Newspapers assessment learner response

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

WWW: Very good use of media terminology and references theory

EBI: More sophisticated analysis of some of the debates


2) Read the whole mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify three potential points that you could have made in your Question 3 answer - the i newspaper standing for "quality, clarity and independence".

3 Potential Points: 

• Launched by Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev so question marks over true independence.
• Generally viewed as left-wing (Brexit feature offers extended reporting of French President Macron criticising UK) so independence and balance questionable. “Quality, clarity and independence” suggests a lack of political bias but is this the case?
• Stories are generally presented with balance: on chosen CSP edition, Theresa May’s Brexit (“The Salzburg disaster”) front-page story is balanced with double-page spread inside which includes analysis column acknowledging the difficulty of her job.

3) Now use the mark scheme to identify three potential points that you could have made in your Question 4 answer - arguments against statutory regulation of the newspaper industry.

• Newspapers must be free to pursue investigative journalism – Clay Shirky describes news as a “social good” that is so vital to democracy.
• The phone hacking scandal that sparked the Leveson Inquiry was covered by criminal law – the police should be the only regulators for the newspaper industry. Similarly, libel laws exist to protect victims of press intrusion and people like Chris Jefferies (wrongly accused of murder) were compensated financially.
• As an example, the Daily Mail is famous for its ‘Murderers’ headline, naming those accused of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence – and challenging the accused to sue them for libel if they wished.

4) Now use the mark scheme to identify three potential points that you could have made in your Question 5 answer - whether the pluralist model allows the newspaper industry to operate effectively.

• Generally, newspaper ownership and control is limited to a small number of super-rich individuals (e.g. Alexander Lebedev who started the i before selling it to Johnston Press and the Rothermere family owning the Daily Mail. Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere, is estimated to be worth £700m). This would suggest the newspaper industry is controlled by the elite (a more Marxist perspective).
• Curran and Seaton argue that audiences need to be empowered if media industries are to operate effectively. This is questionable in the newspaper industry. MailOnline is driven by audience clicks rather than professional editors (gatekeepers). This arguably does significant harm to the industry, reducing news to ‘clickbait’, celebrity gossip and the ‘sidebar of shame’ that MailOnline is infamous for.
• This decline in quality threatens the future of the newspaper industry – in no way could it be argued to be ‘operating effectively’. We are now in the era of ‘fake news’ with trust in journalism falling and audiences largely unwilling to pay for news.

5) Finally, look over your mark, teacher comments and the mark scheme - plus your answers to the task above - to write a complete essay plan for Question 5. 

You can either use something similar to your actual answer or alternatively start from scratch. Make sure it is an extensive, detailed plan focused on the question (Curran & Seaton, pluralism and how effective the newspaper industry operates) and make sure you include specific references to the CSPs - the i and Daily Mail/MailOnline. Aim for around five paragraphs in total and make sure you cover both sides of the argument to some extent.


Introduction:

• Introduce both sides to the argument utilising both CSP's. E.g. Some scholars would agree with the fact that a pluralist model is required for media industries to operate effectively as audiences aid in generating revenue and profit for the industry, thus they should be able to control it. Conversely, some would disagree with this statement due to citizen journalism which is where people within society would easily pass gatekeepers and therefore be able to promote fake and irrelevant news to the community.

• Use a variety of developed points conveying and explaining each side with use of theorists. E.g. Clay Shirky has discussed the ‘End of audience’ and the rise in ‘mass amateurisation’. This may be an example of the rise of pluralism but it is arguably destroying trust in news and the ability for traditional news institutions to make money (Shirky describes the internet leading to “an abundance of content and a scarcity of profit”). Citizen journalism may have influenced the news agenda in places (overruling traditional editors broadly following Galtung and Ruge's News Values) but it is also poor quality, difficult to verify and often soft news ‘click bait’ rather than important for society.

• Provide an overall conclusion and evaluate both parts of the statement. E.g. In summary, The Daily Mail would argue with the fact that a pluralist model is required for media industries to operate effectively because they tend to use click bait and entertainment to urge and encourage citizens to view or purchase their newspapers, similarly to what audiences would also do.However, The i newspaper would disagree with this as they promote mostly hard news and by allowing demographics to take control it would eliminate the serious aspects and information that is distributed within society.