Moore gained accessed to the interviewee, Charlton Heston, under false pretense.
5. Why is this message being sent? 
   Lets consider the "Renting Eye Balls" Theory: The reason behind putting programmes on TV (commercial) and articles in a magazine is to create an audience (and put them in a receptive mood) so that the network or publisher can sell time or space to a sponsor.
   i.e if a news station has had a particularly slow day for news, they might edit an interview to sensationalise a news item. This is more likely to generate a bigger audience which in turn will lead to revenue for advertisement. News values determine newsworthiness. A story may not be always considered as 'real' but the meanings we take from them has a real impact.

Briefly just to add some important points to our 5 key considerations.

One way of helping us to decode an encoded 'reality' is to look at syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations. To help understand Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations, let us imagine they are positioned on an X and Y axis Graph. 

If the syntagmatic relation was the X axis of a graph, then the Paradigmatic would be the Y axis of this imaginary graph. Syntagmatic is the construction of meaning arrived at the completion of a sentence The Paradigmatic is seen as a substitution of a word. So if a word in the constructed syntagmatic is changed, or substituted by the Paradigmatic, then the Syntagmatic will take on new meaning. Where the X and Y graph intersects can be likened to the relations between Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic. An example of this would be how Michael Collins was reported as a 'Freedom Fighter' in the Irish Media whereas he was known as a 'terrorist' by English media during the Irish war of independence. The paradigmatic substitute of 'Freedom Fighter' for 'Terrorist' changes the Syntagmatic meaning.

Finally Let us consider the Reference to elite nations: McLurg's Law:

1 dead Briton = 5 dead French = 20 dead egyptians = 500 dead Indians = 1000 dead Chinese People. The idea behind this is that a dead Briton is as much breaking news in the UK Media as the deaths of 1000 Chinese people would be. The news is more personal if people can relate to it. British people will be interested in the sad news that 'one of their own' has died, whereas the death of a China man/woman is less likely to attract interest. The opposite could be said for news Story being reported in China.

'A Pseudo Event' feat. George W. Bush!

Bush delivering his speech, with the aid of a bull horn, to the workers of Ground Zero. The low angle shot empowers Bush.

Having been introduced to the subject of Media Discourse last week, we distinguished between a Genuine Event, a Media Event and a Pseudo Event. This week we will be focusing in more detail exclusively on Pseudo Events with reference to Daniel Boorstin's 'A Flood Of Pseudo Events.' To help illustrate Boorstin's theories I have chosen  George W. Bush's '9/11 Bullhorn Speech' as an example of a psuedo event.

Briefly just to recap, a genuine event is one that will occur regardless of whether the media takes note of them or not. Any media involvement will not have an effect on the story. A media event is one which probably would have taken place without media involvement but has since taken on new meaning. 
In the case of a media event, 
"Staging an event for a media audience and telling a story for the audience to follow is the main concern of such happenings"- Glenn Doyle.

A pseudo event is 'staged by the media'.
"They only happen to induce media coverage. They happen live, but are always media products which are altered by technical or dramaturgical means to create a difference between what happened on site and what is shown." - Glenn Doyle.
According to Daniel Boorstin, A pseudo-event is a happening that possesses the following characteristics,

1.  It is not spontaneous.
2.  It is planted primarily (not always exclusively) for the immediate purpose of being reported or reproduced.
3. Its relation to the underlying reality of the situation is ambiguous.
4. Usually it is intended to be self fulfilling prophecy.( a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to come true).

With that in mind this brings me to 'The Bullhorn Speech' by George W.Bush. It was september, 2001, three days after 9/11. The, then, President of the U.S.A George W. Bush arrived at the wreckage scene of ground zero to deliver, with the aid of the bullhorn, a message of encouragement to the volunteers working on site. Bush delivers his speech on top of a mound of rubble with an arm around a Chief Fireman. He is surrounded by a crowd who, through-out the speech, appear un-able to hear what the President is saying. At the climax of his speech Bush delivers the line "I can hear you, the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." There is rapturous applause and chants of 'U.S.A' as Bush concludes his speech, exclaiming 'God Bless America'.

This event has all the characteristics of a Pseudo Event. For starters the President is dressed in plain clothes as opposed to a suit, this may be done deliberately to show he is a man of the people. He gives his speech standing on a mound above all the crowd. Although it may be argued that this was done so that people could see him, the mound is not that high. It does however, add enough height for the camera man to capture an empowering shot of President Bush. The camera is looking up at the president initially capturing a mid-shot of Bush and the fireman before zooming out to show a surrounding crowd in the foreground and remains of the twin towers in the background. In the distance is an american flag wrapped around a pole. The shot is perfectly composed to set the scene. The low camera angle creates an almost ' Demi-God like' shot reminiscent to Leni Riefenstahl's filming of the Nuremberg Rallies.

Riefenstahl's filming was propaganda however and it is important to note that pseudo events must be distinguished from propoganda.

'A pseudo-event is an ambiguous truth, propaganda feeds on our willingness to be inflamed. Pseudo-events appeal to our duty to be educated, propaganda appeals to our desire to be aroused. While propaganda substitutes opinion for facts, psuedo-events are synthetic facts which move people indirectly.' -Daniel Boorstin (1961).

The fact of the matter is, 9/11 happened and Bush was responding to the event. Boorstin writes that "Propaganda -- as prescribed, say , by Hitler in Mein Kampf -is information intentionally biased." Bush technically did not say anything inaccurate in his speech. The world was watching, courtesy of large scale media coverage, and if there was any intentional bias in his speech, the feeling was reflected mutually across the globe and the event was unlikely to have changed the opinions of its demographic, America and the western world. As Boorstin eloquently phrases it "We cannot say that we are being fooled. It is not entirely inaccurate to say that we are being 'informed'."

"What happens on television will overshadow what happens off television."- Daniel Boorstin, (1961).

The above statement couldn't be more fitting when returning to the 'Bullhorn Speech' example. The most alarming characteristic which mirrors that of a pseudo event, is what we see in the footage of Bush's speech as opposed to what we hear. 

For starters all the cheering appears to be off camera. When the cameraman zooms out just before Bush deliverers his 'I can hear you' line, it reveals a contextual crowd made up of firemen and volunteers. The crowd also consists of a perimeter of security guards surrounding the president. This crowd explains the ecstatically loud cheering. However if we examine the footage whenever there is cheering, there is only ever a small handful of people actually engaging in the act. Given the sheer scale of the tragedy and the exhaustion of the workers, it is hard to believe that the President would be greeted by such rapturous roars of approval. The widespread muted applause which we see in the picture is more fitting.

I couldn't help but notice the rise in audio levels shortly before Bush reaches the pinnacle of his address to the workers. This occurs in the video attached at approx. 28-33 seconds. The levels seem to peak more from then on and we can hear Bush better than previous to this occurrence. The rapturous applause does not fit with footage and the fact that we cannot see where the noise is coming from suggests that the shots are strategically framed. Bush's audio levels dip again towards the end of the footage shortly before a chant from the crowd of 'God Bless America.'

This seems like a well planned 'staged media event'. Although it is conceivable to expect Bush to visit the workers, I find it hard to believe he would have stood up and gave a speech in such a manner if the media were not involved. The fact that there is a perimeter of security guards around the event suggests that it was planned out in advance, staged.

Boorstin writes of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

"On his production team, in addition to newspapermen, there were poets, playwrights, and a regular corps of speech writers." upon viewing the closing close up shot of president Bush holding an american flag aloft, I would suggest that he too had a similar team which helped to contribute to this pseudo event. I will finish with the subject of the speech, the bullhorn speaker used by President Bush. It suggests that the event was spontaneous. 

However, I believe if Bush were to have such a production team, the bullhorn would have been used for dramatic effect. All the media surrounding the event would have had aptly suitable equipment to ensure the crowd could hear the president properly and yet the bullhorn was first preference. Such a prop enabled for a self fulfilling title 'The Bullhorn Speech,' and dramatised the occasion by prompting the 'I can hear you . . .' line.
The fact that media were aloud into such a hazardous environment is also something that leads me to believe this was a pseudo event.

This event in turn triggered a snowball effect of pseudo events, as media reporting of the event made it an iconic symbol of the 9/11 aftermath.

"in America, illusions and fabrications had become a dominate force within society."- Daniel Boorstin.

Media Discourse Analysis - A True Story!

"This Erosion of 'reality' emphasises the need for an ability to analyze the media content we are mediated as 'real'." - Glenn Doyle

This week I had my first class in Media Discourse Analysis.
From my understanding this module is about questioning everything we read and hear about across news, current affairs, entertainment and sport. The only stories that we can treat as definite and accurate are, local, the ones we witness. 

Although a lot of news headlines in the media can be seen as genuine, it is important to understand that the media can turn a news story into a media event. A media event is where the media form an opinion on the story and this opinion is sometimes received as fact. This in-turn can manipulate public opinion. Sometimes the media will stage an event to break a story. This is known as a pseudo event.

Media Discourse Analysis is also about realising that there can often be two realities on the same issue depending on the area and demographic.

It is hard to distinguish what is genuine, a staged event or a pseudo event in the media. I always thought 'The Toppling of The Statue' in Iraq in 2003 was a genuine news event, I remember watching it live. However it was highlighted in class that this was a staged media event by the US forces to manipulate public opinion into thinking that there was a large Iraqi support for what the US soldiers were doing. In truth although many of the Iraqi population felt relieved Saddam Hussein was removed from power, they were in no mood for celebrating. The event enabled the then US President George Bush to give a 'Mission Accomplished' speech.

This will be an interesting module because I have questioned certain media events in the past. The Oprah Winfrey interview with Lance Armstrong last month was breaking news globally across all news networks. In my opinion the interview with Armstrong and Winfrey was a staged media event to keep the story in the headlines. The interview was pre-recorded, Armstrong didn't really reveal anything new and yet there was two days of persistent analysis on the event. Anyone who wasn't following the story could have been enticed in by the headlines. Very little new information was actually revealed in the interview.

The recent press conference where David Beckham was unveiled as a PSG player in Paris seemed to be a pseudo event to reveal that he was donating his salary to charity. 

I have even had my doubts surrounding the Andy Gray sexism storyline and how it was leaked. It would have been known to Gray's employers, 'Sky Sports', that this was not the first incident in which he used derogatory comments towards women. The leaked footage seemed to date back long before the incident in question occurred. What I find more interesting is that Andy Gray was in fact suing 'News of The World' At the time, a paper owned by Rupert Murdoch's 'Newscorp'. Murdoch also owns 'SkySports'. Was the Sian Massey incident the media event Murdoch needed to get rid of Andy Gray?

Gray's words in a Daily Mirror Article, 'I've been stitched up'.

Media Discourse Analysis, its good to be able to put a title to a growing skepticism I have for Media Reporting.

My Creative Self. . Shaken and Stirred.

'In Action'- Got a license to . . . .Drive!

As part of the ‘Current Issues and Theories in Creative Media’ module, I had to express myself in a Creative way. The brief entitled ‘Creative Self’ was left open to be interpreted in any creative way possible.

Being a ‘James Bond’ fan I decided to make my own ‘007’ style intro using my C.V information as the credits in the title sequence. I felt this idea was the best possible way to showcase my abilities. The process involved video, green screening, editing, graphics and a little bit of programming. Not only could I demonstrate my technical abilities, but I felt I could also get my personality across effectively given the nature of the traditional ‘James Bond’ Intros.

The ‘Bond’ movies’ title sequences have always followed a similar narrative to one another. I watched all of the Bond sequences from ‘DR.No’ to ‘Skyfall’ and I noticed that every movie uses, silhouettes, hand cut-ins, close ups, fire/water and threshold style effects in their opening sequences. This made the structuring of my own narrative more straightforward. Based on this, I loosely storyboarded  what I wanted to achieve. 

When it came to shooting of the project, my friend Aidan McCourt was on hand. Not only did he have all the equipment I needed but he also helped me out shooting it as well. The shoot went very well. Including setting up and setting down it took 3 hours. After a cup of Tea and a biscuit, I was on my way to the labs in college to start the editing process.

Shooting in Aidan's house-literally. The photographic lights worked quite well as my movements were relatively static. However I would recommend using film lights for any green screening that requires a lot of movement, especially if you don't have 'after effects' for keying purposes.

This part of the project was definitely the most time consuming. I didn’t mind however as I enjoy editing. I used ‘Mpeg Streamclip’ to convert the footage, ‘After Effects’ to key the green screen and add in additional effects. I exported the footage from ‘After Effects’ to ‘Final cut’ and I edited all the shots together. I also made some graphics in ‘Processing’ that moved to the beat of the music, however only two made the final cut. I used a Helvetica font for the title credit’s as this seems to be the font most of the  Bond films have used traditionally, looking back it wasn’t very suitable. 

Although I used Carly Simon’s ‘Nobody Does it Better’ as the title music, I do plan on penning my own James Bond theme tune at a later date and re-cutting it to my ‘Creative Self’. I feel a higher tempo song would be more suited to the visual effects also.

Overall I have to say I am relatively satisfied with the outcome. My one main regret was that I didn’t have any ‘Bond Girl’ silhouettes in my edit. I was planning on creating and animating them but I was beaten by time in the end. The text is something I will definitely change. This was not a typography project, however having put the credits in, I realise that it is always going to be compared to a project of that nature. I do feel that adding in typography could add an extra dimension to it. It was a process I enjoyed and a project I would like to revisit. Perhaps my time keeping was a little suspect, my ‘Achilles Heel’ as I like to call it. 

My ‘Creative Self Project’ has a lot of good aspects to build upon and I feel it really gets my personality across in a creative way.

Here is a link to the video of my Creative Self. The video is unlisted on youtube because I would like to make more changes to it before I make it public.