In what ways do different audiences respond differently to the same media text?

The Daily Telegraph’s coverage of the London riots was something that was taken in separate ways by the public. The main way people chose their opinions was through news reports. In this essay I will explain the different ways in which the text can be interpreted.

As soon as the audience lay their eyes on the front cover they are greeted with a graphic visual of a lady escaping from a building due to fires in direct mode of address, centre of the page. But, in contrast to the girl being saved from the fires is the headline ‘Rule of the mob’. Considering the fact it’s unusual for a tabloid paper to rely largely on the main cover image this could attract a lot more readers, maybe because they’d think the paper would be reporting the riots in pictures opposed to heavy text based stories. The headline and cover photo could be the main reasons to attract the audience to purchase the paper. This is due to the fact people thinking the riots were an awful, terrifying thing would relate more the title opposed to the picture, were neutral readers wouldn’t have preferences as to whether it’s more relatable to them or not.

This tabloid newspaper is stereotypically aimed for the more knowledgeable reader, possibly from a more upper-class background with a good income. This is because of the price and also the advertisements located directly on the front cover, in this case, Boodles. This is a jewellers aimed at immensely rich people that could afford to purchase their products. The paper is also traditionally a pro-conservative party, so this is stereotypically a north and south divide as to who reads the paper.

The language used in the story is more of a downgrading, demeaning on the type of people involved in the riots. Although it’s still only a stereotypical viewing it’s still reporting that ‘all young people are to be blamed’

Exam Question

Q 1: Study the NME magazine cover and discuss the following:

-Visual Codes

-Layout and Composition

-Mode of address

-Persuasion techniques

The NME magazine cover has lot's of different aspects to represent and capture the target audience in which it's aiming for, from the off the magazine is seen as a large, eye grabbing and colourful which would easily be recognisable on the shops shelves.

The NME magazine starts off with the main image of the front page character, in this case it's Pete Doherty. He is showcased just off centre on the page posing in a studio-shot picture. With his characteristics he is easily recognisable to someone who is highly interested in this person. The visual imagery of his character shows him as a 'rebel' type. Posing with no shirt on, with only necklaces around his neck and the visible tattoo located just above his nipple. This could attract more readers to the magazine through more of a sexual persuasive. But, the naked state of his torso could also represent vulnerability and the fact he could possibly feel stripped of self pride for whatever he is apologising for.

Pete's facial expressions are more of a blank stare into the camera, kind of like there is guilt in his eyes and his body language of a more relaxed statue is a point to prove this. Also, this links into the sub-caption underneath his name title where it states he is 'sorry to every single person from the depths of my heart.' That, a long with his eye contact and body language, gives the audience a more sympathetic reaction to him and his story.

Aside from the main story there are many sub-stories and a puff showcasing a competition to win VIP festival tickets, and various cover lines advertising what else is being archived inside of the magazine as a whole. These cover lines stand out on the cover on the magazine and are easily readable. This gives the magazine a more open look and could easily represent the open nature of the whole magazine itself. As well as being on the layout and it all being evenly spacious and not too heavy on the cover, the cover lines also add a sense of persuasion. Especially the 'WIN! VIP Festival tickets...' cover line. This is spaced out on it's own just above halfway of the page and is isolated to showcase it's more demanding meaning. The importance of the cover line is showcased through being placed inside of a white circle which, links in again, to the covers colour scheme.

Other persuasive techniques include the magazine tag-line solely, stating that NME is the 'New Musical Experience'. This shouts out to a reader as it is possibly the best thing to have or read at the moment, and that they offer the most than any other musical magazine. Aside from the WIN banner, the magazine also uses the names of big bands such as Oasis, right at the top of the cover. Stereotypically, people who are interested in music tend to have a interest in Oasis as a band. But, it's not just the bands name on the cover it's also the cover line that it's a 'World Exclusive' about their new album. This cover line shows that NME have the best music news and readers should be buying the magazine so they can be kept in the know. The cover also uses the words like 'you' and 'in the raw', this grabs the readers attention as it singles you out and puts you inside of the magazine. Showing you that it's what you need to listen to and what you need to engage in.

Q 2: Describe two possible audiences with consideration given to the following:

- Uses and Gratifications theory

- Fans

- Target audience

- Positioning

- Circulation and readership.




The audiences for this magazine cover can differentiate depending on how the cover is analysed and viewed, there are many different areas to discuss and can easily be linked into each other. +

Levi Strauss Theory

As well as Aristotle deciding that 'all drama is conflict' in the 4th century BC, 20th century theorist Claude Levi-Strauss suggested that all narratives had to be driven forward by conflict that was cause by a series of opposing forces. He called this the theory of Binary Opposition, and it is used to describe how each main force in a narrative has its equal and opposite. Analysing a narrative means identifying these opposing forces.

It means understanding how the conflict between the opposing forces will drive the narrative on until; finally, some sort of balance or resolution is achieved.

Levi-Strauss used the ‘Western’ film genre to develop his theory of Binary Oppositions.

TASK 1

List binary oppositions that you can think of from the crime then the horror genres? Give specific examples from texts you know.

Crime

Good – Bad

Police – Villain

Drugs – Money

Power – Dictator

Officer – Gangster

Team – Solo

Conflict – Peace

Truth – Lies

Fair – Corrupt

Loyal – Selfish

Freedom – Trapped

Horror

Life – Death

Smart – Stupid

Safe – Unsafe

Eire – Settled

Vulnerable – Safe

Silence – Noise

Tension – Laid back

Dark – Light

Together – Alone

Nightmare – Mare

 Fear - Peace

Barthes Theory

Barthes says that text may be ‘open’ or ‘closed’.

- The Hermeneutic Code (HER) (the voice of the truth) is the way the story avoids telling the truth or revealing all the facts, in order to drop clues in through out to help create mystery.

- The Enigma/ Proairetic Code (ACT) (empirical voice) the way the tension is built up and the audience is left guessing what happens next

- The Semantic Code (SEM) (the voice of the person) the semantic code points to any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation, which the story suggests. Connotation= cultural/underlining meaning, what it symbolises.

- The Symbolic Code (SYM) (the voice of symbols) this is very similar to the Semantic Code, but acts at a wider level, organizing semantic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meaning. This is typically done in the use of antithesis, where new meaning arises out of opposing and conflict ideas.

- The Cultural Code (REF) (the voice of science) looks at the audience’s wider cultural knowledge, morality and ideology.

TASK 1

Watch the Ed Sheeran video, A Team, and apply 5 Barthes codes.

Hermeneutic Code: the voice of the truth is Ed Sheeran singing. Although he doesn’t openly say all the things wrong with the girl and what she’s going through he subtly drops hints and describes the actions in a mysterious manner. This means he says what she’s going through without directly saying she’s broke, addicted to drugs and participates in prostitution.

The Enigma/Proairetic Code: This is done through the video, you follow her as her life falls into decay and although it’s dark and mysterious you are filled with the hope of that it will get better towards the end even if it’s obvious it will not. It’s also done through the singing, you notice the tempo and descriptions start becoming more solid and are filled with some sign of mourning for the character.

The Semantic Code: Again, this is the description of the girl as told by Ed Sheeran. How he describes how the girl ‘in a pipe flies to the motherland’ which means she uses drugs to be able to sell love to men. It’s not directly said and needs a deeper reading to realise it’s what she’s saying. He says that she’s been trapped within her dreams and it’s killed her aspirations for her future.

The Symbolic Code: This is shown by the word uses of the likes of ‘fly’, ‘in a pipe’, ‘go mad for a couple grams’ and has more meanings that what it’s actually said. It shows her desperation for drugs, money and a new life.

The Cultural Code: Overall, this is the meaning of the song and video towards the audience. How they can adjust their view on it and put it how they want to view it.  This is done by the video being in black and white, this could represent the past. This also links that at the start of the video you see the end of the video fade out of her on the floor, this is the very end scene. Then the black and white represents her look back on her life and how hard she had it. The morality of the song references modern life, that this sort of story isn’t rare in our civilization. Another ideology for the video is the characters appearance, how she is dressed in rags and has ripped clothing. This represents her homelessness and how she can’t afford to have it better off. Also her droopy facial appearance and expressions, it shows a high drug use, which in reference, is noted within the song.

Mediation

Watch this advert about Brits Abroad made for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Analyse how the representation of Britain has been mediated by each stage of the process.

The average Englishman abroad in this video is represented as being rowdy, disrespectful people. This is also overshadowed by the fact the video was never ever broadcasted in the UK, only abroad. This video was shown in the USA, it doesn't give a good impression of the life of English people abroad and showcases them as always starting, or being in, trouble. With this video, it also tries to play it off as if we'd do our up most to put the blame onto somebody else just because it's abroad. The character, Danny, is showed as a stereotypical 'brit abroad' with his actions and behaviour. He also doesn't talk formally and has the stereotypical voice of a 'london hard-man' similar to the instance of Danny Dyer, ironic how they share the same name.

Media Representation of Mental Health

Mental Health is a large issue presented by the media, it is held with a lot of stereotypical views such as naming people with mental health with references such as: freaks, psychos, sciztzos and many more. The representation of the mental health has as many negatives as it does positives. Such as that there are no sympathy views given by the media and always report it as a type of problem, or a comedy reading for the people looking at the news. This is highlighted through the breakdown of Frank Bruno and how he was labeled as 'Bonkers Bruno' and that he belongs in a 'mental home' these are strong and assertive references to his health when it is not something that can be easily taken by other sufferers.
The positives of people suffering with these types of illnesses and seeing these types of news can advise them and guide them to seek help, such as various helpline numbers; these are normally posted with an article about mental health. This allows people suffering with these mental illnesses to seek help and be able to gain the confidence to allow their illnesses to be treated.

You'll always be able to find positive and negative representations of mental health anf mental illness in the media - keep looking for them and writing about them but remember to make sure your analysis is based within theory.

Here is a little checklist of media theories surrounding representation...

• Stereotyping
• Mediation
• Construction
• Ideologies
• Archetypes

If you find any interesting representations of mental health then please blog it and link or embed videos or images along with your analysis.

Harmful reporting:

• A 2006 German study found that students who read negative articles about mental illness expressed more negative attitudes toward people with a mental illness.
• A 1997 study found that media accounts of mental illness that instil fear have a greater influence on public opinion than direct contact with people who have a mental illness.
• A number of international studies (1983, 1989) demonstrated that exposure to negative stories, both fictional and nonfictional, had a direct effect on attitudes which was not altered by subsequent exposure to positive stories.
• Research undertaken in 2007 by Mindframe found that 10.6% of stories in Australian media about mental illness were stigmatizing and 5.8% of reports used inappropriate or negative language.
• An Australian study (1991) found that electronic and print media coverage often reflects and perpetuates the myths and misunderstandings associated with mental illness
• A survey by SANE Australia from 2005 found that 95% of consumers believed that negative portrayals of mental illness had an effect on them and 80% reported that the effect was negative.

Reporting that can have a negative impact:

• Highlights tragedies involving untreated mental illness, contributing to community fear and isolation for those affected by mental illness
• Does not provide balance. People with a mental illness are not inherently violent, unable to work, unpredictable, untrustworthy, weak or unable to get well
• Implies mental illness is a life sentence that cannot be treated - most people are able to recover with treatment and support
• Exaggerates a person’s illness or the affect mental illness has on their behaviour
• Implies all mental illnesses are the same. The term ‘mental illness’ covers a wide range of symptoms, conditions, and effects on people’s lives
• Mocks or trivialises mental illness by using medical terms (such as bipolar) out of context
• Features negative terms such as ‘mental patient’, ‘nutter’, ‘lunatic’, ‘psycho’, ‘schizo’ and ‘mental institution’, which stigmatise mental illness and perpetuate discrimination.

Responsible reporting:

• A 1999 American study also found that the media is an important source of information about mental health issues.
• SANE research from 2007 found that inaccurate and prejudiced assumptions about people with a mental illness could be reduced through increased accurate and helpful reporting in the media.
• A 2007 study which tracked reporting of suicide and mental illness in the Australian media found the majority of items about mental illness did not stereotype people affected as violent, unpredictable, unable to work, weak, untrustworthy or unlikely to get better.
• The same study found media items about mental health/illness had increased two-and-a-half-fold in volume between 2000/2001 and 2006/7.

Reporting that can have a positive impact:

• Breaks down myths about mental illness and allows people who have experienced mental illness to tell their own stories
• Highlights the complexity of mental illness. The term ‘mental illness’ covers a wide range of symptoms, conditions, and effects on people’s lives
• Highlights stories about successfully managing a mental illness
• Provides accurate information about mental illness and specific mental disorders
• Bases information on reliable sources such as recommended experts
• Encourages people in distress to seek help, for instance by providing helpline numbers
• Uses appropriate language and avoids victimising words such as ‘afflicted’ or ‘suffers’
• Follows media codes of practice on privacy, grief and trauma.

Rihanna Analysis

Rihanna's artwork for the single is a complete sale of sexual references and uses her controversial costumes such as short cut shorts, and a low tank top to reveal cleavage to indicate objectification of desire towards herself to sell the record.
Rihanna uses her body to sell her music asides to actual talented music, there is also a shower of water and a umbrella on the floor. This could indicate that she's washing away the fake persona she was using and indicates herself as going bad, just as her album title confirms. [Good Girl Gone Bad]
She uses herself to sell the record because she needs her name as she wasn't the biggest star during this time, she also uses Jay-Z to hype it up and promote it. This makes records sell depending on who it is by and who else stars in it.

Within the video she is dressed in a provocative manner which doesn't hide herself well and reveals things about her quite a bit, she represents cleavage and legs throughout the video once again objectifying herself as a sexual desire and confidently proves herself to be attractive towards the audience.

Flappy Birds Builds Bad Tempers

Earlier this week a new game populated up on the App Store of many devices such as Samsung, Apple phones, iPads and much more. It’s under the name of Flappy Birds and doesn’t hold back on the addiction scale causing disruption, anger and isolation across many young people.

The creator, Dong Nguyen, didn’t expect this and stated “I didn’t create this game to cause anger and changes, it was supposed to be to pass the time…” he stated “…not in any way did I want this to happen, yeah I wanted it to be big, but not big for the fact it’s changing people mentally.”

There have been many warning and reviews for this game under the comment section of the App, some of the more popular ones stating that he “…was warned…” and that it was so addictive that he “hasn’t slept” and he “hears Flappy Birds taunting him, when he closes his eyes he see’s in” and he “hears them in the people he loves voice.” This is a prime example of this game and goes to prove how very “life-ruiningly” addictive it is.

There have been many cases of violence due to this game, not only to other people but also to their phones and in some cases, themselves. Some of these accounts of violence have included people punching walls, throw shoes and even causes people to bite their own phones. It’s also accountable for screams, isolation and sudden frustration.

Another review stated, “Flappy Bird ruins your life. It takes away all enjoyment and happiness and leaves you paralysed, suffering and starving.” Supposedly, there is also no escape from Flappy Birds and you should not download it unless you “want to sell your soul to the devil” and “not be able to escape, it will stay with you forever.”

In conclusion, there is a strong possibility that it will take over and control you. We warn every reader of this article not to download it, not to fall for it and most definitely stopped loved ones from downloading it. Or you will, inevitably, lose them. We have warned you, be careful. Avoid Flappy Birds.

Written by Paul Scarratt, 30^th January 2014.